Has anyone else got a silent dog ?

I had a tuxedo cat. We called him Hudson after the butler in Upstairs Downstairs. He was a rescue and quite feral. When we moved to the countryside we hardly saw him, he was always out in the fields. Except for one weekend. My husband and I were always together. But one weekend he went away for a couple of days. Hudson didn’t leave my side. Even slept on my pillow. The minute my husband got back he was off across the fields again. It wasn’t because he didn’t like my ex who, of the two of us was the real cat person. He did, however, blot his copybook by being sick thought the night which was the night before my wedding day so I got very little sleep ( he’d had enteritis when we rescued him and was always unhealthy).

We have a little schnauzer who barks if an ant farts at the bottom of the garden! We have to leave the radio on for her all night to mask any outdoor sounds.
We also had a little cat who didn't make a sound. He was a lovely little boy but silent. No idea why.

Is it a Basenji? They don't bark in the traditional sense.

Our much loved spaniel hardly ever made a noise once she turned 6 months. It was not that she couldn't but that she was happy to stand at the patio window and stare to be let in. She might yip if we left her for a while, or we were not in the room.

Then suddenly she started barking at the doorbell when she turned 13.

Tuxedo isn’t a breed of cat, it’s just the colour pattern and that can’t influence a cat’s behaviour. My tortoiseshell and white cat never meows and purrs very quietly.

My mum's dog, a Westie, Ruby, had been the runt of the litter. The breeder told me that she would suit an old lady, as she was very quiet. Infact Ruby was mute. After years of no barking my mother was told (by a vet) that Ruby was deaf. Perhaps this dog is also deaf?

MayBee70

My whippet rings a bell to go out. Which might sound better on the ear than barking but she does ring it quite a lot and not just for toilet breaks. Sometimes it’s for Bonios. It’s like one of those bells that stately homes have to summon the servants.

Thanks for that, really made me laugh, I have tears, I couldn't stop! We have a yapper that dashes out of the back door with all vocal guns blazing, in all directions, just for the sheer hell of it.....

I note that you say she is a rescue dog from Croatia.
Did the Rescue you got her from explain what a hellish life she may have had before she came to you ? Have you heard about the lives that many of these poor dogs have had to survive? It sounds to me that your dog may well have come from this sort of background. What she needs it lots and lots of TLC, gentleness, patience and understanding. I currently have 4 dogs rescued from Romania, one of them has come from Croatia and was sent to a Rescue in Romania to be nursed back to health in order to have a chance of
a decent life in the U.K., France or Germany etc. It’s not unusual at all for some of these dogs to be so ‘shut down’ that they cannot bark. It’s a very sad, cruel world we live in.

Wish it was our problem but Scout has meningitis. He is so quiet . On steroids and risk of relapse on improving will be high.
Oh I want my little bark and seek back

Our last dog used to go to the door and bark to go out then again when she wanted to come in. Our new rescue I've taught to ring a bell to go out ( he used to just stand and stare) and he now barks to come back in. You can teach them.
I wonder if your rescue has been punished for barking, if you haven't had her long it takes time for them to settle in, it takes some dogs months.

poppiesmum47

MayBee70

My whippet rings a bell to go out. Which might sound better on the ear than barking but she does ring it quite a lot and not just for toilet breaks. Sometimes it’s for Bonios. It’s like one of those bells that stately homes have to summon the servants.

Thanks for that, really made me laugh, I have tears, I couldn't stop! We have a yapper that dashes out of the back door with all vocal guns blazing, in all directions, just for the sheer hell of it.....

Most of the time she goes into the back garden but when my partners here he takes her down to the grass at the end of the road. We have a system whereby she has her training time with treats at nine o’clock then he takes her down the road to save me having to get up off the sofa. But tonight she had her treats and stood by the back door. I told her to go to the front door where he was waiting. She walked halfway there, turned round, then rang the bell to say she wanted to go out the back. It amazes me how she communicates with us. I know it was because it was cold and wet but she still had to sniff around for ages and ages. I got the bell for my daughter’s dog but she got fed up of her ringing it constantly. And she doesn’t need a bell…she’s a Schnauzer so her vocal chords are well developed. So she gave it back to me and I was surprised that my girl just took to it.

Why would anybody want a dog to bark? Let there be peace for the neighbours

Some people want a dog for protection and a barking dog does deter burglars. I’m not saying it should be barking outside and annoying the neighbours. Even as a dog lover I find that infuriating, especially if your neighbours do shift work or are trying to get a baby to sleep. Although my dog doesn’t usually bark I must admit that I was pleased one day when I was out walking on my own and she barked at someone.

We have had a rescue for 3 years, westie/English bull terries cross. When we first got him he would just sit in front of my husband and stare at him, no barking. We eventually came to understand that he needed to go out. He is a lot more vocal now but, still just stares if he wants to go out.

I used to know a silent dog, it was a Bull Mastiff.Very sweet natured but never made a sound apart from panting.

StoneofDestiny

Why would anybody want a dog to bark? Let there be peace for the neighbours

Barking deters burglars and if out on a walk may deter anyone from attacking/ mugging.
Why keep a dog and bark yourself 😁

SynchroSwimmer

Oooh a dog from Croatia, now this I find interesting.

I go twice a year to Croatia and have just come home, when there I do a coast walk every morning (for the past 10 years) and meet lots of different dogs with owners along the way.
What absolutely fascinates me in Croatia is that the first thing I noticed and comment on all the time is that the dogs I see every day don’t bark, they all seem ultra well socialised, approach each other in a friendly/ neutral/inquisitive way and I have never witnessed any aggression - at all.
So, so different from what I witness in UK and in other countries..
I have just assumed that they really know how to train the dogs nicely and well there? The dogs all look happy, they seem to be doing something special.

I am going to ask a local dog owner on the next visit.

She has always been a good girl even from the first day. We thought that she must have been a family pet before she was brought to the U.K. We took her caravanning the day after we brought her home and she behaved perfectly in the car and made friends with everyone she met. She does mostly ignore other dogs when out on the lead, but when she’s off lead she plays nicely with other dogs if they don’t get too personal!

melp1

Our last dog used to go to the door and bark to go out then again when she wanted to come in. Our new rescue I've taught to ring a bell to go out ( he used to just stand and stare) and he now barks to come back in. You can teach them.
I wonder if your rescue has been punished for barking, if you haven't had her long it takes time for them to settle in, it takes some dogs months.

I’ve had her nearly 13 years now. It’s only been since I lost my husband that she has started asking me, silently, because she used to go to him.