While sleeping peacefully at night, you might have wondered why street dogs start barking all of a sudden. Sometimes, it all seems quite absurd, as there are no sure signs of why they are doing this. Also, there are several myths and superstitions associated with dogs barking at night, and a lot of people believe in them, too. What happens is that there are chances of people hurting these poor animals for this reason.
In this blog, you will see 7 concrete reasons why street dogs bark incessantly at night. This will help you understand that they are displaying this behaviour due to genuine reasons.
So let us get started,
1) Form of Expression
Street dogs experience a lot of adversities on a day-to-day basis. Some of these include tough weather, ill-treatment by humans, and challenging environmental conditions. The only way they can communicate and express their pain due to these conditions is by barking or sometimes howling. This helps the dogs gather at a place and fight the problems together. Certain dog breeds like Siberian Husky, Beagle, Dachshund, etc, do howling more than barking, as it is the mode of their communication.
2) Defending Their Territory
This is one of the most common reasons why you hear street dogs barking at night. When it comes to defending their territory, dogs in the streets can even put their life on the line. They do this to ensure that their food and shelter are not jeopardised. When they see a new dog entering their territory, they start barking and howling to call their fellow dogs to gather at the specific place and display their dominance. It also becomes easy for the dogs to physically challenge a threat when they are in a pack.
3) Increased Alertness at Night
Street dogs and even feral cats display tremendous alertness at night, as the atmosphere is silent due to slow human activity. Street dogs, particularly, can sense even the slightest of movements in their vicinity. If they feel something threatening, they will start barking incessantly till more dogs come and join their group. If they see a foreign animal, a new person, or even an unfamiliar sound, they will howl and bark. So the next time you hear street dogs bark at night, know that they have detected something crucial that you have missed.
4) Health Problems
Since life in the streets is tough, dogs also experience many health problems. Sometimes, it becomes extremely hard for them to sleep at night, and they start crying. The common health problems of street dogs include bloating, upset stomach, allergic reaction to foods, etc, which can cause great discomfort in them. Sometimes, causes like injury and pain from fighting with other dogs can also make them bark and cry the whole night.
5) Lack of Food
When street dogs don’t get enough food during the day, they become restless at night due to hunger. This makes them bark, cry and whine, and they pace around their area for food throughout the night. They bark mainly because they think someone will come and feed them. Street dogs barking for food mainly happens in urban areas, where the competition for food among the dogs is high. You might have seen how, in a small area, so many street dogs reside together.
To solve this problem, what you can do is feed some cheap and healthy food to stray dogs during the day. You can also contact your nearest NGO that does community feeding for stray pets.
6) Boredom and Loneliness
Dogs are creatures with high intelligence, and this trait makes them quickly bored as well. They need the company of fellow dogs, some stimulation or some activities going around to avoid boredom. When they get bored, they start barking nonstop and can also indulge in digging and chasing the shadows of objects. You might have also seen them running behind cars, since they find it stimulating as it triggers their chasing instinct.
When the street dogs get bored, they also howl to catch the attention of fellow dogs and other humans.
7) Finding Mates (Mating Season)
Another major reason why dogs bark at night is because of their mating season. Female dogs, when they are in their heat, release pheromones, which attract male dogs in the area. This can make the dogs aggressive and start barking, growling, etc, to win over the female dog. When this happens at night, when it is usually quiet, the sounds can seem highly intense to the people living in the area.
To resolve this problem, you may try to contact your nearest animal NGOs, which will come to your area and spay and neuter the stray dogs.
In a Nutshell,
Dogs barking at night is not always a problem without a cause, as most people think. It is perhaps the best way of communication for these poor creatures, who are already having a tough time on the streets. A lot of people, out of frustration, go hard on these poor creatures, and it is unfair to do so. Perhaps, they rely more on humans to end their daily misery. So we all can do our bit to eliminate their problems, which will only reduce their barking and crying.
So, in short, by being empathetic and working as a community, one can create a peaceful environment for both street dogs and people residing in the area.
Some Common FAQ’s on Street Dog Barking
1) Is it true that Dogs bark more at night, compared to daytime?
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Yes, indeed, dogs bark at night more than day, in general. This is mainly because at night, it is relatively quieter, and dogs react to even the slightest of triggers. This includes unfamiliar sounds, a foreign animal entering their territory, etc.
2) Why do some dogs bark all night long?
3) What should I do if street dogs bark near my house every night?
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Firstly, you should find the cause of the dog’s barking, whether it is hunger, territorial instinct or simply fear. Then you can consider feeding the dogs, contact a local animal shelter or an NGO for sterilising the dogs.
4) How do Animal NGOs help in reducing Dog Barking?
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They do regular feeding of stray dogs, conduct sterilisation drives, create shelters for dogs, etc. Apart from reducing dog barking, this ensures that the residents and street dogs of a particular area are coexisting without any trouble.
5) Is to legal to feed stray dogs by residents of a locality in India?
6) How will spaying or neutering the dogs reduce barking in them?
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Firstly, spaying or neutering the dogs will reduce aggression in them, which is often seen in unneutered dogs who are in their mating season. Secondly, it will also reduce the roaming tendency in the dogs, which in turn reduces conflict with other dogs and barking as well.
7) Is the problem of street dog barking more, in rural or urban areas?
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Although the problem of street dog barking is common in rural as well as urban areas, it is more pronounced in the latter for a lot of reasons. This is because of reasons like higher interaction with humans, more territorial fights with fellow dogs, and a limited source of food in urban areas.
8) Why do street dogs seem to be more active at night?
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You might have seen stray dogs resting during the day. This is because it is tough for them to find food during the day, amidst higher human activity and traffic. Hence, they postpone their food searching for the night, and are more active at this time.
9) Why do street dogs chase cars and bark at them at night?
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When it is generally quiet at night, a moving car excites the street dogs and triggers their chasing instincts. This is the reason why you have seen them chasing and barking at every car during the night.
10) Who barks more, a male dog or a female dog?
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Although both genders of dogs bark at night, male dogs are more vocal than female dogs. This is because they are far more aggressive and tend to indulge in fights with fellow male dogs, making them growl and bark more.
11) Why do street dogs bark more when they are in a pack?
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Barking is a contagious behaviour in dogs, and when the pack is bigger, it only boosts their territorial instincts. When one dog barks, others join in to display their dominance and attack the threat as a group.
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