[hdbc]

I don’t think any dog breed barks more than a dachshund.

[kanawa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nupfxo2ihQc

[dfwgator]

The same reason they lick their you-know-whats.......Because they can!

[Reeses]

It might be presumptuous to think that barking evolved on our account, but right now, it's the most plausible explanation we have!

For humans, tribal warfare is the special evolutionary pressure that selects for gradually increasing advanced intelligence. Tribes with dogs that alert of impending raids have a competitive advantage over tribes without. The primary function of the domesticated dog is to hear, see, or smell approaching thugs, government or freelance, then bark their head off. Since the Waco fiasco, SWAT teams now use silencers for the sole purpose of killing the dogs at the start their raids without blowing their cover. Police hate dogs.

[Rapscallion]

Maybe the barking of the dog acted as a homing sound for primitive man hunting far from home. By walking toward the barking he could find his way back.

Your dog knows when you are home. So he acts as a sentinel alerting you to the sound of someone’s arrival...for good or bad you can be ready.

The reason dogs bark is because they are and want to remain the friend of humanity....perhaps our best animal friend. Dog behavior has been rewarded with friendship by humans for thousands of years.

[RoosterRedux]

Why Do Dogs Bark? It's Still Mostly a Mystery.

I'm going out on a limb here, Alec, but does it have something to do with communication?

[Pharmboy]

During our tribal time as hunter-gatherers and the dogs' domestication, they barked to make their human buddies aware of strangers and/or danger of any sort. That's why they bark.

They co-evolved with us.

[minnesota_bound]

Remember this? Animal sounds.
https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5528382/il_fullxfull.262724919.jpg

[Fledermaus]

Squirrel Warning!

[BigEdLB]

Rufus sez, “I bark, therefore I am”

[Rebelbase]

I don’t know why they bark but I love howling with them.

[ThomasThomas]

Because they can.

[lonevoice]

Dog barking evolved as a means to communicate with humans. Interesting.

[tarawa]

Our Malamute rarely barks, and when he howls it is definitely for specific situations. The barks are pretty much all warning or surprise barks. The howls are pretty rare as well, but those are more for not paying attention to what he wants you to pay attention to, or sometimes just to talk. He will actually try to mimic what you say in his howls sometimes.

[central_va]

Dogs can hear other dogs barking miles away. Their hearing is phenomenal. My dog “talks” to other dogs at night. I just can’t hear the responses.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

We like to get our dog howling when he starts barking at us. His barks are loud and go right through you. So we’ll start howling, and he’ll join in. Then he forgets what he was barking about.

[central_va]

Dogs were the first alarm system. They are looking out for us. Ancient man would have never slept very well without the dog. The dog is responsible for a lot of man’s advancement, security is really important it leads to other endeavors when you don’t have to keep a look out 24/7.

[mollynme]

My 8 month old schnoodle barks so rarely that when she does, it startles me. On Halloween, she let out one bark the first 2 times she heard someone rustling the leaves in the front yard but by the time the third group had appeared for their candy, she ignored it. I am resigned to the fact that she will never be a good watch dog.
It might be the breed. My brother and his wife were burgled a few years ago and my sister in law is sure that their schnauzer personally escorted the burglar through their house, showing him where all the good stuff was. LOL

[dfwgator]

Because they can.