How vocal is your GSD?

Heidi has a whole repertoire of sounds. She grumbles when I try to get her to do something and she doesn't feel like it. She whines when she gets impatient or wants to go up to another dog. She sometimes groans with happiness when she is laying down with her cuz. She growls and barks with excitement when I hold on to the cuz for too long before throwing it or when going after squirrels. She has a really funny long howl that she does when an ambulance or fire truck goes by. And she also has a kind of "hmmmmm" sound that goes from high to low, which I don't know what the heck means!

Our previous dog, Sheba, was part malemute, so she was very vocal too. In addition to the whining and grumbling, she also howled and yodeled to get our attention. I like having dogs that are vocal. It's fun!

I have eight. Arwen, used to be a sweet quiet thing, but then somewhere along the line she started "talking." Now, occasionally, she even "talks back" to me. So then I have to tell her who's house it is.

Dubya is only vocal when he sees Rushie or when he sees kitties or when there is a stranger. When he sees a stranger he barks a few times and is done as soon as he knows I am ok with the stranger. When he sees Rushie or the cat (now the cats) he won't stop until I threaten him with the hose. I have to remind him whose house it is too.

Babs and Jenna are sweet three year olds. Babs is very quiet. Jenna is a PITA, talking back, especially when she sees Arwen or smells Arwen, or remembers that Arwen exists. She KNOWS whose house it is, SHE DOES.

Rushie never barks, growls, or carries on at all. Occasionally he will grunt at Dubya, and he will whine if a girl is ready to be bred.

Which leaves the three stooges: Barky, Whiney, and Screamer. Tori will bark quite a bit, but also quiets when I tell her too. She barks when I pay attention to my other dogs, but I tell her that I am the boss and she shuts up. Heidi was that whiney pup you wanted to strangle. She is the one in the litter I chose. But she used to whine something terrible. Now she carries on a bit when I am talking to the others, and does not shut up until I reach for the hose. Then everyone makes a bee-line for their houses and you can hear a pin drop. Which leaves Whitney. Whitney screams. I think it is a medical condition. I WANT to KILL her. Anyone want a nice titled GSD bitch who will be two in August? My only requirement for an owner is that they have NO OTHER DOGS. She is not dog-aggressive. She is JEALOUS. She would be fine as an only. In fact, the only time she SCREAMS is when I am paying attention to one of the others. And then I worry what the neighbors are thinking. They probably think I have her wired to my electric fence wire and am slowly torturing her. She respects me when I have the hose in hand. I do not HAVE to spray anyone, just pick the thing up, and everyone HIDES.

Originally Posted By: KathyWI think vocal is somewhere in the breed standard?????

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If not, it should be! Dena has this LOUD moany groany thing she does that can be quite annoying. If we're walking the dogs somewhere and I have both leashes while Tom goes into a store she goes nuts until he comes back. It's very embarrassing!

If Keefer is in the garage when I get home from work he cries like a little baby. If he's already in the house it's not a big deal, he's excited to see me, but not that vocal. But out there he can hear my car pull up and it's like he can't wait another second to see mama!!!

Dena is a much better alert barker, she always barks at the doorbell, Keefer almost never does. He barks at other stuff. He has this high-pitched yippy bark for cats or squirrels in the yard, or little ankle biter dogs, but only on leash. He also gets excited and yippy sometimes when we first get to the park. He's getting much better about not barking out the car window at other dogs, he used to be really bad about that too.

Dena NEVER barks at other dogs. But if I'm getting ready to leave in the morning and holler "bye!" she'll do her best "hurry, little Timmy is stuck in the well" bark until Tom comes out to kiss me goodbye. She just stands there calmly if he's already nearby, or if I go kiss him goodbye while he's in the shower. Apparently that's her job, to make sure that proper leaving rituals are adhered to.