# Normal for a dog not to barK?



## CAGK71 (Oct 22, 2010)

I hope this isn't the type of question that people will take offense to. Similar to those that ask if its normal for newborns to sleep through the night while everyone else is struggling to get even an hour of sleep.

I really don't know cause I've never heard of a dog that didn't bark. We got Storm last weekend and honestly have not heard him bark at all. Even in excitement or happiness. When we go for walks and we see dogs, they start barking but he just looks at them and might sniff them but no barking. We see dogs in windows and they are going crazy, jumping up and down barking their heads off, Storm nonchalantly strolls by without even a glance.

Is this normal for a dog? Should I be concerned or just thank my lucky stars? If this is just his personality trait then I will not get worried but if you all think that he should be doing some barking then I'll mention it to his vet next time I see them.

When he is excited or happy, he wags his tail like crazy and burrows his head into you but no barking.

Thanks again for any insight and advise.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Count your lucky stars....lol.... I have a golden who is 3 and I have heard him bark, maybe 3-4 times. My other goldens will be barking and he just stands there looking.


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## Mssjnnfer (Aug 9, 2009)

I think it's normal. Missy barks if she's in her kennel and wants out... but RARELY barks when she's out.

Mojo barks once in a while if he hears something outside, but not all the time.


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## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

I wish my girl Holly wouldnt bark...she barks alot! I had a lab mix that rarely barked. So I think its normal


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## Cassie (Jan 27, 2010)

I don't know about other Goldens but I do know that mine is really quiet and always has been. I got her when she was 12 weeks old and I think it was at least 2 months before I heard her bark. Even now with my little mutt Tinker who is a "talker", Niki will just stand there and wag her tail. She does use her eyebrows to advantage though to get what she wants.


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## Mssjnnfer (Aug 9, 2009)

Actually... funny story.

When we went to pick baby Mojo up at 7 weeks old, we went into their barn thing where the puppies all were... they were ALL BARKING except for him. Our breeder told us we were the lucky ones, LOL.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Rookie's not a big barker. Part of that is nature, but part of that is that I trained him not to bark at anything and everything 'cause it drives me nuts. Maybe Storm's previous owners trained him not to bark?

BTW, Rookie does bark, just not a lot. Never barking IS pretty surprising though.


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## CAGK71 (Oct 22, 2010)

Well he's only been with us for a week so maybe one of these he'll bark so we know what it sounds like. The SPCA staff said that he didn't bark when he was there either. You'd think with all the dogs there at the shelter, he'd bark to get some attention.

When the doorbell rings at the house, he stands to attention and happy bounces to the door but no bark. Nice guard dog, eh????


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

You lucky dog owners!!!! Chester barks enough for 10 dogs. Murphy will woof once in awhile.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I have heard many people say that they have goldens that they have never heard bark.

I have one that barks all the time - she uses it to communicate with us - like if she wants something.

The other will very rarely bark, but I do hear him about once every week or two.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

^ I agree with all of the above. Some dogs are just quieter. My Jacks doesn't bark either. He makes grunting or panting noises. Or just does "the face". 

My best theory is he came from a place where the adult dogs did not bark. So it's either a genetic thing or early exposure thing. 

The guy we got before him came from a breeder where all of the adult dogs were barkers. So he was a barking fool all his life.


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## CAGK71 (Oct 22, 2010)

Ok, you've all put my worries to rest. I think since Storm is my first dog, I worry about every little thing so I will thank my lucky stars that either he's been trained early on or its just his nature.

Hopefully our house doesn't get broken into cause Storm definitely won't alert us to it


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

I think you seriously lucked out in finding Storm!!!!! I wouldn't worry about him not barking.....he may surprise you one day and then it will scare the pants off of you.

Reno and Austin will bark if someone is walking down the walkway beside our house or if something startles them but nothing too serioius. The only time I've heard Lincoln bark is when he and Austin are playing outside....he'll bark at him to tell him to back off. Other than that, he never barks.


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## KellyH (Sep 5, 2010)

Bridget lived for 13 and a half years and rarely barked the entire time. I think I mentioned somewhere on this forum once before, even if she was waiting outside to come in, she'd never bark. She'd just lay at the door till someone opened it! Rarely barked, never whined, never scratched at doors. A big, silent, lug she was. Even as a puppy!


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I found my first golden in 2002. He was an older gentleman and I thought his bark was broken until he finally barked at something (I forgot what ) a few months later.

My second golden was a mix and he barked more. Copper barked some, but definitely not as much as my other dogs.

I think it is just in Storm's nature to be quiet and he probably will find something worth barking at. It just might take a while.


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## younggtx (Jan 30, 2009)

It's absolutely normal. You got yourself a GEM there, like I said before STORM will bring you and your family so much memories and treasure, enjoy him each day and make it count.

Our BEAU never bark either, even when he got locked in the garage or bathroom. We always have to go and look for him in each room. Even when he needs to do his business, he would go up to us and give us the look "I need to pee/poop now", and if we don't response to him. He waits for 10 minutes, then he would paw up and scratch our arm. Sometimes, we wish that he would do a little sound so we know where he is. He never care for other dogs bark at him either, he just give them the looks like you "silly" "what are you doing?". Until his last day, at his last moment saying goodbye to us with two loud barks then his heart stop (die of grand mal seizure), we think he wants to say: Mommy & Daddy.

Our neighbor golden retriever "CALI" also doesn't bark either. She just wags her tail and use her paws to signal.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Frankly, I always kind of puff up with pride when I walk Flora by dogs who are barking their heads off and she hardly gives them a glance. I'd go crazy if she barked all the time. She generally just woofs once or twice, and only if she's really disturbed by something. I think you're lucky!


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## willip (Oct 27, 2010)

Chester never barked when we first got him. Its been 3 wks nearly now and we discovered this morning at 5am that he will bark just once if he needs to be let out for a pee. Gave us the fright of our life...a) we were all fast asleep and b) its such a deep sound, very different from my other dog! 
I think your just very lucky!


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Teddi and Quinn from day one pretty much slept through the night. No sound once they settled down, and it only took a couple nights at about 10 min of fussing to crash. Maxine, was HORRIBLE the first two nights, then we let her out of the crate... and she slept through the night until we woke up without accident. 

I learned a trick with Teddi and Quinn that seems to work. Don't give them space. I use the crate divider, keep it small and tight, lots of blankets/towels, so the dog can snuggle in tightly like when they slept with all their brothers and sisters... that worked for those two. Then about once a week, I enlarged the crate, maybe a bit quicker, as they grew, and when they got to full crate, they were sleeping through the night. 

Now Gabby may be different... it is just her and her brother... she may want her space. Might need to give her a stuffed animal to sleep with to simulate her brother.


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## carisay (Aug 27, 2010)

I definitely agree with what others have said about how much it can vary with your dog's personality. It may also be something that he was taught not to do by his previous owners. That being said we've heard there can be and we experienced a bit of a honeymoon period when we adopted an adult dog. She didn't bark at all for the first couple weeks, but once she got more settled and recognized our place as her home, she started barking (and aroo-ing) occassionally. Not loud or often, just a short bark to let us know if someone is outside or ringing the bell. 

Sounds like Storm felt right at home right away with your family, so maybe that means he never really had a honeymoon period and he's just not a barker. Just thought I'd throw in my experience in case you do hear a bark or two later on down the road.


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Oh man are you lucky! Joey barks at almost everything... almost! haha He barks when the door rings, when someone comes home, when hes affraid of something. but not so much when hes playing. He barks when his toy gets stuck somewhere!


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Penny isn't much of a barker unless people are on the sidewalk or coming to the house. Then, she's a good watch dog.

Our first Golden, Polly, rarely barked at anything. The only way to get her excited enough was when I pretended to be a monster coming up the basement stairs on my hands and feet. That got her going.


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## caligal (Jul 28, 2010)

I was told that most GRs don't bark. We have had Davis for almost 3 months and he has probably barked 5 times. 3 of the 5 were at dark shadows on walks. 

I have to say it is really nice to have a quiet dog. Our Bassett used to bark and howl like a maniac. I feel so relieved, on our walks, when other dogs are going crazy and barking like mad. Davis is a perfect gentleman quietly observing the other dogs.


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## CAGK71 (Oct 22, 2010)

younggtx said:


> It's absolutely normal. You got yourself a GEM there, like I said before STORM will bring you and your family so much memories and treasure, enjoy him each day and make it count.
> 
> Our BEAU never bark either, even when he got locked in the garage or bathroom. We always have to go and look for him in each room. Even when he needs to do his business, he would go up to us and give us the look "I need to pee/poop now", and if we don't response to him. He waits for 10 minutes, then he would paw up and scratch our arm. Sometimes, we wish that he would do a little sound so we know where he is. He never care for other dogs bark at him either, he just give them the looks like you "silly" "what are you doing?". Until his last day, at his last moment saying goodbye to us with two loud barks then his heart stop (die of grand mal seizure), we think he wants to say: Mommy & Daddy.
> 
> Our neighbor golden retriever "CALI" also doesn't bark either. She just wags her tail and use her paws to signal.


Storm is a GEM and I feel so lucky that we were able to find each other. One of the things that I was afraid of was that my husband would resent him because it was more my idea to get a dog then his but you wouldn't know that by looking at the 2 of them.

I know it might sound a bit hokey but Storm has really bought our family closer together. He has definitely helped my husband relive the fun memories he had when he was 12 years old and had his first dog. As soon as Chris gets home, he plays with Storm and he was the one that wanted to buy him whole bunch of tug/war toy so they can roughhouse. This was the man that rolled his eyes when I went all gung ho and bought the dog bed, leash, etc before it was confirmed that the adoption had been approved.

I miss Storm when I'm at work and I love that he is so good with the boys and I feel so blessed


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Storm*

Alice:

I am sure there are dogs that don't bark. You are very lucky!!
Smooch, our Golden Ret. Senior, doesn't bark much, but if Tonka is barking then she joins in and it can be deafening! I always say I can't even hear myself think!!

I know that some awful people have their dogs DEBARKED-THIS IS SO VERY CRUEL-I suppose your vet could tell if this had happened to STORM, but I doubt it!! 

It doesn't sound hokey at all that you feel you hit the JACKPOT with STORM-YOU definitely did!! I would say that God meant for STORM and your family to be together!! When our Snobear, Samoyed, got cancer so suddenly and we had to put him to sleep, I am the one that was looking for a Samoyed to rescue and my Hubby, Ken, wasn't sure he was ready. Then we found Tonka, and Ken told me that he has never felt as CLOSE to a dog as with Tonka. Being that STORM is your FIRST dog and you have children to take care of, YOU COULDN'T HAVE FOUND A MORE PERFECT DOG!!

I know what you mean about missing him when you're at work or out of the house.

In our family, when Ken comes home or I do, Smooch and Snobear give you that unconditional love the moment you walk in the door--as if you'd been gone forever!!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger isn't a barker. The very first time I saw him, I rang the door bell at his foster mom's house and the resident dog came running over barking and Ranger was running right behind her and not making a sound. Ranger WILL bark if he thinks there's something suspicious going on - like when my house was getting broken into or whenever homeless guys walked past the alley behind my house - but he doesn't bark to get let out or in, doesn't bark when the doorbell rings or when people knock, doesn't bark when he plays...he's a pretty quiet guy. His newest thing is to bark when he goes out for a late night pee, but to be honest, I think he's getting used to living close to a busy street and he's MUCH more suspicious at night than he is during the day. Something that he wouldn't bark at during the day will get him barking and growling at night.


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## CAGK71 (Oct 22, 2010)

Karen519 said:


> Alice:
> 
> I am sure there are dogs that don't bark. You are very lucky!!
> Smooch, our Golden Ret. Senior, doesn't bark much, but if Tonka is barking then she joins in and it can be deafening! I always say I can't even hear myself think!!
> ...


Is there anyway you can tell if a dog has been de-barked? What does that entail? Do they take out their vocal cords? Storm still makes noises, he pants, snores gently at night, sneezes, etc.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Sweetally said:


> Is there anyway you can tell if a dog has been de-barked? What does that entail? Do they take out their vocal cords? Storm still makes noises, he pants, snores gently at night, sneezes, etc.


If he was debarked, he would still be barking. A lot of the time the dogs don't realize that anything's different and will go around barking. But it's a silent wheezy sound instead. <- At least with the debarked dogs I've seen.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Sweetally*

Sweetally

I think that when a dog is debarked the vocal chords are clipped.
I HIGHLY DOUBT this was done to Storm.
I bet you will hear him bark someday.

I would think the vet could tell or perhaps Storm was reprimanded for barking if he had previous owners.


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## CAGK71 (Oct 22, 2010)

Debarking seems likes such a cruel thing to do. I had a friend who declawed their cat because they had nice furniture. Just my opinion but that seems cruel too to me. I can understand if it had to be done for health / medical reasons (infection, etc).


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Alice*

Alice

Debarking is very CRUEL AND INHUMANE!


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## GoldenSummer (Mar 26, 2010)

One of my friends dog didn't know how to bark, I think it was the one she adopted because she had two, one from a puppy and the other one was a bit older when she got him, anyways one day they were at the park and these dogs a bit off started barking and the other dog just watched them with his ears up, then the younger pup let out a bark and the older dog spun around all caught off guard and the pup barked again and the older dog tried to bark and came out with a really pathetic wine lol The puppy had to teach the older dog how to bark, she said it was the funniest thing she has ever seen. Maybe your pup just hasn't had the enthusiasm to really learn how to bark? 

Tyson isn't much of a barker, the only time he'll bark is when hes really excited and full out playing, he lets out a high pitched squeak thats suppose to pass for a bark lol My moms shihtzus taught him to bark, he'd always stop and looked stunned when they barked around him when he was really young, then one day he was playing with them and all of the sudden he let out the high pitched sound and made everyone stop dead and spin around to see what the sound was and poor Tys was just as startled and confused as the girls (my moms shihtzus) and we were lol it was soo funny. He might just surprise ya yet with a bark, just be prepared to be startled because it will probably be when you least expect it and because it will be a new sound lol 

If your really worried you can try mentioning it to your vet, but personally I agree with everyone else, its more of a thank your lucky stars thing


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm going to be bad and say that for some breeds... debarking can be unavoidable and is necessary. It is a minor surgery and the dog doesn't suffer or notice the difference. 

And it isn't as horrible as what we let breeders do to little puppies. 

Check your golden retrievers feet for their dewclaws. If they are missing, then think about how they were removed without any anesthesia or pain meds. The vets and others say that the puppies are too young to feel pain, but I don't buy that.

And I'm not talking about the tail and ear cropping that goes on with other breeds.


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## Everything's Golden (Nov 1, 2010)

Speaking of dewclaws, our puppy still has hers. I thought breeders automatically had them removed? It isn't at all a big deal to me...just curious if other puppies from breeders still had theirs too.


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## Everything's Golden (Nov 1, 2010)

I remember seeing a show on Animal Planet about a couple whose daughter went missing from their home at night. They believe an intruder had taken her. They had a weimereiner (sp?) that they had debarked and so she wasn't able to alert them to the intruder. After watching something like that, I don't mind if our girl barks up a storm at strangers!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Smooch*

We adopted our Smooch from a rescue at 16 months old and she still has her dew claws-she is now 11.5 years old.

I know you can have them removed when you have her neutered, but Smooch was neutered before we adopted her.


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## younggtx (Jan 30, 2009)

Sweetally said:


> I know it might sound a bit hokey but Storm has really bought our family closer together. He has definitely helped my husband relive the fun memories he had when he was 12 years old and had his first dog. As soon as Chris gets home, he plays with Storm and he was the one that wanted to buy him whole bunch of tug/war toy so they can roughhouse. This was the man that rolled his eyes when I went all gung ho and bought the dog bed, leash, etc before it was confirmed that the adoption had been approved.
> 
> I miss Storm when I'm at work and I love that he is so good with the boys and I feel so blessed


STORM and your family will have so much fun during holidays and many more. Golden retrievers tend to do that to man, so I am not surprise at all your husband Chris already got the bugs . 

In your case "Missing Storm" when you are at work. It's called separation anxiety. I experienced that too well, I used to bring BEAU to work with me all the time, and he also goes everywhere with us. I used to tell people that BEAU is better than American Express - "Don't Leave Home Without It" instead "*Can't Leave Home Without Beau*" 

By the way, your kids are wonderful and look like there are so much LOVE go around at your sweet home right now :rockon:


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## MilosMommy (May 24, 2010)

Milo barks at *EVERYTHING*.

Especially at night. First he lets out a little growl at something if he is sleeping (it's so cute, it's like a little warning growl "don't make me wake up!") and then if he has to he will wake up and bark/growl. I think it's because Andrew works nights so he feels like he has to protect me at night. Every little noise requires him to scan the house and bark. When we move into our new townhouse our neighbors are going to HATE Milo at night.


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## harrym (Nov 13, 2010)

Our Lucy seldom barks. She will bark at thunder or fireworks. A stranger could walk in and she would lead him to the fridge, wagging her tail all the way.


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