Things that get my dogs barking
BY NICK BARNETTI whinged a bit yesterday about the noise my dog Connor made during an ill-fated puppy playdate. But I don't mean to say I hate the sound of barking. To say I love it would be a lie, I admit, but in my year as a dog owner I've made a certain kind of peace with it.
When we got our dachshund puppy Phoebe last year, it took me a while to get used to the sheer noise. A miniature daxy's bark is totally out of proportion to the dog's size: when Phoebe's in full cry, the sound bounces off the walls and makes your head and ribs thrum; other objects in the room resonate in sympathy and it would not surprise me if, one day, a glass cracks or a lightbulb shatters under the pressure.
Add to the formula a second dog, Connor. Now Connor has quite a fetching bark, as barks go: it's gruff and snuffly, smoky where Phoebe's is metallic. Connor's sound is "ourf, ourf, (breathe) narf (breathe), ourf ourf". (Anyone speak dog and can translate?)
Phoebe's sound is more "h'thwapp, h'thwapp", which is my best approximation of both the actual noise one hears, plus the sense of having one's ears belted with flippers.
The addition of Connor to our pack has been great for all of us, except that it has led Phoebe to discover a whole half-octave and about 15 extra decibels to her barking range.
They egg each other on, the two of them. One of them hears some distant noise and launches into warning barks, and the other, who I'm sure didn't hear the original noise, joins the clamour.
The dogs have different-sounding barks for different stimuli - I can always tell when Phoebe is barking for Connor to give her chew toy back, for example.
"Good watchdogs" is the name you'd generously give to dogs like ours. Not "guard dogs", because the most damage ours could do to a criminally minded intruder, apart from deafen him, would be to nip his shin and pull off his lowest shirt button.
What sets them off? With Connor, practically anything - though he seems to be getting more discerning about what he barks about.
Here's a roundup of Connor's triggers:
* Anything that sounds like a dog. This can be within 200 metres, in the flesh or on the TV.
* Anything that looks like a dog. Ditto.
* Being the unpreferred side of any door.
* Music with a loud bass, e.g. hiphop on the car radio, before I can hurriedly retune it.
* Any occasion of me or my partner using a put-on voice for comic or disciplinary effect.
* Any sign of playfulness on the part of our cat.
Phoebe's triggers:
* Any sense that Connor is getting more treats than his share.
* Any occasion when Connor has a pig's ear and she doesn't.
* Any occasion when Connor or the cat is in the spot on the couch she feels should be reserved for her.
It all makes for a fair amount of noise, and I know our neighbours can hear the worst of it.
But a bark is full of character and it's the dog's outlet valve for a lot of the excitement and joy and energy that builds up inside them. I wouldn't go back to having a bark-free house, not with all the other good things that our dogs bring to it. I've learnt to take the ruff with the smooth.
What gets your dog barking? Does your dog have different barks for different occasions? What's the worst (or best) dog bark you've heard?
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I have to agree with your comment Nick about the 2 dogs egging each other on... our 2 beagles make a hell of a lot of noise when they are play fighting, or when one has a toy and is teasing the other. Our puppy makes this insane noise that sounds like a chinese kung fu sound effect.
The other thing that goes with having beagles is their bay - that lovely hound dog howl. It comes out when they get extra excited about stuff - especially meal times!
My border collie has lots of different barks. He has his I am a big tough guard dog bark. If there is someone he doesn't know on the other side of the front door.
His don't go to work bark. Much higher in pitch and hopefully doesn't go to long. My favourite is his I am really pleased you are home bark. Similar to his I have just entered the room and want you to play with me.
What I find really offensive is when someone's dog feels it is appropriate to bark at me when I am walking on the footpath near their house. I can't GET any further away and am not on their property, but I still feel like I'm under attack. I'm not really bothered by dogs barking inside or at their owners - I'm sure my cat yowling because I'm not paying attention to him is just as bad for the neighbours.
Totally of topic but if anyone can help I would SOOO appreciate it. The house we rent has just been sold and as any pet owner who rents will know finding a house that allows 2 dogs and a cat is tricky! So if anyone out there knows of such a place (with nice high fences naturally) please let me know :)
Cute photo!
My german shepherd barks at:
* Any cat that might be thinking about coming on his property.
* Any cat that sounds like it might be coming on his property.
* Cat fights.
* Sometimes the birds in the trees (this is quite funny, a large dog running around barking up at the sparrows in the trees).
* Any human he doesn't know who might be thinking of coming on his property.
* And I have just discovered - Fireworks.
My mum had 2 daschunds as well and they egged each other on. It's amazing as you say that such a small dog can have such a HUGE bark. Although if you didn't know they were daxy's you'd think there was a big dog in the house which is good to ward off would be intruders. Besides the bark they also do have a pretty mean bite...even if it only your legs they can get. By the way Gorgeous puppies.
Yes barking dogs I know that one well, our Beardie is fluent in all kinds of barking, high pitched, scared, I am barking but not at anything in particular, play bark, bark bark, any excuse to bark, loves it!!! Our Black Lab, only barks if needed, this is a deep booming bark, who's there, whats going on bark!!
My two will bark at people walking along the footpath, but not at people walking up the drive way. Holly barks if you don't throw her ball
At n... where do you want to live?
My black lab/pointer cross boy definitely has different barks - some of the ones I can easily distinguish are:
A high pitched whiney bark 'Let me in, I'm cold/bored/lonely outside'
A deep, short, loud bark 'Stop mucking around and give me attention (usually when my partner and I are hugging)'
A whiny bark 'Get down pussy cat, you aren't allowed up there!'
A booming, deafening bark 'OMG I NEED TO GO OUTSIDE FOR TOILET IMMEDIATELY!!'
And then the ear splitting, rapid fire bark for intruders at our house (or the neighbours).
My previous dog was a mastiff cross - big muscley girl but sometimes she had the most high pitched yappy bark, it always amused me to think of a potential burglar thinking "oh, it's just a toy dog" and then being confronted by 45 kilos of muscley, angry dog!
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I have a beautiful pure-brede mongrel, and he's allowed to join us on the end of the bed in the mornings. During the week he's let in when my hubby gets up to have a shower, but on the weekends he gets to a point where he just can't handle being alone in the lounge anymore and he'll stand at the door and bark once, softly - which sounds like "awoolph?". I love it because he really sounds like he's asking to be let in (question mark inflection on the end and all) and he always sounds so polite. It's never a loud bark then, but when he's on guard dog duty he sounds like a vicious beast!