Ask a vet: why does my dog bark when she wants something?

Everyone knows their own dog’s voice. But does it surprise you to know that dogs seldom bark to communicate with other dogs? I think we can all agree that barking is a form of communication, but our dogs have learned through watching our responses that certain things will prompt us to perform certain actions. They bark for our benefit! ¹

Animal experts agree that barking is certainly an attempt to convey a need:physical, emotional or social. A bark could mean physical needs like wanting to be let outside to eliminate or being hungry, or even social needs like being bored or wanting attention. Animals have these basic physical survival needs and they want to be able to express them in a way that we can understand. We know that learning can occur when there is an action and a reward that is consistent and repeatable. We use this strategy when we are training our dogs…and they use it when they are training us!

Your dog has learned for herself that when she barks, you meet her needs. She hears a noise and she sounds the alarm. You go to see what the trouble is and she feels like you are backing her up, like a member of the pack would. She feels safe. The need for personal safety is met.

He yips at the door to tell you he wants outside and (fearing an accident) you promptly stop what you are doing and let him out. If you leave him inside to go out for the mail, he might bark at the window to communicate to you that he desires to be with you. You always return and he is sure that it was his bark that drew you back. His craving for attention and to be included is met. Good human!

Maybe she wants you to pet her so she whines and puts her nose under your hand. She might want to bond with you as a member of her family group. Studies show that dogs get a rush of positive hormones when they interact with preferred humans. I reference this in my previous article, Can My Dog Really Love Me, because a recent study showed that dogs do respond hormonally to the touch of someone they care about. ² Her action produces a reaction from you and is rewarded.

Perhaps your dog barks at his food bowl when he is hungry. You do not want him to be hungry so you feed him. You just trained him to bark or did he just train you to feed him? However you choose to look at it, it works for everyone. If your dog’s barking when she wants something is a problem for you, try to avoid rewarding the behavior. Wait until she is quiet to feed her. Make her sit calmly and politely before you oblige. If you don’t want him demanding to be petted, distract him from the demand with a command and reward that action for him instead. We are in this life together and we want each other to have their needs met, but don’t forget that you are the provider of resources and like a teenager borrowing your car, you are in charge of who trains whom!

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1. Barking and mobbing.Behav Processes. 2009 Jul-81(3):358-68. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.04.008. Lord K, Feinstein M, Coppinger R
2. Human-lamb bonding:oxytocin, cortisol and behavioural responses of lambs to human contacts and social separation. 2013 Apr-38(4):499-508. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.07.008. Epub 2012 Aug 9.Coulon M Nwak R, Andanson S, Ravel C, Marnet PG, Boissy A, Boivin X

3. Oxytocin promotes social bonding in dogs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.2014 Jun 24-111(25):9085-90. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1322868111. Epub 2014 Jun 9.Romero T, Nagasawa M, Mogi K, Hasegawa T Kikusui T.

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