Just want to start by saying I absolutely adore my dog and i know barking is part of having a dog lol. But I’ve had dogs all my life and never experienced anything like this before and wondered if anyone else has.
I’ve got the most beautifully natured golden retriever imaginable (not that I’m biased at all, lol!) she’s 5 and we’ve had her from a pup. She has endless energy (working line!) and has more than enough mental and physical stimulation. She comes with me out and about and spends hours everyday running about fields, woods, countryside etc. we have livestock and live rurally so she is always out with me and keeping busy. She also goes on normal walks too as well as trips to the local beach and other different places to explore. We play mental games too so her mind isn’t bored either. The vet said her routine is great and she’s a healthy happy dog.
but she barks SO much. I’ve never had a dog like it before. Even my old husky was quieter. Sometimes she is barking because she hears someone walking past or she hears a sound outside which is admittedly annoying as it’s ALL the time. It’s not even like she’s guarding or being defensive. She just gets up and barks when she hears a sound. We‘ve had countless trainers and everyone has said she is not acting defensively- it’s as if she hears a sound and has to add her own sound to it. She’s always been like this and no matter how much or little stimulation and exercise she gets, barking is her default mode ALL the time.
on top of that, she barks randomly all the time too. If she plays with her toys she barks while doing it. If she is out in the garden and is sunbathing she will sometimes just bark. If she wants something from the fridge, she barks at it until we distract her with something else, then she barks at that too lol. If she is bored, she barks. If we are chatting and she is sitting happily with us, she’ll bark along too. She just randomly barks for no reason and she seems to genuinely love it. She just barks CONSTANTLY.
I love her to bits and I know dogs bark but this is draining lol. She’s been checked by the vet, dog behaviourist, trainers etc the conclusion is that she just loves the sound of her own voice lol. We’ve tried distraction, ignoring it, training her to stop barking when she starts etc but she honestly just loves to bark and nothing has made much difference. The specialists said it’s a tricky one because it’s not like she’s barking out of aggression or fear, it’s purely because she’s a very vocal dog and loves her own voice lol
has anyone experienced this and have any advice? TIA!