Does your Doodle yap?

[Krista Sue]

Good morning. I have a question for all of you. Our puppy Maggie will be 11 weeks this Thursday and we've had her for 2 weeks now. She is adjusting fairly well and we are all falling into a new routine. It thankfully seems to be getting a little easier each day. The question I have is, are your Doodles yappy? Maggie has a high pitched yappy bark and I admit, it drives me and my husband a bit nuts. I'm hoping that this high pitched yap is temporary and if it's not, is it something I can break her of through training? I appreciate your thoughts and feedback.

[Mindy Rapp]

Doodle rarely barks. She only barks a things she's afraid of like a toad on the patio and the cat. We had her for weeks before I even heard her bark. What is she barking at? I was told golden retrievers rarely bark, but poodles do. Maybe Maggie has a little more poodle in her, but she really looks just like Doodle. I wanted another big dog to bark and scare potential intruders away, but unless a giant cat or a toad breaks into my house, I will be out of luck.

[Krista Sue]

Enzo is adorable! :)

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Aw, thanks!

[Krista Sue]

Hi Mindy,

Thank you for your reply. Maggie yaps when she's excited. It is typically when I'm filling her bowl for breakfast or her dinner or when she's playing with our older dog, Chloe or when I initially put her in her crate. She has also started to yap at strangers. For instance, we had someone doing yard work over the weekend and she was yapping at them. It's funny because she is already a better guard dog then our 4 year old Doberman/Pointer mix who just wants to say hello and love every stranger she meets. Maggie is an F1B Doodle so she is 75% standard poodle and 25% golden retriever so maybe it's the poodle in her that is more yappy? I'm hoping she outgrows the yapping. I'm starting obedience training with her in 2 weeks and hopefully they can give me some tips on how to break her of the yapping but in the meantime, I thought I'd post on here to see if others have the same situation.

[Mindy Rapp]

I have a little 8.5 lb shih tzu mix that barks like crazy, but Doodle who is over 30 lbs now would let anyone walk by without a sound. Doodle is also kind of a shy puppy and she's very afraid when other dogs bark at her. She's in her second round of training trying to get her to come out of her shell a little bit. Maybe it's because of the extra poodle in her. Doodle is 1/2 and 1/2 although we had a golden retriever puppy in our first class and it barked all the time. Doodle was scared to death of her.

[Tammy and Violet]

Violet barks LOUDLY  and high pitched at people and dogs when we are inside , she isjust one year old..I am still trying to get a handle on that...They say  dont yell for her to stop as she sees me joining in on the barking ... makes me nuts also ... and kinda ambarassed !! I know I need to start working on the "watch me " command , but ..man !!   

[Krista Sue]

Thank you for the reply Tamara. You are not alone. I am saying, "No bark" when she yaps at me or our other dog but she just looks at me and keeps yapping. LOL! I am going to seek some training tips on trying to nip this while she's still young.

[Tammy and Violet]

I have a spray bottle  of water I use ...also lemon juice and cinnamon breath spray I also heard works .

I have seen my neighboors plug her ears at one time !!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned is not yappy but he does have a high pitched annoying bark.  He is our pack leader so barks first when he hears a noise. We have used a can with coins or rocks (shake it to stop the bark) that works as long as we are right there.   He is 5 now and we finally got a bark collar which really worked for us.  Your little Maggie is way to young to even consider a collar.

[Krista Sue]

Hi Tamara and Nancy, thank you for the feedback. I agree Maggie is still just a baby. I'm starting puppy classes with her in 2 weeks and I'm hoping they can offer some training tips to discourage the yapping. Fortunately, its not constant and just when she's super excited. I may try a water spray bottle and see how she responds to that. Thank you again. :)

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

We have already noticed the change in pitch of Enzo's bark. She is now 17 weeks and her bark has definitely lowered in pitch. She is not a huge barker, but is starting to be a bit braver and a tad protective of her yard.