Why won't my dog bark?

Question

We recently got a 5 year old beagle from the Humane Society, and it doesn't hardly ever bark.

It will bark once in a while when a dog walks past, but it won't bark to go outside, for treats, etc.

It's a great dog, but we wish it would bark to let us know when it needs to go out.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Count your blessings.  He probably doesn't have any of the issues that make a dog bark.  I have quiet dogs.  My shih tzu will bark at the door when someone comes, but learned to be quiet when asked.  My rottie doesn't bark unless he has been alerted.  

There are other signs that your dog could learn to tell you that he has to go outside to go potty.  

1. You can teach your dog to ring a bell at the door.

2.  Listen for any whining.

3.  My shih tzu does this growly talking thing to let me know she has to go outside.

4.  Watch for circling in the room

I think the bell is your best bet.  Just hang like Christmas bells at the door and everytime you go to the door, hit the bells with your hand and give your cue to go outside.  Eventually he will pick up on it.  

Answer 2

It's just a quiet dog? My mate's dog never makes a sound its just the way it is.

Why are you so worried?

Answer 3

We adopted a dog from a local rescue centre a couple of months ago.  She's 3 and as yet have not heard her bark.  Our vet says it could be that she's just not very vocal or that she's been beaten/scolded so often for barking in the past that she just doesn't bother any more.  

We took her outside regularly and praised/treated her for doing 'her business'.  She now comes to us and makes a lovely wuffling sound when she wants to go outside.

Answer 4

He may have been trained not to bark or punished when he did. Just be aware of his indications. He will let you know when he wants to go out in other ways. Our dog just puts her head on my hand and then walks to the door when she needs to go. She is a beagle too.

Answer 5

ummm...

I'm not sure I have a dog and it barks all the time but he just waits by the door when he wants out he never barks.

We were finally able to get him to bark for treats though, if you just keep holding up the treat until he barks it might work...

hope I helped some.

Answer 6

There's no real way to force a dog to bark, unless whenever you hear it bark you praise it and train it and reward it greatly for barking. But this could easily be misinterpreted by the dog so you just have to spend a lot of time training it.

Alternatively, you could let it out every time it gets up, or goes to the door. Usually the dog will develop some sort of system to tell you it has to go out on its own, and you just have to pick up on it.

Answer 7

some dogs just don't bark, trust me... if u had a barking dog, you would hate it a lot

Answer 8

some dogs just dont bark. it would be hard to change that. for our dogs, we taught them to use a call bell when they had to go out. find a bell with a nice big button on top that is easy for a dog to use. he might play with it. whenever he does, let him out. wait out there with him for 10-15 minutes, and if he happens to go potty, talk to him in a high excited voice, pet him, give him treats, say good dog. If he doesnt play with it, just bring him up and move his foot to press the button. do the same thing. This may sound like it will never work, but we taught our dog, and my grandma taught her dog too.

Answer 9

Check "no barking" off your list of things to train, and be thankful.  I use a dinner bell, (not a jingle bell because he could get a toe caught), and tie it to the door.  I ring the bell every time I open the door so the dog learns that the bell rings and the door opens.  Then I take his paw and whack the bell and then open the door, so he learns that he just has to whack the bell and someone will open the door to go outside.

Answer 10

My dog tends to bark when someone's disturbed his sleeping by walking up the path, or when he's playing with other dogs/myself. Other than that he's a relatively quiet dog. When he wants out he jingle's the keys in the back door, he developed this himself, so if you watch him for a few days, try and pick up on any rituals/unusual habits to see if he already has some sort of system then that's great. If not, try and derive some sort of system to suit yourself? Hope my answer helps :)

Answer 11

hehe, I've never heard of anyone complaining about a dog NOT barking!  You can try training him/her to 'speak'-what situations do inspire a bark?  Create them, and when he/she barks, praise-'Good boy! Speak!' and treat.

Beagles are usually pretty noisy guys-they have that classic 'Barroo! Barroo!' bark of hunters. Personally, I wonder if he/she has a splash of Basenji (the barkless dog) in him? Or maybe a previous owner really didn't want to hear it, and so trained him/her to NOT speak.

As far as letting you know when he/she wants to go out, just get him on a regular schedule for going out.  Praise and treat for elimination outside.