Oh Goldendoodle! Please be quiet!

While some Goldendoodles seem to have tons of things to say, others are quiet and prefer not to mince barks and howls. Each and every day, my Goldendoodles will launch into a barrage of barks, anticipating their morning breakfast and round of clean water. Five Goldendoodles can sound like 20 of any other breed! In the beginning, I use to find it irritating and thought there should be something I can do about this nonsense.

But after years of owning and creating Goldendoodles, I've come to realize that this is their way of communicating and letting me know they are happy we are getting our day started together. I've also come to know that some Goldendoodles bark alot and some hardly ever bark!

Why do dogs bark, any how ?

Dogs bark to communicate with each other. It's a part of their heritage. Some bark to alert you. Some bark because they are bored. Others may bark if they become stressed. Then some bark to communicate with neighborhood dogs in the distance . In many cases, humans have a tendency to unintentionally reward this barking behavior.

The moment I open my back door, the cacophony begins. Dancing and twirling and barking, they all seem to know what's coming....FOOD! The closer I get to the bucket of dog food, the louder the barking becomes. Walking to the spicket to turn the water on, the dancing becomes merrier and then the routine begins. Over the years of doing the same exact thing each and every day, the dogs have become conditioned to our cleaning, feeding and watering routine. The moment the first gate is opened, everyone settles down and waits their turn.

Problem or just plain inappropriate ?

The relationship I have with my Goldendoodles exists on many different levels. What some people regard as a problem, I regard as a natural behavior. I am sure my neighbors can not stand the barking each and every morning, but they moved in around me....not the other way around. It has been years that we have co-existed with our dogs, so the neighbors should be conditioned to our routine by now as well. Each day starts off the same.

According to Patrick Melese, MA, DVM, American College of Veterinary Behavior Consultants in San Diego, dogs are carnivore canids and they have behaviors that are perfectly normal for their species. However, what the canine finds normal, we can find problematic especially if we live in small areas such as apartments or condos and small communities.

Every owner is also different. I do not find it inappropriate to say the least that my Goldendoodles greet me each and every morning with loud, expressive barking because I know they are happy to be getting their breakfast and fresh water. They are happy that their area is going to be cleaned. It may be the day one of them gets shaved down and a bath. So the merry sing song vocalization no longer bothers me. To someone who is not use to it, they better gather a pair of ear plugs or turn around and go home. The barking can be bothersome to unconditioned ears.

Many dogs, in general, have been bred for centuries to bark or to behave in certain ways. If you suppress the Goldendoodle's nature by putting them in an environment where he or she can not express their happiness and glee, you are going to have a real problem. Dogs become conditioned over time to respond or behave a certain way because they observe the behaviors of their human companions, over time. While some Goldendoodles certainly can have barking issues that are associated with anxiety, most problems seem to stem simply from Goldendoodles just being dogs. Nobody wants to live with an excessive barker or a Goldendoodle who has destructive chewing behaviors. Definitely nobody wants to live with a houdini! An escape artist of whom you have to chase down each and every day.

What's a human to do ?

Every Goldendoodle owner must start with the assumption that your dog is barking for a good reason. At least in the beginning. Over the years of living with your Goldendoodle, you will learn that your doodle has a different way of barking depending upon his or her needs, fears, anxieties or issues. You will learn how your Goldendoodle barks if a stranger is nearby and you will learn how your Goldendoodle barks when he or she greets someone they already know.

A Goldendoodle can have challenging, underlying behaviors that you may want to work on, especially if your Goldendoodle becomes an excessive barker. While some Goldendoodles will bark excessively at strangers as they pass by, this may or may not be an acceptable behavior. In my case, I want my dogs to alert me when someone is around that isn't suppose to be there. Others may not want their Goldendoodle to bark at a stranger. One of the best methods of changing this behavior is to toss some dry dog food on the ground in the opposite direction of an approaching stranger. Keeping a baggy full of dry dog food always comes in handy for correcting inappropriate behavior. Soon your Goldendoodle will learn that eating is more fun than barking at a stranger.

Understanding why your Goldendoodle barks can help you respond appropriately and have a planned management strategy. To your Goldendoodle, barking is simply a natural thing to do. it is a natural response. Your Goldendoodle may be trying to protect you, alert you, signal a warning, greet you, protect its territory or may be expressing distress and upset.

What's really strange is the fact undomesticated dogs do not bark nearly as much as domesticated dogs. This leads me to believe we humans condition our dogs to bark and we may unknowingly be encouraging them to bark. Wild dogs don't have the need to alert others in their pack, so often. Even when you stop reinforcing barking, barking is self-reinforcing. When an intruder approaches, a dog barks. The intruder runs away. So the dog now has been given the signal that his or her barking has made the intruder leave. This reinforces your dog's belief that barking worked and barking is good. But you can stop excessive barking.

You can stop excessive barking by rewarding silence.

Teach your Goldendoodle to give you a period of silence and then reward your doodle for the silence.

*Don't reinforce barking by yelling (barking) back at your Goldendoodle.

*Figure out what caused your Goldendoodle to bark. What was the trigger? As an example, if your Goldendoodle barks at a window he or she can see through, block the view.

* Don't leave your Goldendoodle outside when you are not home, if at all possible.

* Redirect your barking Goldendoodle to something more rewarding. If your Goldendoodle is barking and you want the barking to stop, use a favorite toy while giving a simple command. I like to use their squeeky toys. It gets their attention.

* If your Goldendoodle is barking simply to get your attention, ignore him or her.


Condition your Goldendoodle with silence. After all, they do say, Silence is Golden.


**About the author:

Dee Gerrish has been writing about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. Dee has been a breeder of the Goldendoodle dog since 1999; a breeder for the Golden Retriever since 1996. More about the Goldendoodle can be found at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/