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How often does your Golden bark? When do they?

11K views 56 replies 51 participants last post by  starshine 
#1 ·
I kind of want to ask this because my Sandy has barked only a couple of times. She is 5 1/2 months old and it always surprises me when she does it because it is very rare for her. She growls friendly when we play tug, but other than that she is a very very quiet dog.
I tell people that she doesn't bark and either they don't believe me or are very surprised.
How about your Golden? Are they quiet like mine or does something trigger them?


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#29 ·
Remy only barks at trucks and when I'm driving. He will typically stop barking at the trucks if I tell him to - but I have yet to find out how to get him to shut up when riding in the car.

It drives me mad as it is very loud in a small space!!! I know it's a topic for a different thread, but any and all suggestions on how to get him to stop would be appreciated.
 
#30 ·
If squirrels didn't exist, Poppy would never bark, but since they do and because we go into the woods everyday, she barks a few times a year.

For a long time when she was a puppy I wondered if something was wrong with her vocal cords since she never barked. Then she started barking at squirrels occasionaly.

It took me a long time to stop panicking when she barked in the woods. I used to think "coyotes!!" because we have lots of them around here, but now I think "just a poor little squirrel".

I love that she so rarely barks. Barks are so loud, they always frighten me :)
 
#31 ·
One of mine all the time. We live in the country so lots of squirrels, rabbits, deer, etc. Tiger will bark her head off at every leaf that moves while Blondie will look at her like "What's the big deal?" But when you live in the country one reason most people have a dog to let them know someone is near.
 
#34 ·
My Sheldon is 4 months old. You may want to read my post barking at the table.
He's not a frequent barker but he does bark when he wants something.
I had three other golden girls who would only bark when someone was at the door or
they heard an unusual sound. I guess each pup is different.
 
#35 ·
Casper barked today and it was hilarious. He rarely barks. We had a 10-week-old husky puppy over for a playdate. My husband and the husky pup were trading woofs. Cute little husky puppy woofs. Then all of a sudden Casper just lets out a huge, loud, deep-chested bark. We all cracked up.

Learned or genetic? I've lived with two collie, two goldens, and a hound. Based on my experience, collies bark and goldens don't. Hounds are in a completely different category. :) When your 70-pound hound barks, there's a clear message there. The husky pup was very talkative. She barked, woofed, whined, growled, and cried. Very expressive.
 
#36 ·
I posted at the beginning of this post that Tayla didn't bark much, but recently she has started barking when the doorbell rings or she sees something out front or hears something unusual. She will bark if someone comes in she isnt expecting. I only let her do it a couple times before we do quiet. She is almost 14 months and has a menacing bark.


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#38 ·
I posted at the beginning of this post that Tayla didn't bark much, but recently she has started barking when the doorbell rings or she sees something out front or hears something unusual. She will bark if someone comes in she isnt expecting. I only let her do it a couple times before we do quiet. She is almost 14 months and has a menacing bark.


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Yes, Renny has started barking more than usual, too. Mostly it's when we're in the backyard and he sees someone walk by. It's an excited, "I see you/This is my home" bark.
 
#37 ·
I seem to remember reading somewhere when researching about the breed before Billy came home, that not barking is a desired character trait from their original hunting background.

Something along the lines of needing a quiet and relaxed dog around shooting hides that would spring into action when called upon (just because I read it on the internet, it doesn't make it necessarily true though I suppose!)

Billy barks at unattended balloons!!


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#39 ·
Asia doesn't bark alot but will when she is in the yard and there is wildlife around or she spots something unusual. In the house she will never bark when the doorbell rings but will if she spots someone through the window walking by. She has never been a big time barker. Just when she wants to alert us about something.
 
#40 ·
Somehow, my 'quick' reply has turned into a long long posting.... my own version of barking. (and yes, I am guilty of projecting human characteristics on my dogs)


Miss Opus, our previous golden, only barked when she had something really important to tell us... And, when Opus barked we listened because she only barked about 5 times a year.

5 short stories about Opus come to mind:

1 - When I met Jeff, he and Opus were roommates. We had been dating about a month and this was the first time that I had heard Opus bark.
One spring evening we were out walking and came to a childrens playground. When we started to play on the swings Opus began barking at us.
"Bark, bark, bark, bark! Stop it! What are you doing zipping through the air!? You've never done this before. This is dangerous. Stop it right now."
Opus settled down as soon as we stopped flying about.

2 - Jeff was Opus' main man. She rarely let him out of her sight. Jeff had to go out of town for 10 days. When he returned, in typical golden style, she was overjoyed. She wiggled and wagged. But then Opus ran to the toy basket and picked out a favorite plush toy, ran back to Jeff, threw it at his feet and let out a single husky WOOF and then a deep sigh. As though she were saying.. "Where have you been. I thought you were never coming back. I have been so worried about you. Don't ever do that again. I'm so relieved that you are back.

3 - Late one evening while camping in Michigan on the upper peninsula we were in the tent playing scrabble. Suddenly Opus stood, looked around, walked over to the game board, put her head close to ours and softly barked.
We looked at each other and knew something had to be amiss. When Jeff went outside to check out the campsite he discovered a racoon trying to drag a 20 pound container of dogfood into the woods.

4 - Although Opus never said much when she was awake, she often talked in her sleep. It was an ongoing conversation of soft woofs and barks... who know, maybe she was dreaming that she was the biggest meanest dog around. And once in a great while she would bark loud enough to startle herself awake. And she would then look around as if to say "What was that? Did you hear it too?"

5 - For almost 3 years we lived on a boat. Because she rarely ever barked, almost a month passed before our neighbors realized that we had a dog living onboard with us.


We are not so lucky with the current three. Tasha was not as quiet as Opus... but she didn't bark at every little thing. When we added Bob to the family things were still okay. But when Casey came back to live with us, the barking began. And now. several times a day all three dogs find something to bark about. And once one starts, the other two join the barkathon.

And what do they bark about/ and what sort of bark:
The squirrel that shortcuts across the pool enclosure / an excited there it is sort of bark.
The buzzards that like to roost on top of a 50' tall dead pine tree in our backyard / a warning a get out of our yard bark.
When someone knocks at the door, when they hear Jeff's truck pull in the driveway, when I return home from work / an announcement to everyone that he/she is home and the family is reunited.
When a neighbor dog walks past our driveway / hey, I see you, this is my yard.
Sounds (doorbell, other barking dogs, sounds that we don't hear) / I know you're there.
And when they really need to go outside for a bathroom break they walk up to me and woof softly.

Okay... every time I try to edit and shorten this posting I seem to add a little more. Will stop here.

Woof!
 
#42 ·
Buddy can be a pretty vocal guy but he does live with 3 Yorkies so compared to them he is the quiet guy.

Buddy is a big whiny barker especially when he sees other dogs and wants to play. He does "quiet" well though I can't complain too much.
 
#43 ·
Tucker and Tonka

Tucker and Tonka bark like crazy when someone walks by our bay window.
I'm glad they do though-they are good watch dogs-they might lick someone to death if they broke in, though!!
 

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#45 ·
Buddy barks at the fence if someone's on the other side or if Hiro starts barking. Hiro always starts it!

Otherwise, he'll grunt in play and he whines, but he's not very vocal.
 
#46 ·
So far, Dug barks when he is excited during play, or when he wants something, like a toy that's inside his play pen when he's on the other side, or when he wants to go downstairs.....he's currently too little to make it down on his own. I would think it's very unusual to have a dog who barked so little, but I suppose it could be seen as a perk. :)
 
#47 ·
Rocket is a moderate barker. He barks when he is outside and wants in. He barks if he gets really, really riled up (i.e. the kids are running around the house screaming and yelling).

And, rarely, he will switch to his "big boy bark". That is the one that makes me sit up and pay attention, and fast. A couple weeks ago, he was outside before it was light out when all of a sudden he let loose with a deep, growly "back off" kind of bark and was running from the fence that faces the street to the back door where I was. I let him in and he kept up the same bark running toward the front windows and door. I locked up all the doors real fast, let me tell you! He very clearly had seen or heard something that didn't belong on our street.

But overall, I can leave him out in the back yard and he will rarely bark. Even when he plays with other dogs, it's more of a silent wrestling match.

It's a refreshing change from our collie who could never be left outside alone because he would bark incessantly. To the point that the neighbors complained.

I love that Rocket will notify us clearly when something isn't right, and keep quiet the rest of the time.
 
#48 ·
Barkley too has only barked a couple of times in his life I think.

He did growl under his breathe at me recently because I didn't put his window down fast enough in the car. It was priceless to see and hear.
 
#49 ·
Tuco barks when he's in a very heated playfight and we have trained him to bark when he needs to go to the washroom outside, he also barks for attention occasionally but we are trying the stop that . I wouldn't worry though, my old golden almost never barked only when he got very exited


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#51 ·
Brew has just started barking when he's in the back yard, but it's because we just got new neighbors next door and they have a couple kids who like to play in their back yard, the people that used to live there were older and never outside, so kids back there are new to Brew, so he barks at them. Other then that he only barks at scary garbage cans sitting curbside in the evening LOL. Oh, and at night when I'm walking him he will also bark at people, but that's because it's dark and he can only see a figure moving and he'll only let out a warning wooof, it's enough to usually send the person walking across the street, and I'm fine with that. He keeps me safe!

On our trail hikes he never barks, if he hears something he just freezes and stares, using his eyes and nose to try to figure it out.
 
#52 ·
I never heard Bear bark until she was 6 months old! Kenzie on the other hand is a barker. She does bark at the doorbell, but by far I'm the main think she barks at. If I'm not doing something she wants me to she will bark at me. Kenzie seems to be most bothered when I'm on the phone, my guess is because I'm not paying attention to her. Bear was the exact same way, the minute I get on the phone she would start doing things that required my attention and bark at me if I didn't pay attention to her.
 
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