Barking

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Since dogs aren’t able to use words to tell us when something is wrong, or when they need something they rely on their own barking voice to communicate. If you are interested in reading up on the City of Winnipeg’s policies regarding dog barking, you can visit their website.

Who is that weird person?!

Dogs will often bark to protect what they perceive to be their territory. Your dog may bark in response to seeing a person coming or going to your house.

Alarm barking

This type of barking can often occur in nervous or over-protective dogs. When your dog is barking for alarm you will notice that their body language is stiff, and they will often move or pounce back and forth. Alarm barking is different from territory barking for the simple fact that if your dog exhibits this behaviour they will be barking at anything and everything in all locations, not just familiar ones.

Mom! Pay attention to me!

Your dog can also use barking as a way to get attention or to show playfulness. The bark is often given while in a play bow or while bouncing around trying to get a toy.

Look! My friend is over there!!

Dogs can also bark when they are excited and want to greet another dog or person. This bark is usually associated with loose body language and a happy “windmill” tail. Dogs who bark for social reasons may whine as well.

Frustration induced barking

When dogs placed in situations where they are separated from playmates, their people or confined to a certain area they will often bark out of frustration. This bark is often accompanied by excessive whining or howling. This type of bark is your dog’s way of telling you they are angry and frustrated, and something needs to change.

Dog barks decoded

According to K9 Magazine, here are the top 10 dog barks decoded:

  1. Continuous and rapid barking: “Hey! There’s something going on! Come quick! I don’t like this! It’s not normal!”
  2. Barking in rapid strings of three or four with pauses in between, mid range pitch: “I suspect that there may be a problem or an intruder near our territory. I think that the leader of the pack should look into it.”
  3. Prolonged or incessant barking, with moderate to long intervals between each utterance: “Is there anybody there? I’m lonely and need companionship.” This is most often the response to confinement or being left alone for long periods of time.
  4. One or two sharp short barks, mid range pitch: “Hello there!” This is the most typical greeting sound.
  5. Single sharp short bark, lower mid range pitch: “Stop that!” This is often given by a mother dog when disciplining her puppies but may also indicate annoyance in any dog, such as when disturbed from sleep or if hair is pulled during grooming and so forth.
  6. Single sharp short bark, higher midrange: “What’s this?” or “Huh?” This is a startled or surprised sound. If it is repeated two or three times its meaning changes to “Come look at this!” alerting the pack to a novel event. This same type of bark, but not quite as short and sharp, is used to mean “Come here!” Many dogs will use this kind of bark at the door to indicate that they want to go out. Lowering the pitch to a relaxed midrange means “Terrific!” or some other similar expletive, such as “Oh, great!” My cairn terrier, for example, who loves to jump, will give this single bark of joy when sent over the high jump. Other dogs give this same bark when given their food dish.
  7. Single yelp or very short high-pitched bark: “Ouch!” This is in response to a sudden, unexpected pain.
  8. Series of yelps: “I’m hurting!” “I’m really scared” This is in response to severe fear and pain.
  9. Stutter-bark, mid range pitch: If a dog’s bark were spelled “ruff,” the stutter-bark would be spelled “ar-ruff.” It means “Let’s play!” and is used to initiate playing behavior.
  10. Rising bark: This is a bit hard to describe, although once you’ve heard it, it is unmistakable. It is usually a series of barks, each of which starts in the middle range but rises sharply in pitch – almost a bark-yelp, though not quite that high. It is a play bark, used during rough-and- tumble games, that shows excitement and translates as “This is fun!”

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