Dogs can be quite loud: they love to bark, whine, and howl. In contrast, wolves behave more reservedly. Of course, they also howl and sometimes make yapping sounds, but these are hard to compare with a dog's bark. What is the reason? How did dogs acquire this trait?
Hungarian ethologist Csaba Molnár suggests that dogs bark because they were "designed" by humans. In a number of studies published in various scientific journals, researchers have proposed that a dog's bark conveys information about feelings or the surrounding environment. However, the dog is "reporting" its state not to its peers, but to humans.
Molnár's statistical algorithm demonstrated that dog barking reflects general patterns of acoustic structure. In terms of pitch, regularity, and harmony, the anxious bark of one dog is remarkably similar to the anxious bark of another. This indicates that barking is a universal means of conveying information understandable to humans.
Other studies have shown that people can distinguish between different types of dog barks and, more importantly, understand their context. In one experiment, volunteers with varying levels of experience with dogs were asked to describe the emotional content of several artificially compiled sequences of barking. There were five options: aggression, fear, despair, playfulness, and happiness. The authors of the study found that even a person with minimal experience with animals has the ability to understand a dog's emotional state!
Scientists suggest that dog barking arose as a result of selective processes. Through evolution and close interaction with humans, dogs developed a communication system both among themselves and with humans. Interestingly, barking is observed only among juvenile wolves. It is possible that when humans domesticated dogs, they always chose the friendlier individuals. And since barking in the wild is found in more vulnerable animals, humans likely preferred barking wolves.
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