I used to think it hurt dogs to bark. When I was a kid I would bark, just for fun. In short order, my throat would feel chaffed. Poor dogs, I thought. They are torturing themselves. But when I grew up I met more dogs and put that notion aside. They must bark in a way that doesn’t hurt them, anymore that it hurts us to talk. But there have been times I’ve spoken so much my throat hurts. I talk less now. However, I’m still working on the listening part.

Now I just nod yes when a dog barks. They are onto something.