Puppy not barking

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Puppy not barking
by MARY
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Puppy not barking I know most will think I am crazy but since I have never owned a Maltese before I am concerned. My 7 month old male puppy, Cozmo, does not bark. He is the sweetest dog I have ever owned and he gets lots of attention. It has been tough training him because we have to guess when he has to go out. He sits and looks at us when he has to go out. If we do not see the look right away, he goes on the floor close to the door. I feel so bad because he is trying to do the right thing but can't get the message across. He doesn't bark at strangers or at noises and does not have a hearing problem. He often tries to ( for lack of a better term) "talk" to us. It is a strange vocal sound that he does when we aren't paying enough attention to him. It is quite funny. I just need to hear if this is okay or not. Maybe I should thank my lucky stars. Thank you for your comments.

DISCUSSION:

So far Buster (6 mos old) only barks when he is playing or wants attention. He also makes funny little "talking sounds". As far as him barking he doesn't. I try to take him out every hour or so. If I am in the kitchen he will go to the door if he wants out. I watch him very closely and I can usually tell when he needs to go. Someone in a previous discussion topic said their baby goes to the door and rings bells that are attached to the doorknob which I think is a great idea.
Libby & Buster

I don't know why your baby doesn't bark. CJ used to look at us, too but she barks now. We didn't want her to bark when she goes out so I tacked some sleigh bells to the door frame and she will ring those when she wants to go out. To train her, I would take her paw and hit the bells before I let her out and would say something like, "Good CJ, ring the bell". It took some time (couple of months) as she was almost afraid of them at first, but now...

In fact, my husband was putting on his shoes the other morning before taking her out and he wasn't fast enough so she slapped the bells with her paw and nosed them to get him to speed things up. I adore that little girl! Good luck
Ginger & CJ

I now have my second Maltese and with both dogs I had train him to bark to go out. This will sound weird but when I know he has to go I go to the door with him and say "speak to go out" and then bark. I do this several times then take him out. It took several days but they will get it. Also on this site someone suggested putting a bell on the door and teaching the dog to bat it when they need to go out. Good luck hopes this helps.
Linda K

Oh, Mary! Your Cozmo is the same as my little dog, Otto. It is a very mixed blessing. Otto never barks, except to greet me when I come home. I just take him out every few hours and he goes - or not. It is a pain. Lots of folks told me to tie a ribbon with some bells on the door and teach him to ring them when he wants to go out. Well, I ring them every time I take him out but he still won't go and ring them. It has been a month now since I put up the bells. Maybe it will work for you!
valan

Mitzi finally started barking one day when I put her on the sofa with me, I walked away some time later and forgot all about her (not really... I thought she was sleeping and didn't want to disturb the princess). Boy, was I surprised when I heard her barking at me to get her, she's not very athletic. I wonderd if she could talk at that moment want nasty words she was really saying to me. She was about 9 months old. But she still doesn't BARK to go out. She goes to the door or if we don't see her go to the door she starts her "Boy do I have to go pee- walk (an exaggerated wiggle). It reminds me of the wiggle that my second twin would do when the first twin was still on the potty when they were being potty trained. She (Mitzi not the twins) also has her " Boy do I have to go poop-dance"! She also does that "talking thing" you mentioned and it melts my heart. I guess some dogs/maltese just aren't barking dogs? Mary maybe your just Crazy in love like all of us with our little white fur balls. Good Luck to you and Cosmo! I'm sure going to need it (luck) if my twins now 19 year old girls (Jamie and Nicki) read this!!!
Lori and Mitzi

I wouldn't worry too much really, some dogs are just not as vocal as other. Sooner or later he will find a way to get his message across to you. Are you quite sure he isn't deaf.. or hearing impaired? Does he respond when you call him even if he isn't in the same room or looking at you? In any case, I'd mention it to the vet during your next trip.. make sure he takes a look at the vocal cords and all. It really may be that you have just lucked out with a quiet dog.
Aimee

Our Maltese Sassie, is about 14 months old. Her first bark came at 9 months (truly by accident). It is still very rare to hear her bark. One string of barks every week or so is enough for her. We had the same problem with house training. Sassie would sit in front of the door and hope someone would notice her. She has now learned to come and get someone's attention and then walk toward the door. Every time my mother brings her dog to our house, we are reminded how lucky we are that Sassie prefers not to bark.
ChrisL

Mary, I think I would be thankful! Taffy has never barked to go out, she comes up to me and stares at me. Of course she does bark at other things. Have you asked the vet to check his throat and everything? If all that is ok, I would say you just have a very good baby!
Robin K.

Hi Mary, did you ask your vet about this? My mom has a cat that won't meow and her vet said something was wrong with her vocal cords and she would always have the problem. It can be a blessing in disguise that he doesn't bark-but I think I would rather have my dogs bark than not bark. My older dog Bianca didn't bark until I got my second dog. She kinda learned from her. Check it out with the vet and if nothing is wrong with him than enjoy the peace and quiet!
Angel

Hi Mary- epper is 16 months old now. He was close to a year old before he ever barked. He would sit by the door endlessly until we noticed and that meant that he had to go out. Even now when he needs to go out he won't bark. He tells us he has to go out by pawing at our leg. He does now bark at strangers, doorbells ringing, etc. I too posted a message to this board to find out if that was "normal". I assume just like Pepper your dog will eventually begin to bark also. Baby is only 4 months old and has barked since day one. I guess just like kids, they do things at their own pace. Enjoy the silence while it lasts :)
Lydia/Pepper/Baby

Oh you lucky little d.....come to my house if you want to hear barking !! Mine bark all the day long ...at ANYTHING...even at my creeking old joints ! ha,ha....
Renee

Hi Mary, I wouldn't worry about this. My Bailey was also a very quiet girl and never barked until about 1 month ago (she is now 8 1/2 months) and still it is not very often - THANK GOODNESS. I just consider myself lucky not to have a really yappy baby and I do use the PuppyJohn so going out is not really a problem because she is trained to go outside also. The bells on the door sounds like a great idea but maybe like mine, you baby will soon start saying a few words. Good Luck!
Robin D.

Oh to have a dog that didn't bark. My little girl barks at everything and sometimes it's hard to get her to be quiet. Feel fortunate that your little one is quiet. We live in military housing and the sounds of Snowball's bark just rings across the neighnborhood. Some think it's cute but others look a bit annoyed. I guess your little ones just don't have anything to say but mine sure does.
Kathy

My Beau (7 mo) doesn't bark much either. The first couple of days that we had him home, he did make a weird bird-like sound. He now barks maybe once a month and it is such a shock. It almost seems to scare him! In fact, when we first got him, my 3 year old nephew was convinced that he was a bunny. I told him he was a dog, but he said that doggies bark. Oh well. He does like carrots. hmmm.....
trish