‘They barked to the north, they barked to the south, they barked to the east and west. And each time, they began with three very strange short sharp barks… All dogs know about the Twilight Barking. It is their way of keeping in touch with distant friends, passing on important news, enjoying good gossip.’
The Twilight Barking will be familiar to readers of Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians and to those who grew up with the Disney animation. Pongo and Missis (renamed Perdy in the film version) bark to spread the message that their 15 puppies are missing. The news travels from Primrose Hill via the Great Dane ‘over towards Hampstead’ to reach a remote Suffolk village and soon the brave spotty-dog parents have their lead.
Barking is not the only way that dogs communicate. Much has been written about the meaning of our favourite pets’ vocal sounds, from whines and whimpers to horror-film howling. Stanley Coren, author of How to Speak Dog, identifies nine different types of sounds, including barking in strings of three or four with pauses in between. This, he says, is an alerting call, so Smith was on to something when she imagined how a distressed dalmatian might send out a mayday message. Yet barking mainly indicates the basic emotions, such as fear and excitement.
Far more complex is the information conveyed through another messaging system: scent. A dog’s sense of smell is at least 40 times more sensitive than ours and is used to decode signals from other dogs, including those left in urine. The sniffer can discern sex, age, diet and status from the merest dab of this fragrance.
"Dogs have paired pouches on each side of their anal sphincter that secrete liquid to mark territory"
Once the ‘peemail’ has been read, the recipient will frequently respond with a message of their own. Echoing social media, dogs can tune in to others’ conversations, get a picture of the habits and status of a creature they have never met, add a ‘like’ or engage in a bit of humble bragging by overmarking — spreading their own odours to overpower those of a competitor. The male dog lifts a leg to distribute its scent as widely as possible. A higher mark indicates a bigger dog: your terrier, rotating its hips to near vertical, is cockily doing its best to elevate its status.
At play here are pheromones, the chemicals that turn a mere whiff into fascinating correspondence. The urine is the carrier service, the equivalent of Outlook or Gmail. The body of the message, containing the news, is a dense combination of chemicals. Often, these are detectable only to those of the same species. A rabbit’s wee means far more to one of its own kind than it does to a passing predator.
Pheromones can be contained in liquid or gas and be carried by air or water. Animals produce pheromones in glands or sacs situated in prominent areas such as the head, the rump and their excretion points. Dogs have paired pouches on each side of their anal sphincter that secrete liquid to mark territory, as well as glands between the toes, which is why your dog can feel the urgent need to scratch the ground after defecating, especially if there is a female in heat nearby.
He wants to leave his mark. She, meanwhile, can carry 52 different chemical variations in her urine, enabling a male to discern precisely when she is ready to mate.
Credit: Alamy
The transcendent joy of a really wonderful compost heap — and how the odd bucket of urine will help it come along nicely
Glamorous? Surprisingly, yes, since a Hollywood superstar agrees heartily with Mark Diacono about compost.
How to stop a dog peeing in the house, by A-list trainer Ben Randall
It's one of the nightmare scenarios for a dog owner: a pooch who suddenly forgets that they're toilet trained. Ben
Credit: Alamy
Curious Questions: Why did people used to wash clothes in urine?
An experience far from home prompts Martin Fone to delve into the history of laundry — including the rather unpleasants
Credit: Alamy
Jason Goodwin: 'Urine is sterile – I recommend the bucket-by-the-back-door method, myself'
A single hen can produce about 10lb of manure a month and is the perfect compost accelerator – although Jason Goodwin
-
This blissful converted mill has sweeping views, a breathtaking library and gardens by a Chelsea gold medallistPenny Churchill takes a look at Stanbridge Mill, one of the finest properties for sale today in the west country.
-
The smooth collie: A working breed with beauty and brainsOnce the go-to Scottish herding dog, the smooth collie is as elegant as it is dependable — a working breed with beauty and brains.
-
The smooth collie: A working breed with beauty and brains
Once the go-to Scottish herding dog, the smooth collie is as elegant as it is dependable — a working breed with beauty and brains.
-
A new gilded age: Sir David Attenborough christens a rare golden eagletThe first golden eagle to fledge from the nest of a translocated bird has been rewarded with a name selected by Sir David Attenborough.
-
How Sir Walter Scott made the Dandie Dinmont terrier a legendThis week marked Sir Walter Scott’s birthday — and so it seemed the right moment to celebrate the terrier that owes its fame, and its name, to his pen.
-
'Two months to the Moon, three for rest and refreshment and two more for the return': The English stork success storyLong unseen on British shores, white stork chicks are hatching once again in the UK and a colony is now flourishing in West Sussex thanks to a pioneering restoration project.
-
How the acrobatic buzzard survived persecution to become one of Britain's best avian huntersIt may appear lethargic, but no one could argue with the hunting prowess of the common buzzard when it transforms into a surging missile intent on an unsuspecting victim.
-
From Lincoln to London, the crosses of Eleanor are a legacy of loveA grief-stricken Edward I built a legacy to love across the middle of England in memory of his adored Queen Consort, marked by 12 Eleanor Crosses. The historian Alice Loxton walks in the footsteps of the epic funerary procession.
-
Pier today, gone tomorrow: Blackpool pleasure pier up for saleA product of Victorian entertainment, piers are synonymous with the British seaside. But they need our help to survive.
-
Sophia Money-Coutts: Can my dog sit with me at the table when I’m eating out?'Admittedly, I did once offer Dennis a small piece of truffled arancini in a Mayfair restaurant, but I felt it was important that he try his first truffle.'
