Why does the dog bark even if it sees its master?
It is a common misconception that a dog who barks is directly threatening you. In reality, when barking, the dog throws an alarm: it warns the other members of the pack, which even the man can be part of that something strange is happening.
In wildlife, the alarm has two effects. One for the puppies, giving them time to run and hide, the other for the adults which can come together to organize a response to the looming threat.
However, the warning signal does not specify what the nature of the threat is, the dog does not “clarify”, that is, whether you are a friend or an enemy. It simply intends to signal a new situation.
There’s an explanation for everything
That’s why a dog barks both when its master comes home and when it senses the presence of a thief. However, when the new presence is identified, the barking is replaced respectively by a ceremonial of friendly greetings or a determined attack. Which by contrast, it is instead launched in the absolute silence. The fact that the attack is immediate and silent is proven by drills with police dogs. The assault on the arm of the ‘thug’ is carried out without any sound emission.
Even the fleeing dog prefers deeds to “words”: it runs resolutely, without emitting any sound, at least until it is in a more secure situation. In fact, any type of sound is a symptom of conflict: when two dogs meet and they bark, this is explained by the fact that even the most aggressive dog is still fearful of what can happen.
A real warrior…
On the other hand, when the dog growls, it means that the innate initial fear is followed by an increasingly massive dose of safety in itself. Even in this case, however, the need to attack is as felt as that of fleeing.
If then the sensation of fear is real, the sound attitude of the dog is characterized by a continuous alternation: growling and barking, growling and barking, the dog is willing to launch an attack (growls) but it thinks it is best to call for reinforcements (barks).
Finally, if the dog is definitely afraid, it starts to bark intensely, even for a long time, at least until the danger completely disappeared, that is, until the master arrives. It can therefore be said that the famous saying “barking dogs seldom bite” corresponds to a great truth: the dog that barks is not so brave to attack; the dog that bites does not need to bark to call for help.