There are many reasons that a dog may bark.  Some of the main causes of barking could be out of fear, boredom, separation anxiety, attention seeking, and feeling unwell or having health problems.

Also, since dogs have very sensitive ears and noses, they could react to distant noises or smells by barking as a way of alerting.  Footstep sounds approaching from outside a house or a knock at the door could also make a dog bark.  Sudden sounds such as loud backfire from a car or fireworks could also be startling to a dog which would lead it to bark.

Some dogs may bark or growl due to fear or fear/aggression.  It can be considered a guarding technique by a dog that is insecure or not confident when approached by a person and/or dog.

Boredom also plays a factor when it comes to needless barking.  A dog needs a job to do.  For example, a Border Collie is genetically bred to herd sheep. If someone does not have sheep or a job for the Border Collie, then it will try to find something to do such as herd people, children and/or dogs while using its form of communication, barking.

Separation anxiety is also a contributing factor to when a dog could be barking.  When a dog is left alone from the family pack, it will bark to get some attention.  On the other hand, a dog could react by barking when it sees its owner after a period of time apart.

Different remedies could help modify unwanted barking behaviour and one of them is to obedience train the dog daily. In involving one’s dog with consistent positive and motivational obedience training, you are in essence giving it work to do.   By doing this, you are not only decreasing its boredom and unwanted barking behaviour, but you could also be building its confidence to a higher level.