# Barking - how much is too much?



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

That doesn’t sound excessive to me at all.

I used window film to cover our highest traffic windows, as I didn’t want Peggy getting into the habit of obsessively waiting for the next thing to bark at.


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## Misteline (Mar 10, 2019)

Before my current puppy and moving house I would have said "Any"! 😂 

I'd say a couple of woofs are fine as far as alert barking goes as long as it doesn't start ramping up and become persistent. And I'm zero tolerance when it comes to demand barking. My puppy occasionally tries my patience when he thinks it's mealtime (it isn't) and sometimes gets too vocal for me when playing. But honestly he's not too bad, and Evelyn has stopped booking at shadows since I got Ranna.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I don’t do well with barking, as it triggers my anxiety. So I don’t allow it. Beckie will still do it, so I can’t imagine if I wasn’t saying anything.

How much is too much depends entirely on your own tolerance.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

For me, with Elroy, what I don't want is him barking for NO GOOD REASON. And he doesn't. Barking for a reason is OK (not DEMAND barking though). When he hears something and runs to the door or window with a couple barks (2-5, I'd say is typical), that's OK with me as long as he doesn't keep at it. I go to him and ask him what he's barking at, look out the door or window with him, and then reassure him everything is OK. When he's outside, he has 3 "stations" where he can see people/dogs walk by. If he spots them, he'll bark at passers-by while they're in his view. Fortunately, with my landscaping, 2 of the "stations" only provide a couple of seconds of viewing, and the 3rd probably about 20-30 seconds of viewing. If I am outside, I can usually call him off off his barking at them. Sometimes he barks when we're playing. Sometimes he barks when he's playing without me too. I figure if you get a dog, you've got to be somewhat tolerant of 3 things dogs do. Bark, Dig, and Pee/Poop.


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

Yeah, X2 on what your tolerance is.

We (I) want Basil bark when someone's approaching at my parents house.

My parents didn't want Basil to bark at all, because "we have the ring app". Well, they can't hear the ring app when they're gardening outside. So, what's better then the ring app? A poodle.

They eventually came around and are now grateful for the poodle alarm.

Anything else isnt allowed... With exception, like fear barking, which we can't always 100% control.


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## WinnieThePoodle (Sep 1, 2020)

I don't like barking and Winnie might bark (not always) if she recognises someone through the window like our neighbour walking the dog (maybe a couple of woofs) but in general doesn't bother. What annoys me is if a bird sits on the fence in the garden and Winnie is in the garden she will bark at it constantly until either I go out and shoo it away or I make her come inside. I'm all for an alarm if there is an intruder in the garden but not every bird that sits on the fence. That's just too much.


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## Tulsi (Jun 8, 2021)

Rusty is foing through a phase of barking at anything unusual. A man in a hoodie with the hood up on a walk today. Dogs barking in the distance. 

I like him to stop when I tell him 'everythings ok' but he doesnt always stop ... He may do a few muffled barks which I am ok with I just dont like the persistant ones.


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## Sole0102 (Nov 23, 2020)

Thank you for your replies. I am fortunate that Cooper has never done any demand barking and I definitely wouldn't entertain it if he did. He does like to bark when playing but only with other dogs not with us or by himself. My sister's bulldog growls as if he is murdering someone when he plays tug. Cooper will bark at him outside when he wants him to chase him. Not over the top barking, just a few excited play barks ( these are the ones I hate the most, they are so high pitched lol). As far as birds on the fence are concerned, Cooper doesn't bark at them, he stalks them then runs fast towards them so they fly away then cries because they are gone 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️. 

His groomer works from home and she has 2 south African Boerbels which are used as guard dogs for her horses. They don't stop barking the whole time we are there. On top of this, she has 5 poodles, 4 toys and 1 standard. A couple of her toys bark constantly too. It's an extremely noisy environment to be groomed in. Big deep barks and small yappy barks all at once. I don't know how she copes lol.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

WinnieThePoodle said:


> I don't like barking and Winnie might bark (not always) if she recognises someone through the window like our neighbour walking the dog (maybe a couple of woofs) but in general doesn't bother. What annoys me is if a bird sits on the fence in the garden and Winnie is in the garden she will bark at it constantly until either I go out and shoo it away or I make her come inside. I'm all for an alarm if there is an intruder in the garden but not every bird that sits on the fence. That's just too much.


I wouldn't like that either. Elroy watches them a little, but doesn't get fixated or bark at them. He's starting to notice birds of prey soaring overhead too. Just looking though [emoji102]!


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

It's a work in progress here. Normie startle barks and wants to rush the front door in case the wicked delivery guy is about to slam a package on our porch. I say 'quiet!' and send him down the hall to a boring spare room for a few minutes until he quiets. 

Right now it's a ballet...maybe an opera. He gets the arias.


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## Vee (Mar 2, 2018)

I dont think thats excessive. Diva barks at the door knocking (or anything that sounds similar), the sound of the front gate, if people are close to the house. It’s an asset I think, I often fail to hear the door knocking


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

I teach my dogs the command "Quiet". I do want them to announce vehicles/people showing up at the end of our driveway, but I don't want them to keep barking and barking once I have acknowledged their alert. I taught it by gently grasping the muzzle as I said "quiet". They learned pretty quickly.


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

Every time I see this thread, I misread barking as baking. And every time, I think ‘never’!! 

aaaaanyways. I have always taught my dogs “hush”. Bark all you want, but if I say to hush, it’s time to hush. I also encourage growling during tugs and quiet barking during play. One of my dogs learned to “whisper” on command.


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## MMM18 (Sep 29, 2020)

Does anyone have recommendations on how to stop problem barking? I live in an apartment building with thin walls. For the first several months, my dog didn't react to any of the sounds but within the past week or two, he barks very loudly at every single noise (when neighbors are speaking in the hallways, when the elevator doors open and close, when the doorbell rings, etc.) and it takes him quite a while to quiet down. He is also will start barking /howling in the middle of the night if he hears the tiniest noise in the hallway which wakes me up and I'm concerned is waking my neighbors up. I've been trying to re-direct his attention to something else to get him to quiet down which helps but I would like the initial barking to stop.


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