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Hello,
I am writing from Mozambique, Africa. I recently got my first Basset Hound - A little girl named Papaya. She is the most gorgeous puppy ever!!! (a bit bias, no?!) She is now 3 months old.

Although Papaya is my first basset, I always had dogs and other pets: currently we have 1 Labrador, 1 Jack Russel Terrier, 1 baby cat (Papaya's best friend!!), 1 African Grey parrot, 1 lovebird and an unknown number of tortoises in the garden!!! And 2 small children!! A full house!

I know Bassets are famous for their loud barking, and can bark for hours if they are bored. Papaya just started barking while she is playing and teasing the other animals. This is adorable and I love to watch her doing this! But...... and this is my real question: should I let her do it or should I start telling her not to do this in order to avoid a barking problem in the future.... I know some amount of barking is normal and necessary, but I would rather not have a non-stop barking dog....

Thank you for all your inputs!

 

[Mommy2MaggieMae]

I feel your 'pain' on the barking. My Maggie does it allllll the time.

 

[Mikey T]

Papaya just started barking while she is playing and teasing the other animals.

the odd that you are succefully going to control barking during play are remote some bark a lot some not at all but the only real successful way I have seen to control a play barker is to eliminate play which causes more problems than it solve. Also keep in mind barking during play does not mean the dog will bark in different situation. Peopole coming to the door, boordom etc. Dog tend to be very specific in their behavior. The one thing that I do notice with play barking is it can be contagious that is a dog that did not do it before is more likely to pick up the habit when playing with a barker but never seen a barker become quiter from playing with a non-barker/

 

[Wworm]

haha. i barks all the time when i play w/other dogs. uh oh, i kinda have a reputation in my evening playgroup of 15-20 dogs. just me & my pal Lang (a golden retriever) are always the noisy ones. apparently, we are both very quiet and angelic at home.

but yeah, my teacher Mrs. C is making me stop doing that. well, it DOES scare some of the other dogs sometimes, and then they don't wanna play with me, which makes me sad it esp scares the smaller dogs and puppies, cause i am basset, hear me ROAR! yeah, i gotta LOUD bark.

so, i m supposed to get a 'timeout' when i bark, which consists of my person telling me 'no bark' then hanging on to my harness for a little to interrupt play. then i resume playing. if i bark, i get the 'timeout' again. if i'm quiet, sometimes my person will reward me.

i'm just trying to 'talk' to my doggie palz (i'm tellin' them to run like a wabbit, so i can chase them). i guess they don't always like to talk back.

finally, my person says, i seem to understand i'm not supposed to bark when they say 'no bark.' not sure i got it for awhile. but after they did it so many times, i do get it now. it's a little bettah. but sometimes i can't help myself, ya know what i mean??
--Worm

ps. Welcome to the forum, Papaya, that's a nice name. sounds like you live in a fun household

 

[Mikey T]

well, it DOES scare some of the other dogs

If you do everything to accomidate every phopbia of every dog that yours migh come in to contact with well all he will be able to do all day is sleep The question is which is the more abnormal behavior a dog barking while playing or a dog sfraid of barking that is obviously occuring at play? Frankly I would be more concerned with the dogs that are fearful of the barking.

Me personnally, ! would be looking for another play group rather than stop appropriate play behavior I think intrupting play in such a manner can do more harm than any of the damage from noisy play.

Stop Inturupting Play

Is Your Dog’s Rough Play Appropriate?

Our research shows that for many dogs, play fighting is the primary method used to negotiate new relationships and develop lasting friendships. Although play is fun, it also offers serious opportunities to communicate with another dog. In this sense, play is a kind of language. Thus, when we regularly break up what we consider “inappropriate” play, are we doing our dogs a service, or confusing them by constantly butting into their private conversations? Most importantly, how can we tell the difference?

...Lately, there has been a lot of attention paid to the question: what is “safe” dog play? Although we recommend carefully monitoring play between dogs who are significantly different in size or age, or who do not know each other well, our studies have shown that dogs are very good at figuring out which dogs they want to play with and how to play well with their friends. Presumably, dogs are better than humans at speaking and understanding dog language. Perhaps it is time to humble ourselves and listen to them.

 

[Princess Buttercup]

PB ONLY barks at the dog park & daycare. I have to admit that it's hysterical when her, "Woof!" scares other dogs. She's such a cream puff with absolutely no bite to her bark. Pretty sure the direct translation is either "hey let's run" or a "slow down wait for me!"

 

[SacBasset]

Tommy and Bailey are both howlers when they play. I don't try and silence them unless I have a headache. The problem I have with them is the excitement when I walk in the door they are jumpers and jump up on people. Howling isn't a problem in my book unless they are just howling at everything in sight.

 

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Thank you for you useful advice and tips. It been a while since I had a small puppy...
Cheers!