can anyone translate barking tones? just curious

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Slightlyconfused

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young collie has this thing were when I am doing the indoor and outdoor rabbits and cleaning the poop up in the garden he will go up to the big collie and bark in his face a really high pitched bark that sounds weird coming from a collie.
Big collie just looks at him as if he is an idiot and carries on just watching me work.

He does the same in doors and grabs a toy after as shakes it around and then just sits and watches me feed them, the big collie just sits quietly to the side....unless its the g pigs then he will come up to the cage and the kiss good night (touch noses)

I curious about the behaviour. all my dogs get on really well together and its just had me a little bit confused.

hope every one is keeping warm
 
An invitation to play? That's clearly beneath the older dog who finds such behaviour childish and undignified.

Try copying the bark and see what happens.
 
Dry Rot said:
An invitation to play? That's clearly beneath the older dog who finds such behaviour childish and undignified.

Try copying the bark and see what happens.
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That's what I thought it was.

older dog was a rehome at one year old from friends. he had no play when he was a puppy as he would bowl the kids over so they would tell him off so in his head play is bad. He was in the garden with a blanket in the shed in the day and the kitchen at night. I don't blame friend as she wanted a ckc but husband went out and got a 'mans' dog and left her with him, two boys under five (one with behaviour issues) while he was working 15 hour days.

He has played a bit with the new puppy but then suddenly gets up and runs to the dogs bed as if he has been told off. Its a shame because he really really wants to play but at eight years old he is still worried about it.
My young collie tries his hardest to get him to play on walks but he just thinks they are for running and sniffing and coming back for cuddles.
He will play on his own with his own toys though.
 
I agree, sounds like an invite to play or just an attention seeking thing.

I have a similar thing with my young poodle.

At risk of sounding COMPLETELY barking myself, I have this theory about doggy "language".

I try to read body language anyway, as I work with dogs. But recently I've noticed that when I'm out clearing the mess from the garden she gets really excited and barky but won't approach me til I've finished what I'm doing. At that stage we have a game of fetch. She knows this and anticipates it.

However I've noticed that for the past several months she does this thing that makes me wonder if she's putting an ACTION of her own to something that is happening around her, like sign language. Okay, don't call out the men in white coats just yet. LOL

You know when a dog has peed or poo'd they often scrape their feet? She does that too. However she NOW also does it when another dog is pooing or when I'm picking up the poos! I might add, that if she had herself just poo'd that I'd just think that was it. But no, she's not done one but anytime I'm clearing it up from before or whatever, she scrapes her feet as if she's saying "POO!" It makes me laugh a bit and she thinks that's funny too (okay, that was a bit odd, call the men with white coats).
 
Dogs do tend to repeat behaviours that get them what they want, e.g a reaction. Actually, imitating barks to prompt certain subtle behaviours is quite difficult. One of my dog gives a certain type of bark and the other reacts. If I give what I consider to be an exact copy of that bark, the dog looks at me as if I'm mad!

It's when strangers come around the corner of the barn to find you on all fours barking at a dog that your reputation tends to go down the plug hole! Not that I would ever get caught doing anything like that, of course! :)

But they definitely do have a "bark" language, though I suspect, most dog to dog communication is with body language. That's where I'm stumped. No tail! :D If you hunt a pack of hounds, you soon get to know some of the special barks.
 
Dry Rot said:
Dogs do tend to repeat behaviours that get them what they want, e.g a reaction. Actually, imitating barks to prompt certain subtle behaviours is quite difficult. One of my dog gives a certain type of bark and the other reacts. If I give what I consider to be an exact copy of that bark, the dog looks at me as if I'm mad!

It's when strangers come around the corner of the barn to find you on all fours barking at a dog that your reputation tends to go down the plug hole! Not that I would ever get caught doing anything like that, of course! :)

But they definitely do have a "bark" language, though I suspect, most dog to dog communication is with body language. That's where I'm stumped. No tail! :D If you hunt a pack of hounds, you soon get to know some of the special barks.
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Lol, of course you wouldn't do a thing like that :D

The young collies tail is always up and wagging and he is down on his front paws when he does this so it's looking like playing type behaviour.

The young pup (coming up 4 month rescues) whines when out on walks. When we first got her she had four/five weeks in because of kennel cough and bad worms so didn't get the socialisation at that right age so with my dogs she is fine but take her out and she is worried and scared. She is getting better, has made friends with a dog up the yard but it's interesting in a nice way hearing the different whines that come from her.
 
My GSD was running ahead of me up the yard one day and I said something to her. She did not look around or give me any clue that she had even heard me. The next time I did this, I paid particular attention because I did not believe she would fail to acknowledge my voice. Then I noticed she gave a very slight almost imperceptible movement of her tail. That was the response and, if I had been a dog, I should have noticed it immediately. As humans we miss these clues. yet human to human communication can be a matter of raising an eye brow a few millimetres or a particular "look". How much more subtle from predators that have followed the migrating herds for thousands of years, watching and waiting for any sign of weakness in their prey?

(Just heard a quiet bark from the kennel which says, "It's time we got out!' I'd better go).
 
When you start to watch and listen, they have a huge range of sounds. Ours are both vocal breeds (dachshund and saluki) and they have very distinct noises. Off the top of my head there is;

distant noise woof
someone nearby bark
Danger! Someone is at the door bark
I want your food whine
I want my food yap
I need to go out grumble
I need to go out woof
I want to go out to play woof
I want to play with you bark
I want to play with you grumble
keep away growl
let me in whine
something hurts almost inaudible whine
 
I'd kept dogs for over 40 years when I had a vet visit on another matter (probably sheep). He went to look at the dogs and remarked that a dog sticking out the tip of it's tongue was giving a sign of subjection, i.e. acknowledging that the person or dog it had stuck it's tongue out at was superior. Obviously, it is an observation that would be useful to a vet as it would give a hint whether a dog was likely to bite or not. But it was a new one on me and woke me up to watching for subtle body language I had previously have missed. Of course, "horse" is another language we need to learn!

Then we come on to the language of scent. A whole new subject we can't even begin to imagine because we rely on our noses so seldom!
 
I sometimes struggle to work out when my hounds bark - is it nervousness/anxiety or that they're frustrated and want to be let off the lead to play with another dog?

One of mine has a great howl! When the OH howls back, they all start and its very hard to get them to stop. It seems to work them up, so I wonder too if they're howling because they think something is wrong.

So much I would love to learn about dogs!
 
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