why do the dogs bark?

Four reasons why a dog can bark

Pain or pathologies: a dog can bark as a manifestation of internal pain or discomfort . A dog suffering from a degeneration of its sensory abilities may also bark due to misunderstanding of the situation or fear. For example, if you do not see properly and cannot interpret what is approaching or your intentions.
Excitation: This type of barking occurs at specific moments when an acute stress phase occurs. It differs from chronic stress because it appears in a timely manner, and high intensity. An example is when your dog barks in the presence of the ball or at the appearance of another dog or person he wants to greet.
Chronic stress : when a dog does not have its exercise needs met, the stress produced accumulates in the body. This can lead to compulsive behaviors, including barking. This type of compulsive barking, which has no adaptive purpose, is known as stereotyped barking.
Stereotypies are behaviors without an apparent function. Its true purpose is to dissipate excess energy and stress from the body, preventing it from accumulating and producing negative effects on health.
An example of compulsive barking is observed in cases of dogs that automatically bark when the door is opened after long periods locked up.

Fear: all dogs have a defense instinct that appears when they feel that they or their territory and resources are threatened. This feeling can be irrational and the dog can bark in the presence of something that it considers a threat, even though it really is not.

Routine: All dogs need routines. This allows them to know what things are important to them, such as going to eat every day, going for a walk at certain times or enjoying your company after work.
The routine gives your dog some control, as his brain knows what is going to happen. Having control gives you peace of mind and reduces your stress levels and therefore compulsive barking.

Homework: Most dogs eat between one and three times a day. The food usually consists of pellets of feed on a plate. However, what they would do in the wild would be more elaborate, like, disembowel prey. Which is undoubtedly much more boring. All dogs need mental challenges to feel competent and relaxed. You don’t need to give him too complicated challenges. For example, spreading his feed on the ground and turning off the light so that he has to look for it with the help of his nose is a simple task within the reach of almost any dog. Another option is to feed him using interactive toys.
Help: when your dog barks at something specific, such as a person or another dog. You are expressing how the presence of that stimulus overwhelms you and you need to push it away . It uses its powerful bark for this. If you watch your dog well, and manage to anticipate his request, you can help him overcome this uncomfortable situation for him without the need to bark. It will therefore stop barking for your dog if necessary.
Alternatives: Sometimes dogs bark to ask us for something, simply because it has worked for them before. If you can’t stop rewarding that barking or you get desperate, try asking for other things in order to achieve your goals. You will soon learn the alternative.

The dogs to whom we always give everything they ask for and have not learned to accept frustration or to disconnect.
Dogs that do not walk properly and remain locked up longer than they should. These dogs are usually proactive and are willing to do things with us. Training them or doing some joint activity can be very beneficial.
Insecure dogs with low self-esteem that are unable to resolve a specific situation, such as being locked up.
Dogs that are afraid of noises or other stimuli when they perceive it.

Most barking is a consequence of the dog’s emotions. They occur automatically, without the dog thinking.

If we manage to pass the behavior of barking to the cognitive pathway, instead of the emotional pathway, we can get our dog to stop barking.

This implies having previously tackled the emotional reason why the dog barks.

Make the dog bark , ideally to get a toy or food
Reinforce with food or play the bark depending on what you want to achieve
After you have achieved this several times, put a command in front of the bark, for example, “bark”
Reinforce with game or food depending on what was chosen
To teach him to shut up: make a gesture and reward the dog for shutting up. This is possible, because to the surprise of the gesture we make, it will stop barking for a second.
After a few times, it begins to use a “hush” command before silence.
With these routines little by little you will have a dog that “barks” or “shuts up” on command.