Answer:
To attempt or pursue a futile course of action, often by making some kind of suggestion or request.
Step-by-step explanation:
Barking up the wrong tree is an idiomatic expression in English, which is used to suggest a mistaken emphasis in a specific context. The phrase is an allusion to the mistake made by dogs when they believe they have chased a prey up a tree, but the game may have escaped by leaping from one tree to another.