If you are Barking Up The Wrong Tree you have misunderstood something and are now pursuing the wrong course of action. The phrase is of north American origin and comes from the practice of racoon hunting dating back to the 19th century. Racoons are nocturnal animals and so hunters would wander around the forests in darkness using dogs to pick up a scent. Scared racoons would scurry into the branches of trees but hunting dogs would stand with their paws on the trunk, barking. A hunter would then climb the tree to catch the racoon, but would sometimes find it wasn’t there. When this happened it was said the dog had been “Barking up the wrong tree”.