Is barking hereditary?

SAujla

SAujla

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I am going to see a litter of Labrador puppies in a few weeks, I spoke with the breeder for a long time over the phone and she sounded fantastic. One thing that is nagging away is that she said the mother does bark a lot, more than what would be considered normal and that her father was similar. Is this something that is genetic and the pup will have a predisposition to bark more than normal? I know this can be trained to improve but I'm wondering if that is more difficult if excessive barking is hardwired, a nature vs nurture kind of thing.
 
If the bitch is barking due to be anxious then yes the puppies can be more anxious. Hormones and stress chemicals given off by the bitch when carrying the pups effect how the puppies brains develop.
Also if the puppies Re being exposed to the bitch being stressed by different things and bring in response, such as visitors, a person going pat th house or noises the puppies may react nervously to those things as the bitch being stressed may well have stressed them.
It's good the breeder has been honest by I would not take puppies from the, I would just say my circumstances hve changed and I cannot take one, I would not want to put th breeder off being honest with others.
As always there will be the exceptions but I have found them to be rare.
 
I would go and see, if you feel you are strong enough to say no if necessary. Look at the bitch and see if she is uptight.
On the whole I agree with Twiggy, all of our dogs are so much like their mum's in temperament.
 
I should probably ask the breeder maybe a bit more directly as well about the barking? Its the moms second litter so maybe she's had feedback about what the puppies from the first litter are like.
 
One of our Lab pups barks when she is playing and/or to get attention. We have never had such a vocal Lab before and her litter sister is much quieter. I have no idea whether it is a genetic tenancy or not, her mum certainly didn't seem to be noisy and neither did her older sister. We didn't meet Dad.

Tbh I think it is just the luck of the draw.
 
Interesting post, every day is a school day :)

I have never known the parentage of any of my dogs but I do sometimes wonder what behaviours are nature rather that nurture. It never occurred to me that barking could be hereditary.

Current dogs are relatively quiet but I have lived with some terribly gobby dogs that shouted for no obvious reason sometimes.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Vocalising is definitely genetic.

The vast majority of behaviours are genetic.
As Lev said, if you know your lines you can generally hazard a guess at how a dog is bred based on behaviours and looks.
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The breeder did mention that the dams father was also an excessive barker, the father of the litter has some European and American ancestry
 
Sukhpreet Aujla said:
I am going to see a litter of Labrador puppies in a few weeks....
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Nothing to add in answer to your question, but I just wanted to say very best wishes in your search for a puppy. After all the research you've done and care you seem to be taking I really hope you find a lovely one - will have everything crossed that the right one turns up.
 
Thank you Widgeon!

After speaking with a few other people who know a lot about dogs/breeding and the responses on here I've decided to withdraw myself from the list. What Clodagh said was something I was concerned about in terms of being strong enough to say no and not try and spin something negative in my mind to try and make it not seem a big deal. I made up a vague excuse as it was pointed out the breeder was honest and that honesty is not something I want to compromise for other people.
 
It's just what you're prepared to put up with really...my older dog is very noisy in work (the drive has to come out somewhere, for him, it's through noise) but not socially, to the extent that my neighbours/landlords joke that they forget I have a dog.

If you're living in a built up area, a dog you already know may have the propensity to be noisy probably isn't the best idea. My trainer looked at litters all over Europe and walked away from them if it didn't feel right, this is an animal who will hopefully be living in your home into double figures, do what is right for you and do not feel pressured into buying a pup or feel that you 'have to' for any reason other than, the dog will be the best fit for you.
 
CorvusCorax said:
It's just what you're prepared to put up with really...my older dog is very noisy in work (the drive has to come out somewhere, for him, it's through noise) but not socially, to the extent that my neighbours/landlords joke that they forget I have a dog.

If you're living in a built up area, a dog you already know may have the propensity to be noisy probably isn't the best idea. My trainer looked at litters all over Europe and walked away from them if it didn't feel right, this is an animal who will hopefully be living in your home into double figures, do what is right for you and do not feel pressured into buying a pup or feel that you 'have to' for any reason other than, the dog will be the best fit for you.
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This all makes a lot of sense. What really stuck in my mind is that I know I will have a problem with the two dogs next door who bark a lot, and there is another excessive barker a few houses away, so it just felt like having a pup who might be on the noisy side is asking for trouble that can be avoided by waiting for a better fit like you say.
 
There will be people who see barking as being a bonus, plenty of folk want a watchdog as well as a pet so it goes both ways. Labs are not generally noisy so possibly for someone else that would be a selling point. Far better to find the right fit for you though
 
Definitely genetic in certain breeds. It's a common trait in my breed and one you are warned about by anyone who's had Lappies. They are a vocal breed.

It's been a battle from a young age to stop my girl expressing ALL emotions vocally and loudly.
Control is however trainable.
Mine now only tells the world in screams of barking and high pitched excitement noises when she meets her favourite people...or barks a bit when worked up on the beach(short term episodes I can live with!)
In public and in our day to day life she's learned to refrain from passing a loud opinion on everything...after frequent consistent correction to discourage that behaviour from age of 9 weeks. I knew it was a potential issue so took steps from day one to minimise it as I didnt want to live with a barky dog.
I've also threatened everyone I know that the person who thinks it's funny to encourage or teach her to speak will be castrated by me if I catch them.

In labs though I'd be carefully checking for nervous temperament in the dam though. They should be bombproof friendly happy dogs not worriers.
 
My mothers dog was bark-y when he was a pup. Like Aru, we tried to teach him not to bark. Instead the little git growls at us in various tones. So he's still incredibly vocal but not shouty anymore!
 
I should add, that our dog is a Yorkshire terrier, who, whilst he thinks he is King and Empire of not just the known world, but the unknown world too, can usually be picked up and cuddled into submission, or distracted with a toy.

If he was a bigger/scarier looking dog I'd be more worried about his growling.
 
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