I leave in a very rural area, adjacent to a relatively large concentration of Amish. Hence, a horse and buggy passing by on the road out front (or back) of my house is a not infrequent occurrance, happening several times a day at least.
My dogs will not bark at any vehicles that pass by ( unless they stop, like mail carrier or UPS/Amazon). They WILL bark at walkers, joggers, cyclists, and skateboarders. But they will not bark at a horse and buggy.
At first, I thought it was a function of speed (won’t bark at something going fast), but honestly someone on a bike or a skateboard is usually travelling faster than the buggy. The other obvious trigger would be seeing a person…a walker/jogger/biker/ skateboarder is recognizably human. So perhaps they will bark at PEOPLE. But some buggy’s are open vs. closed, and the driver (and passengers) are clearly visible and recognizable. They still won’t bark at these. And they will bark at a stopped car regardless of whether someone steps out. ( About a month ago, they were doing some roadwork on the front road, and a flagmen regularly had traffic stopped in front of our house. That was a LONG day!)
So what do you think going on in their little doggy brain? What is the doggy algorithm for bark/don’t bark? Posted here since I can’t imagine there is a factual answer.
Our dog does not bark at horses (with or without rider) but does bark at deer.
I’ve given up trying to figure out what goes on in doggy brain. Just now she passed up a treat that she really loves because our daughter opened her study door and invited her in, a very rare indulgence. There are no treats, or indeed any food of any kind, in the study.
I had a dog once that barked at everything that moved. Deer were a favorite. We have a big concentration of deer here. So he got plenty of opportunity. He got brave. He started running toward them. They would scatter at first, but they got used to him.
A buck kicked him in the butt once. He never barked at deer again.
If working my nerves count as working, then yes. But by all conventional definitions, definitely not.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t WANT them to bark at the buggy. I just wonder why they don’t. This time of year when the weather is nice there are frequently people passing on the back road especially, and the constant barking is annoying. It seems obvious to me that they will only bark at what they perceive to be a threat. But then what is the “threat algorithm”? And why does a horse and buggy not check that box?
In case your wondering ( or think it relevant), one is a 3 yr old beagle and the other an 11 year old pug/dachshund mix.
My dog is fascinated by horse and buggies, whenever he sees on, he is just enchanted and doesn’t make any noise when he sees one. He will bark at horses if he’s safely in the car, but if I lower the window, he shuts up real quick.
My thinking and belief* is that Beagles are the dog who smells first, middle ways and last of any dog(I include Bloodhounds, they have an advantage), purely, and fully.
A smell they are not acquainted with would certainly get their noses going. And that Beagle bark. The clear bell tone is when they are truly interested.
This dog must think the horses are a fine addition to his recreating, outdoors. So he accepts them.
*I know Beagles, My husband has kept a kennel pack for many years.
Dogs are individuals, so one particular dog’s bark/don’t bark decision process may differ from another’s.
Probably a good thing in safety terms that yours doesn’t bark at horses, which could easily spook the horse into bolting and endanger buggy occupants (as well as bystanders).
Specific breeds are bred for specific jobs. Especially sporting and working breeds.
Beagles can have the odd quirk in an individual. After seeing about 100 go thru the motions of being a Beagle, I can say with a tiny bit of authority a Beagle will bark at a moving object. Smelly animal related particularly.
I’ve raised a couple of orphans from the pack into house pets. They never stop smelling the ground, barking and running after it. Unless you block the run you’ll find them in the next county.
The Beagle, as a breed, is a pretty predictable dog. Even mixed with a pug or dachshund you’ll get the Beagle behavior.
It’s not an easy breed for firsties. But they will love you like no other. Loyal to a fault.
(I’ll wait. I’m sure 20 folks will tell me I’m crazy, their Beagle doesn’t bark at any thing or ever run off. I say take them to a field on a long lead and watch)
My parents had a beagle who rarely barked except when chasing rabbits. Our previous dog was a beagle Australian cattle dog mix. She used her beagle bark sometimes and her cattle dog bark other times. Our current dog likes to bark, but I’m not sure he would consider barking at an animal the size of a horse a good idea.
I do notice that with my dogs they learned really quickly not to bark at birds because they are never, ever going to get a bird and the birds will skedaddle as soon as dogs arrive. So it’s just not worth it.
They finally gave up barking at the chipmunks that come sit on the front landing, inches away from the front door, because the dogs would lie there being mad at the chipmunks and the chipmunks weren’t bothered one bit. So the dogs just gave up.
But the fact that your dog barks at everything else with no obvious distinction makes this a real head scratcher!!
Is the dog a rescue? Might they have come from an Amish farm?
My Grady was scared of ev-er-y-thing that made the slightest noise. From fireworks & thunder, to house flies, Amazon trucks and referee whistles. But we live next to a high school track and hear a lot of starting pistols and he NEVER even acknowledged the existence of a noise with those starting pistols. Even when we were walking right by the track. Scared the shit out of me but nope, Grady didn’t notice. I chalked it up to maybe he was around a lot of guns in the year he lived before he came to me.
