Help with very vocal 11 month old golden.

[reversegear]

I’m hoping for some advice we have had dogs for 23+ years and have 3 adult dogs and out newest addition is 11 months.

He’s an absolutely lovely dog, clever funny and sweet but he loves his voice and I’m struggling here so after some alternative thoughts.

basically he won’t shut up!! He will bark, when a lorry goes past, when he wakes when he goes outside when he wants to come in, when another dog goes for a walk, when he’s halfway through chewing a antler, he barks at the door when people come home, he barks randomly in the night he barks at the neighbours in the garden, he just lives the sound of his own voice.

So we have alert barking, FOMO and night time attention

The advice from our lovely dog trainer that we’ve been working with is it’s a phase he will use his voice ignore it, 2nd advice is reward when he’s quiet, and next is to just say “enough” and like a thanks for noticing we don’t need more barking, like saying you’ve done your job now shut up. ( he keeps barking)

All have a temporary impact but he’s just non bloody stop from morning to evening.

Nighttime we 100% ignore he settles after about 10 minutes and goes back to sleep, he’s safe in a room with one other adult dog who’s looking knackered! I’ve checked on the camera he’s not playing or disturbing the old boy just ears up barking.

Some night he goes all night with not a peep others its 3-4 times in the night he’s barking, he doesn’t have accidents so it’s not “let me out”

Im all for dogs being dogs but we are knackered my eldest works shifts and is being constantly woken up, my youngest had decamped to his girlfriends and im sat after 23 years of dogs thinking WTF is next!

Also awake at 6am as he had a session at 4am and I can’t ey back to sleep!

so what’s next? Anything that works that I haven’t already thought about other than masking taping his snout!!

Our other dogs are just the odd post man alert and a few welcome home barks, none are like him, in fact I’d say they are pretty quiet.

If your other dogs bark as well, it’s almost certainly either learned behaviour (Goldens do nothing by half) or his needs aren’t being met in some way - Goldens really aren’t vocal dogs, so there’s something not quite right that needs addressing rather than training.

Whats his day like? Exercise? Left alone? Training?

We’ve had 4 golden s and none have been this vocal. His normal week day he’s up 7-8am, food and down into the garden office with me and the others, we have acres so garden sniffs and runs and big dog playtime. Then an antler or chew and sleep till lunch, more sniffs and play then afternoon naps and then 4-5pm walk then dinner and then inside the house for evening snooze Tv time or home with the others if we pop out. He doesnt bark when we leave, and is quiet when we are gone, he sleeps I watch him on the camera.

Hes not alone, walked, plenty of rest and play and sniffs he’s a fab friendly boy but wont shush.

The other male dog only barks maybe 1-2 times a day and that’s at delivery people so not from morning till night.

Maybe he’s hungry? He a fussy eater unlike our others, I took him for a vet check last week though and all good.

It sounds counterintuitive but have you ever tried teaching him to bark on command and then to be quiet?

Sorry @reversegear I got distracted by my own rabble of Goldens!

I would start giving him a morning walk - whilst I get what you mean about having a couple of acres for him to run around in, you'll be surprised by how much more stimulation it is just being out of the house on new territory. I have a bit of land attached to the house, but I know that after a day or two of only one walk a day and that same land mine are beyond restless. It might well do nothing, but at 11 months old I'd be surprised if one walk a day is stimulation enough for him and it can't hurt to try. The other alternative for overnights would be to have him in your room - your others might have been okay being left alone, but it could well be that, actually, he's a bit lonely as dog company isn't always enough.

Honestly, it does sound more like attention related barks (give me love, give me attention, ohhh look a person to give me attention) rather than anything else.

On teaching him to bark as PP mentioned, that's an option - although if he's smart it could encourage him to bark more. One of mine did that as she actually came to associate barking with rewards, which was rather unhelpful. They can be pretty savvy when they want to be...

9-18 months is a bloody awful age for Golden Retrievers though - I would have re-homed by boy if I wasn't the one who sodding bred the little git - so you have my full sympathy. In the end, I did find that more training and exercise helped to quieten my boy/stop him harassing his relatives at 11 months he was getting 2x 60 minute walks a day and unrestricted access to the garden.

Fab advice, one of my Berners can bark on command she was a yappy little madam but no where near him, I was worried with him it would encourage him, he has the retriever glint.. the “I look stupid but I’m clever really”

That’s good advice I will walk him mornings as well now it’s getting lighter that’s doable for me and his recall is good enough for some rural off lead runs.

The bedroom is a no we are in a tiny one level cottage there is barely enough space for the double bed let alone a dog, they are not far for us at all they sleep literally outside the room, so we aren’t miles away at night.

I’m getting attention vibes along with alerts.

ha ha ha love that you bred the bugger, I know this is a phase I’m comfy riding it out but just a bit wary of the “ignore” advice as it’s seems to be making him louder.

I taught my older pup to 'speak' - took about 20 minutes one evening. 3 years on we've not mastered the quiet command yet 😂

@tizwozlizoh lord!!

Fortunately, she's not generally shouty day to day. Just in certain environments which is why we were trying to teach a quiet.