A dog can be a person’s best friend， or so the theory goes. But that relationship can be tested when a dog begins barking at an empty corner of a room， at a door， or anywhere where there doesn’t appear to be any activity at all taking place.

Is the dog hallucinating？ Or does it simply want to drive its owner to the brink of sanity？

According to the American Kennel Club （AKC）， the most common explanation for unprompted barking is that it’s not really unprompted at all. Instead， it’s likely that humans are simply unable to perceive whatever visual， aural， or olfactory cues the dog is sensing.

Dogs are， obviously， equipped with superior hearing， including the ability to detect sounds that are higher in pitch. In theory， a dog could be reacting to a noise that a person nearby wouldn’t be able to hear—possibly a far-off vehicle siren.

If a dog barks seemingly unprompted at night， it might be because ambient noise is lessened and they’re more attuned to the barking of other dogs. Because dogs are territorial， one dog barking can turn into many.

常理上來(lái)講，狗是人類最好的朋友。但當(dāng)狗對(duì)著房間里空蕩蕩的角落，對(duì)著門，或?qū)χ魏我粋€(gè)沒有動(dòng)靜的地方汪汪叫時(shí)，這份友情可能就要面臨考驗(yàn)了。

是狗出現(xiàn)幻覺了嗎？抑或是狗只是想把主人逼瘋？

美國(guó)養(yǎng)犬俱樂部稱，對(duì)于毫無(wú)來(lái)由的汪汪叫最常見的解釋是它可能并不是真的無(wú)緣無(wú)故，而可能是人類無(wú)法察覺到狗能感知到的視覺、聽覺或嗅覺線索。

顯然，狗具有超級(jí)敏銳的聽力，能聽到更高音調(diào)的聲音。理論上，狗可能是在對(duì)某種聲音做出反應(yīng)，可能是遠(yuǎn)處車輛的鳴笛聲，而人聽不見這個(gè)聲音。

如果狗在夜里m7vatOVcR4z8COuG5b2ZEw==似乎無(wú)緣無(wú)故地叫起來(lái)，這可能是因?yàn)樗闹艿穆曇魷p弱了，讓它可以聽到其他狗的叫聲。因?yàn)楣肥怯蓄I(lǐng)地意識(shí)的，所以一只狗汪汪叫可能會(huì)引發(fā)多只狗開始模仿。

Dogs are also able to see better in the dark than humans thanks to their ability to get more light into their retinas. If a dog is reacting to what looks to you like an empty backyard at night， it’s possible that something has caught their attention， be it a wild animal or a leaf.

That’s not to say that dogs only bark when their canine senses are triggered. Some dogs might bark spontaneously out of boredom， in which case more exercise or playtime is probably needed. They might be trying to get their owner’s attention.

The AKC recommends that owners avoid scolding their dogs for barking， since they’re simply trying to remain alert. Instead， you can try reassuring the dog to let it know you’re aware of its concern. If it tends to bark while gazing out a window， you can try to manage their vantage point with curtains. If you suspect the source is an audio cue， some white noise， like a television or radio， can help.

Less often， chronic barking might be a sign of cognitive issues. If barking is persistent， then you might consider a trip to the vet.

狗在黑暗中比人看得更清楚，這是因?yàn)樗鼈兊囊暰W(wǎng)膜能吸收更多光線。如果狗晚上對(duì)著空蕩蕩的后院汪汪叫，那么可能是它注意到了某樣?xùn)|西，也許是一只野生動(dòng)物或是一片樹葉。

這并不意味著狗汪汪叫都是因?yàn)樗鼈儾煊X到了什么。有些狗可能只是因?yàn)闊o(wú)聊，才自發(fā)地叫起來(lái)，從而試圖引起主人的注意，這表明它們需要更多的運(yùn)動(dòng)或玩樂時(shí)間。

美國(guó)養(yǎng)犬俱樂部建議，狗主人盡量不要在狗汪汪叫的時(shí)候訓(xùn)斥它們，因?yàn)樗鼈冎皇潜３志X而已。相反，你應(yīng)該試著去安撫狗，讓它知道你已經(jīng)了解它的擔(dān)憂。如果狗總是一邊望向窗外一邊叫，你可以試著拉上窗簾，讓它看不到窗外的事物。如果你懷疑狗是因?yàn)槁牭搅四撤N聲音而叫，你可以播放一些白噪音（比如打開電視或收音機(jī)）來(lái)掩蓋這種聲音。

盡管不太常見，但長(zhǎng)期汪汪叫也可能是狗出現(xiàn)認(rèn)知問題的信號(hào)。如果狗總是不停地叫，你可能要考慮帶它去看獸醫(yī)。

Word Bank

sanity /'s?n?ti/ n. 精神正常

perceive /p?'si?v/ v. 注意到；察覺到

I perceived a change in his behavior.

ambient /'?mbi?nt/ adj. 周圍的；周圍環(huán)境的

attuned /?'tju?nd/ adj. 熟悉；適應(yīng)

He seemed unusually attuned to people’s feelings.

persistent /p?'s?st?nt/ adj. 持續(xù)的；反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的