How Do Dogs Bark?

0:00How do dogs bark? Hi, welcome to Curious Kids Every Day. I'm Josh. How are you doing today? It's so good to hear from you. Hey, do you know what this sound is? Yep, that's a dog barking. There is really no animal that makes the sound a dog makes. You hear that bark and you know it's a dog. You might not know what kind of dog, but you know it's a dog. Well, I guess if you hear a bark like this, you can at least guess the size of the dog. Does this sound like a big dog or a small dog? Yeah, that sounds like a big dog to me. Have you ever wondered how dogs bark?

1:04Can you bark like a dog? Woof! It just sounds like a human doing an impression of a dog. How do dogs make that sound? I always think you could give out this question today because I got an email from a curious kid named Dempsey. Dempsey wondered how do dogs bark? Okay, let's build a dog bark. Are you ready? Here's everything a dog needs to create that sound. First, a dog needs air. Dogs pull air into their lungs when they breathe in and they push air out when they breathe out. That outgoing air is the power behind a bark. But what pushes the air out? A strong breathing muscle called the diaphragm. Can you say diaphragm?

2:10It's a big muscle under the lungs. When a dog wants to bark, the diaphragm helps push air up and out. Kind of like squeezing air out of a balloon. Next, the air travels through a tube called the trachea. Can you say trachea? Inside a dog's throat is a part called the larynx. Can you say larynx? People sometimes call it the voice box. Inside the larynx are two special folds of tissue called vocal cords. But even though we call them cords, they're not like a rope or string. They're more like two stretchy soft flaps. And when a dog is just quietly breathing, those vocal cords stay open so air can pass through easily. But when a dog barks, the brain tells the muscles and the larynx to bring the vocal cords closer

3:13together. Then the air from the lungs pushes through that smaller space and makes the vocal cords vibrate, which means they wiggle back and forth super fast. And that vibration makes a sound. You know how when you pull a rubber band really tight and then you flip your finger onto the rubber band, it makes that sound. It's kind of how your vocal cords work. Okay, well, so far all of this has sounded identical to how humans talk, right? But dogs don't sound human when they bark. So what's the difference? Well, one big difference is how the air is pushed out. When humans talk, we usually let air flow out

4:23in a smooth stream so we can form words. But dogs do they let that air come up in a calm, peaceful way? Dogs often push air out in quick bursts. Those short bursts of air make the sharp sound we recognize as a bark. Can you try to talk using short air bursts? Another difference is how much control humans have over our voices. Human vocal cords are a lot more advanced so we can make hundreds or thousands, hundreds of thousands of different sounds for our speech. Dogs can change their sounds too, but not quite as much. They can bark, whimper, wine, but not much else.

5:29And then there's the shape of the dog's mouth and snout. After the sound is created in the voice box, it travels through the dog's throat and mouth and nose. These spaces shape the sound before it comes out. Because dogs have very different head shapes than humans, the sound gets shaped differently. That's why a big dog might make a deep booming bark. While a tiny dog might make a high squeaky bark. The size of the throat and the mouth and the snout changes how the sound echoes and comes out. Try this. Put your fingers and your thumb in the shape of a circle like a funnel and put it in front of your mouth like this. Now make a noise. Okay, now make your hands in a bigger circle and do it again.

6:31Do you hear that difference? The sound I'm making with my voice didn't change, but the shape of my hands in front of my mouth were different. That affects the sound that you hear when it comes out. So the basic ingredients are the same as human voice. Air from the lungs, vocal cords vibrating in the voice box and the mouth shaping the sound, but dogs use quick bursts of air when they make sounds. And the shape of their body changes the sound into the bark that we recognize right away. That's how a dog barks. Okay, let's have a quick quiz. What is the voice box called that helps make a bark?

7:36It's called the larynx. And what do we call the two stretchy folds that vibrate to create the sound? We call those vocal cords. And what is the big breathing muscle under the lungs that helps push air out? That's called the diaphragm. Let's play true or false? Sure, false. Dogs need air moving out of their lungs to power a bark. Yep, that's true. True or false, vocal cords are hard bones that click together to make barking sounds. No, that's false. Sure, false. The trachea is a tube that helps air travel between the lungs and the throat. That is true. True or false, a dog's mouth and throat can help shape how a bark sounds.

8:37That is true too. Would you rather have a dog that could talk like a human? Or would you rather have the ability to understand everything that every dog is saying? Hmm, so would you rather have a dog that speaks human or be a human that can understand dog? I think I would rather be able to understand what all the dogs were saying. I'm not sure what I think about having a dog that can speak like a human. But it probably would be cool. All right, I'm going to name something and you tell me if that is a type of dog or not. Are you ready? Is a beagle a type of dog? Yes, it is. What about a poodle? Yes. What about a ferret? No. How about a Dalmatian?

9:37Yep. What about an iguana? No. What about a hamster? Nope. How about a Greyhound? Absolutely. Well, now we know how dogs bark. It's very similar to how humans talk with a few differences that make it sound very distinct. Oh, I think that dog is saying that it wants to go outside. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, he said yes, he wants to go outside. All right, I'll take you out. What kind of question do you think we'll ask tomorrow on curious kids every day? I can't wait to find out. So until then, keep asking questions and stay curious, kids. And we've got a few birthdays today. Today is Chloe's birthday. Chloe is from Maine and Chloe is turning to Happy Birthday, Chloe.

10:40Thomas is from Virginia and Thomas is turning six. Happy Birthday, Thomas. Julian is from Nevada and Julian is turning six. Happy Birthday, Julian. And Caden is from Maryland and Caden is turning seven. Happy Birthday, Caden. To all the grownups listening, if you're curious, kid wants their birthday mentioned on the show, please visit supportcuriouskids.com and join the curious kids club that supportcuriouskids.com. And to submit questions for the show, please visit curiouskidseveryday.com. That's curiouskidseveryday.com. See you tomorrow.