Originating back when hunting was still a major sport, this phrase came from when animals were used to track, catch or retrieve prey.

This applies, not least, to dogs. Dogs were used in the chasing of raccoons, which was chiefly undertaken at night and were trained to indicate the tree in which the animal had taken refuge by barking at it.

Of course, even dogs can err and, at times, barked up the wrong tree.

这句话要追溯到以打猎为主要运动的时代，这时的动物们被用来追踪、捕猎和取回猎物。

这个应用，尤其针对狗。狗在当时被用来追踪浣熊，一般都在夜晚进行。狗是被训练过的，可以在浣熊的藏身之树前大叫。

当然，狗也有犯错的时候，它可能对着错误的树大叫.