Asking why dogs bark is like asking, ,why do birds sing., It is perfectly natural for a dog to bark just like it is for a human to talk. It is only humans that think a dog should keep quiet. Like humans some dogs bark simply because they like to hear the sound of their own voice. However a dog that barks a lot may be trying to tell you something. Usually the message is ,you are not paying me enough attention.
Many know that a bark might be your cue to take them outside so they can go to the bathroom. Dogs also bark because they are nervous, hungry, lonely, frustrated or suspicious. Some dogs just like to bark. Like some humans, they like the sound of their own voice. However usually a dog barks because he is trying to tell you something. Yet another reason a dog barks is because they spy a threat. This is why a dog will bark at a passerby or a mailman. This is particularly true of breeds that are natural herders or watchdogs.
Some dogs will even bark if they see you try to leave what they perceive as their pack and the bark is a disciplinary warning to you not to go out on your own so that you don’t get hurt. He is talking to another pet in the household , a herding dog like a collie for instance will bark at the other animals in the house to stay together in a group.
Many dogs suffer from separation anxiety and cannot tolerate it when you are gone. A trainer or dog therapist can treat this type of nuisance barking. Some nuisance barkers are simply easily over excited. Their bark is their way of expressing their enthusiasm for spying another animal out the window or seeing a box of treats on the counter. Some will bark excitedly just at the prospect of going for a walk or a ,car ride.,
One very unusual reason that dogs bark is that he is responding to a dog that is barking a long ways a way that he can hear but you can’t hear. Dogs can hear all kinds of sounds that we can’t hear. A badly trained dog will also be always being prone to nuisance dog barking. Dogs from rescue shelters and pounds tend to bark a lot because they have never been trained properly in the first place. Also a dog that has spent a long time in a pound has also been conditioned to bark for hours like his former companions in the shelter did.
Barking is usually not a problem until you are losing sleep over it or a neighbor is complaining about it. This means it is time to send your dog to an obedience class of sometime.
It is never a good idea to discipline a dog for barking. Chances are the dog is trying to tell you something and if you discipline him then he will get very confused. This often happens to dogs that are nervous or anxious in the first place. The calmer your dog is the least likely he or she is to be a nuisance barker.