What dog breeds are not vocal?

Question

Am considering buying a medium dog,i have a 2 bed house so it hasto be medium,i do have a big garden and a field opposite to walk!! My only consern is my 5 cats and neighbours,can anyone suggest a good breed that is brilliant with children as i have a 3 yr old daughter and is medium in size and most importantly not very VOCAL.

Answer 1

I have a Kelpe which is fantastic.  He only barks when there is something around at night and is easily stopped.  When we got him we specifically asked the breeder for this cos we had Belgian Shepherds who love to bark.  Having said that, our Kelpie, Comet, is a pretty bad watch dog.  He loves people and never barks when a car drives into the property.  I guess you can't have everything.  Now that we have 5 acres and few neighbours we have bought ourselves another Belgian Shepherd (Malinois) to be the "alert" dog.  I am hoping that Comet's calm will help Bronson not to be too barky.  I am also hoping that Comet's calm will not mean that Bronson becomes just like him and not barky at all.  We'll have to wait and see.

Answer 2

Basenji's cannot bark and they are pretty cool dogs.

Answer 3

I don't think barking is such a big deal when choosing a breed. You can easily train ANY dog not to bark. The problem is stupid owners not taking the time to and letting their dog run the house. Your main concern is that it's good with children and good with cats. Those are a little harder conditions to fill.

I would suggest a jack russell terrier (like on Frasier or Wishbone). They are really smart, good with kids, and will treat your cats fine. They are excellent protectors and wont bark unless someone is breaking into your house in the middle of the night.

They are not good with rodents (rats, hampsters, ferretts) though and are high energy. So if you want a mellow dog pick something else. You will have to take them for a walk at least once or 2x everyday. If you leave any dog cooped up in your small house you will have problems no matter what breed. They are also headstrong so you need to tell them you are the boss. Watch dog whisperer on NatGeo channel and he has lots of good ways to be happy with your dog. Most people do it wrong.

Answer 4

A pug maybe?

Answer 5

All dogs bark, but trust me, the sound of a Basenji yodeling is 10x worse than a normal dog barking. Older dogs tend to bark less though.

Answer 6

Our Boston Terrier and our Pug were wonderful with children of all ages, and not 'vocal'.

However, there are differences in each dog, and even within each litter.

I will post some helpful links to help you choose.

Here is a fun quiz to help you choose the best for your lifestyle>

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=G...

Once you have chosen a breed or breed type, you might do best to pick one from a rescue. choose one that has been in foster care, so that they will know his 'child reliability' and his vocal level. Just enter your own zip code here to find the local rescues and their dogs>

http://www.petfinder.com/search/search.c...

Answer 7

Any breeds can be taught not to make noise but the only bark free breed is a Basenji. They have more of a musical yodel rather than a sharp bark

Answer 8

basenji. they can't bark but can make low grunting noises. not very loud though. and they are a small-medium size. they're ok with kids and cats.

Answer 9

The basenji is a barkless dog.  Not noiseless but barkless

Answer 10

Chow chow mine is the best dog Ive ever had!! and I've had many!!! its a girl to, I don't know if that matters. and shes a medium size bout 45 lbs.

Answer 11

Basenjis are said to be not very vocaled, if you are talking about barking. Though they make another "screaming" sound that would also irritate you. I don't think there are any dogs that aren't very vocal, as that is one of their ability to communicate. I wouldn't settle for Poodles, because they are quite talkative. My neighbour's Yorkshire Terrier isn't very vocal, but that's just him. I believe others are though. Maybe try a schnauzers. My optometrist has one and she said that they are very quiet :]

I hope I helped and Good Luck !  

Answer 12

if you get a chow chow they are relatively calm, protective, and will guard very well, they may have to be trained... however you need to spend alot of time and probablyy get a pup so that they could be used to the ear pulling that comes with children.

although it really is frowned upon you can get a larynectomy- surgery that either snips he vocal cords or  severs the vocal nerves. this mas been know to affect the dogs character and will cause some issues as dogs are supposed to have vocal abilities.

     i personally like pit bulls and other bully breads due to the fact that as a child grows the dogs are not lacking energy as some breeds will become let down as the child grows

- with all dogs you must watch for biting in an early stage and exercise them to avoid them biting, barking, gnawing and having bad behaviour.

warning with chows- if anybody suspicous breaks thier line of sight w/ their 'people'(the family or people that the dog feels close to) that person will be threatened or attacked- meaning keep the person close to you, introduce the dog and make sure they do not smell of liquor or act stupid any where near your child

Answer 13

first of all don't BUY a dog. ADOPT ONE FROM A SHELTER. they'll have plenty of medium sized dogs for you to choose from. do a petfinder.com search in your area. it even has "medium" on the search criteria. it will tell you whether or not the dog is good with cats and kids. good luck! please adopt!

Answer 14

Basingi (spelling) do not bark and have pretty good personalities, but they can be stubborn.  

Answer 15

you're right Basenjis don't bark as their voice box is made differently than other dogs. however their "yodel" can be ungodly! use to own and show them

Answer 16

it may not always be a medium size dog although I have seen some that are larger than mine but my boston terrier is an amazing dog, she makes little to no noise other than some snorting...loves kids and kids love her

Answer 17

Basinjis are not able to bark and they are good with kids and are medium sized .  the ones I knew of where a toast brown color with white feet and collar  short haired.

Answer 18

YIKES!  If you're even THINKING of a Basenji, I implore you- DO TONS OF RESEARCH!!!  

I own them, love the breed, but they can be extremely challenging and are not suited to most households.  I volunteer for Basenji rescue and see time and time again thru surrendered dogs, how this breed requires a very specific type of home.

With 5 cats and a small child a Basenji is NOT the ideal breed for your situation!!!   They are sighthounds- extremely prey-driven and WILL chase and possibly kill any small, furry animals that run!   Even Basenjis raised with cats cannot be guaranteed to be 100% OK with them....many people have come home to find a dead cat after years of harmonious living with the Basenji.  

Also, they have very limited patience with the typical things little kids do.  Little kids might poke eyes, pull tails and ears....many breeds have the patience of saints and will tolerate this, but a Basenji WILL snap at and/or bite a child who inflicts pain or discomfort on them (even unintentionally).  

Basenjis also have a tendency to wake up aggressively- it's a survival instinct that comes from thousands of years living in a semi-feral state.  If something grabbed them in their sleep in the Congo jungle, their best bet was to wake up fighting.  

Not all Basenjis do this, but many do....a grown up or older child can get past it by remembering to wake a sleeping Basenji slowly and GENTLY....by calling his name until he's well awake.  But a small child doesn't know better, and many a child has been bitten because they jumped onto the couch to hug their sleeping Basenji.  

Yes, they are "barkless"  but many can be quite vocal.  An unhappy Basenji can make a horribly loud, shrieking, screaming noise when left alone.  I know people who've had the police called to their house over their dog- their screaming sounds oddly human, much like a woman being killed.  

They can also be highly destructive, especially during their youth.  And as I mentioned, they are sighthounds and will chase anything that moves- they must be on a leash or behind a fence at all times.  

People with cats & kids do keep Basenjis, but it requires an amazing amount of effort to keep everyone safe, happy and harmonious.   There are websites, and forums if you want more info- message me privately if you are interested.  

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.....:)

Generally speaking, herding breeds and hunting (hound) breeds tend to be most vocal.  Many Terriers can also be vocal.  Spaniels aren't as bad.  Guardian type breeds usually don't bark without reason.  

You could consider a shelter dog, or a dog from a rescue society....often times the people will have a little "history" on the dog and will know if he is a barker or not.  You could look for a medium sized Chow mix- Chows are typically very quiet and if you found one mixed with a smaller, shorthaired breed you'd cut down on the size and hair.  

The Boxer might be another good choice- many adults don't get bigger than 45 lbs....again if you go to a rescue group you could find a smaller adult, or a mix.  Boxers are EXCELLENT with children and don't bark unnecessarily.  

Goldens and Labs are smart & easily trained, and can be taught not to bark inappropriately.  They are large, but you could find a smaller mix that includes one of these breeds.  

Whatever breed you choose, I'd strongly reccomend adopting an adult from a shelter or rescue, over getting a pup.  The exercise requirements will be less, you'll skip that whole housebreaking nonsense, you'll know what kind of energy level to expect, you'll know the full adult size of the dog, and you can specify exactly what you're looking for (non-vocal, good with kids).  Good luck :)

Answer 19

Any dog that michael vick ever owned.

They won't make a sound.

Sorry that was terrible...

But you can get the dogs vocals removed...

And any dog that is relatively calm will not bark alot.