Our neighbor has a Schnauzer, who is Sonny’s favorite “big dog friend.” However, we rarely see it during the day; usually, we only run into it occasionally when walking in the evening. There are eight apartments on our floor, all relatively small. The neighbor mentioned that her dog is quite peculiar—normally very well-behaved, but every time a particular household returns home, her dog suddenly barks furiously. When anyone else comes back and makes noise, it doesn’t bark at all—only at that one household, and it’s not just a little bark; it’s aggressive barking.Sonny, on the other hand, doesn’t bark nonstop just because someone walks past our door, though he might bark a few times indiscriminately. However, when his “good friend” passes by the door, I can clearly sense his excitement. This shows just how incredibly sensitive a dog’s ears and nose are—they can actually distinguish exactly who is outside the door.So, what could be the reasons for a dog suddenly barking aggressively? There are several possible explanations:
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Sensing unfamiliar or unpleasant smells
Anyone who has had a dog knows that their sense of smell is incredibly acute—they can detect even the tiniest scent. If someone is a butcher, for example, the dog can pick up the smell of blood on that person, which may make it dislike them, resulting in nonstop barking whenever it sees them. It is even said that if someone has eaten dog meat or similar, dogs can detect it and will also show dislike toward that person.
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Fear or dislike of someone
Dogs may not have the best memory for details, but when it comes to emotions, their recollection is deep. If they like or dislike someone or something strongly, they can remember it for a long time. If a person has scared them or been aggressive toward them before, the dog may develop a “psychological shadow” regarding that person, leading to aggressive barking every time they meet. This is a display of fear—dogs bluff to try to intimidate the other party.
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Territorial awareness and alertness
Dogs are highly territorial. When a stranger enters what the dog perceives as its territory, it may see them as a threat and attempt to scare them off with loud barking. When I was a child, I had to pass by a house with a dog on the way to school. Every time someone passed by, the dog would bark furiously until the person was gone. Dogs like this are natural watchdogs; scaring intruders is part of their duty. Some dogs may not bark but will keep a steady, intense gaze on you. I’ve heard that these dogs can be even scarier—they have absolute confidence in their abilities, and if you truly offend them, running away won’t save you.
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Picking up the owner’s dislike
Dogs are truly fascinating—they can sense if their owner dislikes someone. If the owner dislikes a person, the dog may adopt the same attitude. Sometimes, it will even bark aggressively to scare that person every time they appear. In casual chats with my neighbor, I learned why her dog only barks at that one household. Apparently, that family often leaves kitchen scraps at the door after meals for days, letting them rot and stink, without ever disposing of them. They were even complained about several times, but nothing changed. The dog seems to sense the owner’s frustration toward them, and every time it hears that family returning, it barks furiously, almost as if helping the owner scold them.
Sunny hasn’t had any experiences of barking furiously at anyone so far. Has your dog ever done that?
