Samoyeds are known to be a vocal dog breed. High-pitched eardrum-shattering barking, deep grumbling, aroos, and even howling are not uncommon sounds that can be heard from our fluffy land clouds. Their love for their own voice made them ideal watchdogs for the Nenets, the nomadic people that originally kept and bred Samoyeds. Unless kept as an attentive watchdog, their barking is less ideal in modern-day society, where Samoyeds usually live in urban areas or city flats.
Every dog is different and not every Samoyed will have the tendency to vocalise. But what do you do when you have a talkative Samoyed and the neighbours have begun to complain?
My Banshee falls somewhere in the middle. She is not a crazy barker, but she is also considerably less quiet than the lab mix I previously owned. Especially during adolescence, she went through a couple of very vocal phases where she just loved to hear herself talk. Now I often get complimented by my neighbours that she is such a calm and quiet dog who never disturbs or bothers anyone (if only they knew!).
In this blog post, I want to share with you how I worked on Banshee’s barking and what I did to shape her into less of a nuisance for my neighbours. And of course, just as I am writing down this sentence, the Samoyed lets out a couple of barks outside. If you own a very vocal dog, they are unlikely to quit the barking entirely – but they can learn to do it less often and a little bit more quietly.
Different Types of Barking
There are different kinds of barking which have different underlying reasons, so the first step should always be to understand why the barking is happening. It is a way for dogs to communicate. But what exactly are they trying to say? Here are a few examples:
Demand Barking
Demand barking, which can range from mild huffing and puffing to high-pitched barking that is a danger to your eardrums, occurs when your Samoyed wants something. And they are demanding you give it to them. There is a fine line between communicating a need and communicating a want, because they might need to go outside or they might just want to.
Alert Barking
We talk about alert barking when the Samoyed alerts to something they think is unusual, concerning, or a threat. This could be the neighbour’s cat, the mailman, or another dog passing by. Whatever it is, they have to tell you.
Excitement Barking
Samoyeds are easily excitable and they like to express their excitement through barking. Sometimes, it happens during play, and sometimes when they see a doggy friend. You will know when your furry friend gets excited.
Nuisance Barking
When a Samoyed barks without a clear reason, I like to call it nuisance barking. This is especially common in teenage Samoyeds, but also happens in adults due to boredom or unmet needs. Since barking is a self-rewarding behaviour, nuisance barking can become an annoying habit.
Training A Samoyed Not To Bark?
There is no one method to train your Samoyed not to bark because depending on the underlying reason for their vocalisation, a different approach might be necessary. Still, there are a couple of options you can try to reduce the frequency and intensity of their barking:
Teach An Alternative Behaviour
One of my favourite ways of stopping any unwanted behaviour is to simply teach an alternative, incompatible behaviour. It is much easier for dogs to learn a new behaviour than to learn not to do something. For example, if your Samoyed is too excited when visitors come over and starts to bark at them, teach your dog to bring a toy instead. They can’t bark with a mouth full of toys.
Teach The Whisper Or Quiet Cue
Loud, shrill barking can quickly bother your neighbours – but a quiet huffing is not a reason for a noise complaint. So instead of using the full force of their voice, you can teach your Samoyed to whisper or to stop barking on cue. This is done by first teaching them to bark on cue and then adding another cue for them to stop or whisper.
Meet Their Needs
A great way to curb nuisance barking in particular is to meet all of their needs. This means physical exercise, mental stimulation, medical needs, suitable food, sleep, and the opportunity to engage in species-specific and breed-specific behaviours on a regular basis.
Reward Calm Behaviours
Teaching your Samoyed to relax in various environments by rewarding calm behaviours and working on impulse control is a great way to tackle excitement barking because the alternative is much more rewarding. Exercises and games designed to lower arousal levels are also useful in these scenarios.
Prevent Barking Opportunities
Some Samoyeds bark when they can see everything that’s going on outside, others bark when they can only hear but not see when something is happening in their territory. Blocking off access to doors or windows or specifically granting access to these areas might help them relax. Additionally, avoiding situations during which your Samoyed is likely to bark is a great way to prevent them from practising this behaviour.
Give Them Other Means Of Communication
When Samoyeds communicate their wants and needs, they aren’t particularly subtle. Oftentimes, owners are told never to give in to demand barking and the behaviour will stop, but giving them different means of communication is easier because it teaches them an alternative behaviour instead of stopping an existing one. Improving interspecies communication and listening to your dog’s needs can also strengthen your bond and give your Samoyed more control in their rather restricted life. Examples of alternative communication methods are: training your dog to ring a bell, introducing recordable talk buttons, or teaching your Samoyed to point at whatever they want – either by looking at it or booping it with their nose.
Conclusion
At a little over 2 1/2 years old, Banshee is a calm and quiet Samoyed, especially at home. This is not because I was lucky to get a quiet dog, it took training to get to this point. Particularly during her teenage stage, things looked a lot different. It was never my intention to stop her from barking altogether and it should not be your goal, either. Barking is a natural dog behaviour, after all. I even encourage excitement barking when we play together and I love the fact that she talks back to me in calmer, quieter ways than she used to. I love it when she howls along with the sirens and when she aroos at me in the morning. I like that she alerts me to unusual happenings outside but stops when I tell her that it’s okay.
But I didn’t want my neighbours to complain and during work hours, I require some level of peace and quiet. Through the methods mentioned above, we found a wonderful middle ground where Banshee is free to express herself without being a nuisance. Especially the use of talk buttons and pointing at things have helped us. Unless I actively encourage vocalisation, Banshee now expresses her needs, opinions, and feelings in other, more socially acceptable ways. Another plus point for the buttons and pointing: she can now tell me precisely what she wants and I no longer have to guess what her barking might mean.
A Fun Little Extra
This TikTok video shows teenage Banshee utilising her talk buttons while also barking. Teaching them to use these buttons or pointing at what they want can be a long process, especially while they are still growing and developing.
Button-slamming tantrums can happen when they get a little impatient, or they don’t know what they want – but they want something. Nowadays, our button use is a lot calmer and rarely accompanied by vocalisation.