Every guardian must have seen their dog barking at nothing at some point and wondered why. The truth is that there are many reasons why dogs bark at nothing, from anxiety to wanting to get their owner's attention. Some people even say that this happens because the dog has a sixth sense that makes him see ghosts. It is not scientifically proven thatdogs see spirits, but one thing is for sure: the reason why dogs bark at nothing may indeed be related to the dog's senses, but those of hearing and smell. the Paws of the House explains exactly why a dog barking at nothing may actually have a specific sound or smell as its cause. Check it out!

The dog barking at nothing may be a reaction to a very distant sound

While humans can pick up sound frequencies of up to 20,000 Hz, a dog's ear can pick up 40,000 Hz. This means that canine hearing is much more sensitive than human hearing and receives sounds much more intensely. This is one reason why dogs are afraid of fireworks, for example.

A dog's keen hearing means that it can pick up sounds at much greater distances than the human ear, so a dog barking at nothing is often just reacting to a noise that we can't hear. A good example is a distant siren. It's very common to see a dog barking at nothing and a few minutes later an ambulance passing in front of the house. What?It turns out that the puppy had already heard this sound long before the guardian. Barking is a dog's reaction to sounds, whether it is a siren, another dog barking or any other noise.

The dog barking at nothing may be reacting to a specific noise or smell

Sensitive scent pickup may be a reason for the dog barking at nothingness

Another sense that dogs have that explains why they bark at nothing is their sense of smell. A dog's sense of smell is so exceptional that many dogs even work as sniffers, helping the police to find objects and even people. A dog's snout is highly developed to pick up smells. Its olfactory cells allow it to perceive odours clearly,identifying exactly what the smell is and from which direction it comes.

Dogs can even sniff at long distances. Have you ever noticed that your puppy notices when you are coming home? This is because he recognizes your scent from afar! It is very common to see a dog barking at nothing because he is actually smelling his owner close to home, even if he is still at a considerable distance. In addition, because he has a very sensitive sense of smell,dogs pick up smells that we don't. They can, by sniffing an object, tell exactly who has been there or pick up a smell that we can't identify. As this catches their attention, their reaction is to bark. So, the keen sense of smell is one of the reasons why dogs bark at nothing.

Anxiety, health problems or attention seeking also explain why dogs bark at nothing

Hearing and nose are some of the reasons why dogs bark at nothing, but they are not the only ones. Dogs can have this behavior because of the most diverse factors, such as stress and anxiety. Often, when they are bothered by a situation or even bored, dogs react with barking. The dog barking at nothing may also be wanting to get the owner's attention of some kind.Whether it's calling for a joke or warning of a dangerous situation, dogs that have a keener protective instinct tend to bark more to alert their guardian that something is different. In addition, a dog barking at nothing can also be a sign of sadness or even a health problem, such as pain. In this case, watch out for other signs and take it with you.the pet to the veterinarian to find out the cause.