Why Do Dogs Bark For No Reason Whatsoever? I’m Going Crazy!!

So you want to know why do dogs bark for no reason? It might be your dog or your neighbor’s dog but when you look out the window, around the house, even in the freaking bookcase for goodness sakes!! there’s not a darn thing in sight.

There’s silence as a single leaf falls from the tree. It falls straight down because not even the wind is blowing.

Or maybe there is something outside but it’s just a squirrel. Gosh, darn it Spot, its just Ms. Miller checking the mail.

There’s nothing to get all worked up about. No need to bark like hell’s fire is about to burst out of Earth’s core and disintegrate us all in one fell swoop.

I just don’t get it. Why Do Dogs Bark For No Reason At All!

Or is there? Really. I want you to calm down, deep breath in…deep breath out…aaaahhhh, namaste (ok, I think that’s what they say when things are calm in Yoga? I might be wrong and just got you worked up again, haha! Sorry about that ^^; )

Does your dog really know Ms. Miller, or whoever his or her name is checking the mail near your house?

Would they rather be chasing the squirrel? Or can they even sense things that we can not?

We’re going to get into all this and more right here, in this article on Dog Barking Control Devices

Why Do Dogs Bark For No Reason?

Before we get into the answer to this question, let’s consider the purpose of barking first. Then get into your dog’s sense a bit and finally decide if there is or is not a reason behind their barking as well as some steps you can take to manage it.

What Is The Purpose of Barking?

At the root of it, barking is to dogs as speaking is to people. Your dog’s bark is its way of communicating. In addition, your dog may also communicate with:

• yelps
• whining
• howling
• growling
• use of body language

As people, we use words but I also think it is important to recognize that we also use other forms of communication like crying and whining as well. We expect that communication comes in the form of words which is true when talking about person to person communication.

However, when it comes to our dogs, we have to first realize that they can not communicate to us with words. That being said, a bark can have many meanings.

Most people think a bark means aggression and the dog doesn’t like them. This thought implants the thought into the dog’s mind and is not necessarily what the dog’s intentions were in the first place.

A dog might bark to say the following:

• Greeting
• Warning/Intimidation
• Discomfort
• Illness
• To get your attention to try and tell you what it wants or is concerned about
• Play/Curiosity

I find that they may also bark more if they feel uncomfortable about what is triggering it. For instance, when someone drives up to my home, if my dogs are in their kennels they will bark a lot whereas if they are out on the floor laying or playing, they might only lift their ears to listen or may ignore it altogether.

They can totally sense who is coming too. When I came back from vacation my babies were barking and howling a sweet chorus that I’ve never heard them do before. So much passion, excitement, and noise, haha!

The Tone of The Bark or Growl Matters!

Just like we have certain tones we speak in depending on our mood, dogs do too. For instance, if we are really stressed or worked up about something we might scream or speak more high pitched than normal. Well, it is also safe to say that it depends on the person right? My father-in-law doesn’t show his stress. I had to really get to know him, his body language and cues to figure out when he was under high stress or something was wrong.

Your dog is the same way. It will totally depend on the individual dog and also his/her breed. Some dogs won’t show their stress either. One of my puppies chewed up the plastic flooring to his kennel while I was away. He’s not a big barker but instead, he takes his stress out by chewing.

So even if you think you know your dog, just chill out for a couple of days and really watch their behaviors under certain circumstances. Listen to their barking, their vocal inflections and tones, and how they are using their barking or other vocal cues.

One of my other dogs (I have a zoo by the way!) will howl in beautiful chorus when there’s a siren going off in the distance. Not a cop car or ambulance. The emergency one that is used for tornadoes, bad accidents, etc. I’m not sure if they have it everywhere but there is a certain one here in the country he will howl with likely because he is extending the warning to let me and others in the area know.

Can Your Dog Sense Things That You Can Not?

On this note, I believe it is a good time to mention that your dog can most certainly sense things that you can not. Without getting too geeky and losing you especially if you’re not a numbers person like me, your dog can hear sounds that you can not.  They can also sense intentions and vibes if you will of beings that we can not see or see yet.

This is one of the biggest reasons I absolutely love having dogs and cats. Because they can sense things that we can not AND have the want to come tell us about it. If ONLY we would LISTEN!

Ok So Why Do Dogs Bark For No Reason Again?

Well, hopefully after our brief discussion you have come to the conclusion that your dog is likely not barking at nothing. She or He might bark a lot but there’s usually one or more triggers behind it.

It’s also important to note. Regardless of the breed, your dog’s priority is YOU and in most cases your household. S/He doesn’t care to accept Ms. Miller checking the mail. If you think that should be (and it should!) you need to teach your dog that Ms. Miller checking the mail is safe, doesn’t mean it, you or anyone in your family any harm and isn’t a real threat to the household.

In the case that you don’t see anything outside beside the wind? I have a few theories you might want to consider.

1. Dogs actually have pretty wonky eyesight. They might see something and think its something else. In that case, help him or her feel more at ease that there’s nothing to be concerned about. Some can get really passionate though so just revert their attention or get their attention in the first place.
2. I don’t usually like to depend on the first case scenario, to be honest. Dogs might not have the best eyesight but they have killer everything else. As I mentioned before, they can definitely sense things that we can’t even if its bad intentions coming our way. Not even necessarily a person. It could be a storm, a predator like a wolf, bear, etc., something happened to someone in the household, you get the point. They ARE sensing something but it can be difficult to figure out.
3. They might smell or hear something we can not. Many dogs are bred to hunt small things like rodents, squirrels, etc. They might smell, feel vibrations or some other trigger that we can not. Their response is to bark to notify the human that they found something.

Bottom line, I NEVER ever EVER think that my dog is barking at nothing. I am sure you have been in an instance where you saw, felt, smelled or otherwise sensed something that no one else picked up. Now I want you to think about how you felt when people around you said things to the effect of you don’t know what you’re talking about and making you feel like you’re just exaggerating or making things up.

I know that a lot of people who suffer from mental health might understand. When you’re feeling a certain way but everyone says you don’t feel it. It’s ridiculous!

Well, it’s just as ridiculous here too. Your dog might be an accessive barker but usually, there is some sort of trigger. Often times, you will set off an argument aka more barking before, after and during the stimuli, by telling your dog that its not barking at anything.

That’s because she or he is trying to basically tell you, ‘no, I see, feel, smell, etc. whatever it is.’ This is why it’s a good practice to reassure your dog rather than saying there’s nothing or no reason. And, they do feel if you’re thinking about it instead.

So genuinely mean it. Say things like ‘its ok’ or ‘leave it’ or something like that that is not challenging their instincts.

How To Handle A Dog That Barks Accesively

If your dog barks a lot, you need to figure out the causes. The stimulus might be internal or external.

Its also important to understand that dogs are pack animals so if you have multiple dogs barking at the same time, they’re going to really get into it. This means that you have to deal with one dog’s barking at a time. Figure out who is the leader and start there.

One tool that I find especially helpful are Ultrasonic Dog Barking Control Devices. They help you teach your dog to control its barking by emitting a sound that is detectable only to your dog.

In a nutshell, when the sound goes off your dog learns to stop barking. If you want more information about our top recommendation, click the button below.

If you have any questions, comments or other feedback, please feel free to ask below. We’re here to help!