Newby question - dogs doesn't bark

9 years ago

First time posting in this particular forum.
We recently had a dog show up at our farm site- I'm not sure if she was dumped or where she came from.
We haven't had a dog in about 20 years.
We couldn't have asked for a nicer dog - she's gentle, doesn't jump, doesn't make a mess, etc.
She's been running back and forth to the neighbors a mile away; however they're expecting a baby soon and not wanting a dog. Plus, with the cold wintry weather, we have a heated shop that we let her stay in so she's gradually adopting us

But my concern is she doesn't bark which doesn't seem natural. I looked on line and it appears this could be a sign of Laryngeal Paralysis or a tumor. Has anyone encountered a situation like this? If so, what did you do?

I'm not keen on running her to the veterinarian and incurring costs. Plus I have no idea if someone will come looking for her. For now we've been keeping her warm and fed. We're not sure how old she is or what breed - thinking lab/German Sheperd cross. When she first arrived it looked like she may have had pups in the not to distant past.

These pics were taken when she first arrived and she'd look in the door to my office. Ultimately I bought a bag of bacon treats which really won her over.

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Comments (9)

User
9 years ago
She looks lovely and she has certainly chose your family. I wouldn't worry, I have two dogs that don't bark, and know several others that don't either. I'm sure there is probably nothing to worry about.
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
9 years ago
To my untrained eye, maybe she has some Basenji in her. Maybe not... But because you don't know her history, it could be something as simple/evil as in her past she's had an electric shock collar on her so she wouldn't bark.

It's great that she's a nice dog. If you're going to keep her, you will want to get her to the vet for shots etc. They should also be able to tell you if she has been spayed, as being a farm dog, you certainly don't want another litter of puppies.

Thanks for taking her in!
K
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hilltop_gw
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the reassurance Ninkasi.

I hadn't thought of a prior electric shock collar. We're also noticed she's very aware if someone raises an arm as she'll retreat in fear. Kind of sad.

If she's still here after a few more weeks we'll likely make a run to the vet for shots and have her spayed.
funkycamper
9 years ago
Oh, what a sweetie!

My dad's dog never barked either and she was well treated. Just a real mellow, gentle dog. After my dad passed on, I inherited her so she was around my dog, who barked at everything, a lot more often than she had been before. Well, we're driving to the bay where there is a huge field perfect for dog running, as we did most days, and my dog is doing her usual barking at every other dog she sees. And my dad's dog barked. I couldn't believe it. Just once. And she never did it again. I think she was just curious to see what it was all about.

She lived to be 22 years old. I think she lived so long because she was so mellow.

Enjoy your new dog. Looks like a keeper to me. Yes to shots, de-worming, and spaying.

What are you going to name her?
hilltop_gw
Original Author
9 years ago
Oh funkycamper, mellow is a good descriptive word for her. And interesting you should ask what we are going to name her. The dog probably already has an identity crisis.

My original thought was Marley, but my son, who lives in an apartment on our farm unbeknownst to me began calling her Jade, and told all our employees that was the dogs name. I have no idea where he came up with that. I didn't care for Jade as it didn't roll off my tongue well, so I nicknamed her Jaden. Yesterday I found out the neighbor where the dog has been going part time was calling her Goldie. So somewhere in there is the name we'll call her. I'd imagine it will be the Jade/Jaden since my son is pretty attached to her.
funkycamper
9 years ago
Whatever you call her, she will love you. Enjoy your new friend!
schoolhouse_gw
9 years ago
Bless you for looking after her. I also thought of Basenji, but then read here that others have had dogs that didn't bark. Could also be as someone suggested she was "trained" to not bark with the collar. :( I like the mellow suggestion better.
calliope
9 years ago
I rescued a young terrier/Italian greyhound mix from our shelter several years ago who didn't bark, or even emit a sound for nearly six months. Then it started vocalizing, but sounded more like gasps and sqeaks. It barks now, but is not 'a barker' in the sense that he only goes off when sighting deer or small prey. But, his bark is quite normal sounding now. Being the breed it is, it has a long, slender neck. I put it in a halter right from the get-go because of it and not wanting to injure it when it pulled against a leash. I suspect that my poor pooch had been jerked around by a collar to the point of injury, and as it's aging, notice an occasional spell of what sounds like trachea collapse. I did nothing, other than to take common sense precautions with restraints. His voice just returned naturally.
christine1950
9 years ago
God bless you, she showed up on your door step for a reason. Thank you for taking care of her. I hope karma gets whoever dumped her, she's a beauty...

Newby question - dogs doesn't bark

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kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)

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Newby question - dogs doesn't bark

Comments (9)

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kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)

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