Dogs bark to communicate their needs and desires. To understand the function of the barking, or “how to speak dog”, trainers listen to the tone, assess the dog’s body language, and note what happens before and after the bark. It is easy to confuse the bark meaning, as some dog breeds also have their own barking styles. You may have noticed that Huskies enjoy howling, while Beagles love to bay (which sounds like a mix between a bark and a howl). Whether it’s a howl, low-pitched bark, or a deep, consistent bark, understanding the whole picture will provide clues as to what your dog wants to communicate.
Help determining body language
Do you need help recognizing what a dog is saying through their body language? Being able to recognize a dog’s body language is very useful in determining why a dog is barking. To help you with this, we have published a blog on “Understanding a Dog’s body language”.
1. Barks that alert or warn others
When your dog is wary of an unfamiliar person, animal, or is startled by sounds like a door opening or a knock on the door, they may bark to alert or warn others. Dogs who are resource guarding may also make this same bark towards family members. It’s important to pay attention to the:
- Sound: This bark is typically deeper than their friendly bark and occurs steadily without interruption.
- Body language: Their body will stiffen, their tail may be elevated, tucked under their belly, or wagging tightly side to side tightly. Their ears will perk up, and their eyes will intensely follow the target.
- Before the bark: Something new or unexpected in their environment. A stranger may come into their line of sight, an unfamiliar dog may approach them or a delivery driver may come up to the front door.
- After the bark: Your dog usually stops barking once the target has left. However, this can create a self-reinforcing cycle. For example, when a UPS delivery driver comes by to drop off a package, your dog may bark deeply and rapidly at them, and then stop when the driver leaves. The dog might believe that its barking caused the delivery worker to leave. But in reality, they would leave anyway, which reinforces your dog’s barking behavior towards strangers approaching the door.
Now that we have discussed barking to alert or warn others, let’s discuss friendly barking.
2. Friendly Barking
Does your dog bark with excitement when you come home? or let out a happy bark when you grab their food bowl, pick up their ball, or when you clip on their harness for a walk. To help understand if the bark is friendly you can pay attention to the:
- Sound: Friendly barks are often higher pitched. Some dogs will also howl when excited, Basset Hounds are particularly fond of this.
- Body language: Friendly dogs usually avoid staring for extended periods. They often have their mouths open, wag their tails in large circles, and may let their tongues hang out lazily. They may also wiggle and lean forward. Their ears will be in their natural position or pinned back.
- Before the bark: Your dog will often give a friendly bark when they notice you or someone else they want attention from, or want you to do something. This could be because it’s time for their meal, when they’re about to enter the dog park, or they’re eagerly waiting for you to throw the ball for a game of fetch.
- After the bark: The barking will usually end once they’ve received the attention they’ve been looking for or you have given them what they are excited about, such as their meal.
Now that we have explored two reasons why dogs bark, we should discuss the third reason that can include both reasons to bark, but with a changed intent.
3. Barking with changed intent
Sometimes barking can begin for one reason but then change. For instance, if it’s dark inside the house, your dog might not recognize you at first and let out a warning bark. However, once you call out to them, they may quickly switch to a happy bark.
This shift is important to recognize, because it shows that dogs don’t just bark for one reason at a time, their emotions can change based on what’s happening around them.
We are here to help
Do you have any concerns about your dog’s behavior? You can schedule a free consultation with our Pet Behavior Team. All of our training programs offer one-on-one training sessions at your home or local neighborhood.
Do you live outside the Tampa Bay area, or want to connect virtually? Our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, and co-founder, Dr. Echterling-Savage offers virtual training programs. During these programs, Dr. Echterling-Savage will help you in achieving your training goals through virtual training sessions where she will design a customized training program that offers guidance and support.
