Don’t you wish you could understand your dog’s barks or your cat’s meow? Wouldn’t it be great if you knew exactly what your dog was trying to tell you when he barks a few ‘doggy words’ to you, or your cat with her meows? We’ve got a short guide of what he might be trying to communicate, but it is extremely important to understand that each pet is unique and will communicate differently. If you spend lots of time with your cat or dog, you will start getting an idea of what he is trying to tell you.
Complex language
As pet owners, we spend a lot of time teaching our dogs various cues, and we learn about their body language. But people haven’t spent that much time learning ‘bark’ and it has become obvious that it is in fact a complex language for humans.
Dogs understand each other, but there might be much more to it than just listening to a dog’s bark. Just like us, dogs also ‘read’ each other’s body language, as well as listening to another dog’s bark.
So, we as humans need to look at the entire situation when we try to figure out what our dogs are saying. Does your dog seem aggressive, or is he frightened? Does it look like he wants to charge something? Is he looking at you? Is he trying to get away? All of these signs need to be ‘listened’ to when your dog is barking.
Would you like to read the rest of the article? Order your digital or printed copy of the June 2022 edition of Animaltalk magazine now at www.coolmags.co.za, or get a copy from a retail store.
