Me versus barking and trees

You're barking up the wrong tree

Interesting one this - who decides which is the right tree? Or maybe you get a feeling for the rightfulness of the tree when you start barking at it? I needed to find out.

There are quite a lot of trees round where I work so as it was nice out at lunchtime I thought I'd go out and bark at a few. If you'd like to imagine what sort of bark it's more of a German Short-Haired Pointer than Yorkshire Terrier. Deeper rather than yappier.

Anyway, I found a tree, stood three feet or so away and barked. Nothing. I stood closer and barked, further away and barked. At no time did I feel that this was either the right or wrong tree. 

A tree of some sort

I went to a different tree and did the same. And another. Still no sense of rightness or wrongness. Perhaps I was barking at the wrong brand of tree so I went to find a different one. I'm not very good with trees but I know a silver birch when I see one. I barked at that and I barked at an apple tree but there wasn't any difference in how I felt. Nor did anyone tell me that I was right or wrong

After about 20 minutes and many trees I was getting hoarse and rapidly coming to the conclusion that there's no way you can tell which is the right tree or wrong tree to bark at so I wasn't too upset that the security guards came and moved me away from the trees.

Conclusion One: I don't care what you say, you can't tell which is the wrong (or right) tree.

Conclusion Two: Unless this is philosophical and no tree is the right tree and we are destined to search for a tree and never find it.

Conclusion Three: Perhaps dogs have some sort of right or wrong tree sixth sense. I shall investigate this dog notion further...