Question: Why do dogs bark

Melissa Upjohn answered on 23 Mar 2026:

Dogs can bark as a way of communicating with us and with other dogs – they might bark in different ways to tell us that they’re feeling different emotions, in the same way that we use different words to let other people how we’re feeling or what we’re thinkings.
Sometimes they’ll bark because they’re excited (maybe when a person or a dog they know comes to their home) or perhaps they’ll bark because they’re scared or anxious (for example, my dog can be worried about traffic so if we have to cross a road she’ll bark when she sees vehicles approaching us). It can sometimes be difficult to figure out the difference between these different barks if you’re not familiar with the dog so you need to take time to watch their behaviour and rather than being scared about them barking, try to see it as their way of communicating.