How to Decode Your Dog's Barks
To understand what your dog is trying to communicate with its bark, listen for the different features of the bark, like its length, volume, and pitch. For example, a lower pitch bark usually indicates fear or aggression, while a higher pitched bark signals excitement or joy. In addition to the bark itself, pay attention to your dog's body language while it barks. For example, if your dog is barking repeatedly and loudly, it may be excited or it may be guarding something. However, if your dog is also in a defensive stance and showing its teeth, then you know it's guarding.
Understand the variety of things that a dog might be trying to communicate. In order to understand what your dog is saying you first need to know the wide array of things barks communicate. Your dog may be trying to give an alarm, get your attention, showing its territory, greeting you or someone else, showing fear or frustration, expressing its frustration, or simply doing a compulsive behavior. If you understand the wide array of things your dog might be trying to communicate, it will be easier to decode its barks. Distinguish between barks, growls, and howls. Your dog likely makes a wide variety of sounds. If you are interested in decoding your dog's barks, you will first need to distinguish between barks and other kinds of noises. However, these other noises also communicate certain things as well. In general, growls and howls are longer, more sustained noises than barks. Howling in dogs that are left alone usually indicates separation anxiety or loneliness. However, howling can also be used to signal a need for attention or as a warning of environmental concerns, such as thunder. Growling is usually used as a warning or deterrent against trespassers or aggressors. Differentiate between single barks or strings of repeated barks. A single bark is an attention-getting act but it is not as urgent or serious as when your dog barks repeatedly. A dog that is barking repeatedly, and won't stop, is showing its insistence. If a dog is really excited it may vocalize about it by repeatedly barking. Groups of repeated barks may signal excitement or joy just as much as unhappiness or anger. Keep track of your dog's barks. If you really want to have a deep understanding of what your dog's barks mean, try tracking them over time. You may be able to understand how your dog's barks might be related to the phases of its life, such as when its reproductive cycle changes or when it goes through stressful life changes. Make a list of different types of barks you have heard and make an abbreviation for each type. This will allow you to quickly jot down in a calendar or journal what your dog is doing without taking up a lot of time. Listen for the length of the barks. There is a big difference between the message being communicated by a short or a long bark. A short bark signals urgency, while a longer bark is less urgent. A longer bark may signal general displeasure or unhappiness, while a short burst is meant to get immediate attention due to anger or alert. A longer bark can transform into a growl or a howl. This also signals a less acute issue than a shorter bark. Pay attention to the strength of the barks. The strength of the barks, also known at the amplitude, can tell you a lot about what your dog is trying to communicate. In general, the louder the bark, the more important and time sensitive the dog thinks its message is. For example, a dog that thinks there is an intruder coming into your home will bark very loudly to get your, and the intruder's, immediate attention. When judging the amplitude of your dog's bark, keep in mind that you are judging its strength only on your dog's usual barks and not the barks of other dogs. Is the bark you are assessing your dog's normal volume or is it loud and more persistent? This can tell you about how serious the dog thinks its message is. Listen to the pitch of the bark. Pitch is another part of your dog's bark that can give you a lot of information. This aspect, however, can be harder to identify, so it may take you some time to be able to differentiate between a low and a high pitch, especially if you do not hear very well. A low pitch will usually indicate fear or aggression in a dog. This pitch signals strength and that a trespasser should fear the dog. A high pitched bark signals excitement or joy. Watch how your dog moves while it barks. While barks alone can tell you a lot, looking at body language in combination with barks can tell you a lot more. If you are able to, look at your dog's body while it barks in order to make a better assessment. For example, a dog that is barking repeatedly and loudly may be excited or it may be guarding against someone or something. However, if you see that the dog is in a defensive stance and showing its teeth as well, then you know that it is guarding. Look for conditions that might be influencing your dog's barks. If your dog is barking you should try to figure out what it is trying to communicate to you. If you understand the conditions that are prompting a specific bark, then you may be able to switch that around next time the dog does that bark and understand that it signals that condition. For example, it may be telling you that someone is at the front door. If you can identify the specific bark your dog does when someone comes to the door, then the next time your dog does that bark you will know that someone is at your door. Take note of barks that signal specific bodily needs. Barks can be very connected to what your dog wants or expects at certain times of day. If you know that your dog is barking for a specific reason, take the time to identify exactly how that bark sounds to that you can identify it in different circumstances. For example, if your dog needs to be let out to go to the bathroom every morning, pay attention to what that bark sounds like so that you can identify that same bark later. 
Understand the variety of things that a dog might be trying to communicate. Distinguish between barks, growls, and howls. Differentiate between single barks or strings of repeated barks. Keep track of your dog's barks. Listen for the length of the barks. Pay attention to the strength of the barks. Listen to the pitch of the bark. Watch how your dog moves while it barks. Look for conditions that might be influencing your dog's barks. Take note of barks that signal specific bodily needs. 