# Barking and growling at nothing?



## goldenenthusiast (Jul 28, 2014)

In the last few days I've noticed my boy becoming a lot more vocal. At the park, when he pinned other dogs, he started making this loud growling noise. I was surprised, as he's usually silent. However the other owners assured me this was just play growling, and I've seen a lot of other dogs doing it.

In addition, he will sometimes bark and growl at nothing in the house. It appears to happen after I bring him back from a long walk. He will run over to his bed, dig like crazy, then stare out the window. We live in a high rise with a balcony so all he sees is the tiny cars and pedestrians in the street below. He growls out the window, then he'll run like a maniac, leap onto the couch, dig there, and bark or growl some more. He also stares at his reflection and barks and growls, which he never did before. Or he will just be growling at nothing while digging in his bed. I try to engage him with his toys but he appears disinterested or restless. He'll play a little bit, then stare somewhere (out the window? at the wall?) and growl again.

Is he just playing? Is this boredom? Excess energy? Is he being aggressive? Is he barking at some perceived "intruder" from outside? Often he's nowhere near the window when he's growling.

I enjoy silence, and I don't want his barking to become more frequent, as it is quickly becoming. How do I handle this? I've just been ignoring it, or trying to get him to pay attention to his toys. I also tried a short training session, sit, down, come, wait, which worked fine. He's very smart with all his commands. But then it was back to restless staring.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

He may need more exercise, but it really sounds like normal puppy play too.


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## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

My dog barks at our cat to get her to play. You can imagine how well that goes over.

Bailey generally barks when he's lonely or thirsty or otherwise trying to communicate something to a non-dog. We are lucky that it's infrequent.

When he was little, he vocalized more when he played with other dogs, but now he's more selective in his barking. Maybe your puppy will also settle down his barking as he grows and gains experience.


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## Loukia (Sep 20, 2014)

My puppy does something similar after a walk. He flips on his back, kicks his legs (like he's riding a bike) and growls while he thrashes about. It's hilarious! He seems to do this any time he's gotten a lot of exercise, almost as if it's a quick burst of energy and then he falls fast asleep. 

It sounds like your puppy might be doing something similar to mine. Does your puppy fall asleep soon after?


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Sounds like playing and also the zoomies. Completely normal.


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## Loukia (Sep 20, 2014)

cubbysan said:


> Sounds like playing and also the zoomies. Completely normal.


I LOVE the zoomies... if only he would do them long enough for me to get a video!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Sounds like a normal puppy, he's not being aggressive. The running around like a manic, jumping on furniture, barking and growling is the "zoomies". Check YouTube, there are many on there.


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## goldenenthusiast (Jul 28, 2014)

Sorry for the slow reply, I've been on vacation. My pup has been staying at his grandparent's house for the past few weeks. I just got back yesterday and I'm shocked. He's significantly more vocal now!

So, I understand that the running around on the couch and barking is zoomies, and that's okay. OK, cool. His zoomies ARE funny. However, it's usually triggered by something else. For example, he will be playing with his toys normally for awhile, then suddenly come over and bark and growl at me. I don't know what to make of it, it doesn't really look friendly. He kind of stares hard at me and barks, then growls. He doesn't bare his teeth, but sometimes his nose kind of scrunches. Then, after I ignore him, he'll go ahead and start doing the zoomies and barking and growling on the couch and running around like a maniac. What is he trying to say?

Other times, he will be walking around, barking and growling, no zoomies. He'll bark up the stairs, or at the garage door where people come in. I approach him and talk to him, and then he barks and growls while staring at me.

In addition, he barks at the door and window a lot. I'm still at the boyfriend's parent's house. Today after I took him potty, he was really focused on something across the street. It's subzero temps here and his paws have been hurting him, so I just pulled him back inside. He spent the next 10 minutes barking at the door. I tried distracting him by talking to him, pretending to investigate the "threat," and waving his toys at him. He just ignored me. Then he walked across the house to the kitchen window and barked out the window. I keep the blinds closed on the window, but that doesn't deter him. He's also been randomly barking out that window throughout the day.

I know that some barking is due to pent-up energy. Unfortunately due to the temps here it's been impossible to walk him at all. I just take him potty and that's it. But when the temps were warm last week, his grandparents took him to the dog park where he played hard, and they also took him on long walks, but they still reported his increase in barking to me. (I do know that it is important to give him a lot of exercise. A few days before I left for vacation, I took him to the dog park every day and he played HARD. It also takes about half an hour to walk there so our lunch walks would be 2 hours total. Plus the 40 min morning and 30 min evening walk.)

However, I'm also kind of DISAPPOINTED because he gets a lot more activity and attention than many dogs who spend their day in the crate. I've been home with him and his grandparents have been him throughout the day. He's only crated at night and is never home alone. He's never been boarded. Since we got him, he spends the day playing with his toys, chewing on stuffed Kongs and antlers, napping, going on walks, and going to the dog park. He grew up in the city and meets tons of people and dogs daily. I take him to different scenes such as shopping malls and pet stores at least once a week. We reinforce his training every day and he's excellent at it (except for drop it). We start two more classes (basic obedience and tricks class) in a week. So why is he acting like a restless, bored dog who gets no attention?

I am just surprised at this change in his behavior. He used to bark once a week. In the days before I left, it was maybe a couple times every few days. Now it's multiple times a day. I'm just asking, am I being totally paranoid? Is this normal dog behavior that other people have seen? I guess I just assumed that Goldens are mostly quieter than other dogs. But sometimes I hear the neighbor's dogs barking incessantly behind their fence, and I don't want that to happen to him. Not only is it annoying, but he just doesn't seem content when he's barking. I want him to be relaxed.


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## Brads035 (Apr 1, 2014)

I think he is trying to get you to play with him - that is the way puppies try to get other dogs to play. Maybe you can chase him, play "monster" or grab his toys to throw or tug and interact with him. He is also probably at an age where he is discovering his voice and trying to see what he can get, or influence other people/animals/things to do by vocalizing.


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## Loukia (Sep 20, 2014)

To add to Silverdoe's questions... what is the best response when a dog is barking? Is ignoring it and waiting it out the best alternative? Does engaging in play reward the barking? And what's the best response when you can't play (like at dinner time)?

I ask because my 6 month old puppy barks at me when I do dishes, cook dinner or eat my lunch (it's often people food related... and he doesn't get any). He barks to act demanding, like "pay attention to me! I want that food!"


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## Chritty (Aug 17, 2014)

Loukia said:


> To add to Silverdoe's questions... what is the best response when a dog is barking? Is ignoring it and waiting it out the best alternative? Does engaging in play reward the barking? And what's the best response when you can't play (like at dinner time)?
> 
> I ask because my 6 month old puppy barks at me when I do dishes, cook dinner or eat my lunch (it's often people food related... and he doesn't get any). He barks to act demanding, like "pay attention to me! I want that food!"



It's the best time to teach "Speak" because once speak is down then "shush" can be taught!!!


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## Chritty (Aug 17, 2014)

Silverdoe I totally understand how you feel. Millie has just gone to barking everyday whereas before I was proud to say that she might bark once a week. 

As I said to Loukia, teach speak and shush. There's plenty of barking to come...


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## goldenenthusiast (Jul 28, 2014)

Thanks for your responses. I know it seems trivial, but I am glad to know that at least other goldens do this, and my puppy isn't just abnormally bratty or something. Next time if I catch him barking multiple times in a row, I'll try practicing the "quiet" command. Up until now I've tried a number of tactics including ignoring him, and it doesn't seem to work.


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## Loukia (Sep 20, 2014)

silverdoe said:


> Up until now I've tried a number of tactics including ignoring him, and it doesn't seem to work.


LOL! I'm with you on that one. When I ignore Comet's barking he'll come up to me and bump me with his nose, as if to say, "Hello! I'm barking over here. Can't you hear me?!"


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