Stray dog
IN PHOTO: A stray dog looks out of its enclosure at Dogtown, a protection, care and adoption centre for stray animals in Uzunu, 35 km (22 miles) south of Bucharest April 25, 2013. Around 400 stray dogs, mainly from Bucharest, are hosted now at Dogtown, waiting for adoption. According to its townhall, 65,000 stray dogs stay in Bucharest and the National Institute for Infectious Diseases reported that 16,000 people were bitten by dogs in 2012, an increase of 3,231 more cases than in 2011. Reuters/Bogdan Cristel

Scientists have discovered that a dog’s bark may contain information about the dog. In a new research conducted by scientists at the Technical University of Madrid and Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, a dog’s bark can give away the dog’s age and sex.

Researchers have created a computer program that can determine a dog’s age and sex by the sound of its bark. They also claim that this development may be used in the future as a tool to help vets make diagnosis for pets, The Independent reports.

For the study published in Animal Cognition, scientists analysed 800 barks from eight Hungarian sheep dogs recorded when they were in various situations, such as having the owner tie their dog to a tree, walking away or having a stranger appear in the dog’s territory. The scientists then study 29 acoustic measurements, including the intensity and the length of the bark. They then develop algorithms to help translate those barks.

The results showed that the scientists were able to identify the sex of the dog through their barks in 85 percent of the cases and they were able to predict if the dog was young, an adult or elderly and 80 percent of the time, according to The Telegraph.

Researchers note that the way dogs “communicate” has been a subject of numerous studies in the past. However, most of these studies focus on studying how dogs can interpret human communication via voice recognition and hand gestures. The recent study is the first of its kind that predicts age and sex of domestic canines through sound analysis.

The Independent reports that professional dog handlers, such as those that work in shelters, do not rely on dog barks when making assessments on animal behaviour. However, the researchers note that their study paved way for software programs that can help identify the level of distress, fear and aggression in dogs to better help with dog handling jobs.

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