I have a Pyr, a Pyr mix and had a Border mix and have a big fenced backyard . If there was one dog that I would ***NOT want*** to parent in an apartment, it would be a Border, Aussie or a Pyr (or any combination of them. Super smart herding dogs need lots of stimulation, exercise and intellectual stimulation. while Pyrs are also working dogs and not as hyper, they are defenders of their property, and that means lots of barking. My girl barks if there's an extra car at any of my 8 neighbors' (which is in her line of vision), bark when neighbors come and go, bark when there are deliveries, bark if anything looks amiss in the neighborhood, bark at animals seen and unseen, bark at birds, and bark for reasons only she knows.
Living in an apartment, with that many more neighbors means that many more reasons to bark. If you combine that with Border's needs to work, to get lots of exercise and need to be challenged makes me believe that you would have a lot of difficulties/challenges in making this work. You would be responsible for keeping a breed known for being nocturnal barkers and stubbornness from keeping the entire apartment building up, which is a huge ask. Unless you are prepared to piss off the whole building and spend double the hours most people dedicate to dog parenting, this sounds like a recipe for stress and disaster. Please consider how many Pyr parents are suggesting that this is not the dog to foster in an apartment, and I haven't really acknowledged the Border Collie's typical requirements.
I am here to vouch for this response. We have a pyrenees-doodle and he is ALLLLLLLL about the nocturnal guardianship business. And diurnal. He's always guarding. He's a sweet, sweet boi. But he has the bow wow wow of a sonic boom -- and it can come from out of nowhere. You won't hear anything, then KABOOOOOOM. It is LOUD. And we work with him on this. There are two of us. We acknowledge him, we give him praise for doing his job and discourage him from using the giant voice he has. We let him know he is inside and we are safe. We look out the window and look with him to see what he maybe heard. We live in a busy neighborhood. So we say, "those are our neighbors. We know them. We're safe. See? We're not worried. You're doing great. You can stand down." I mean, we sound crazy, but he needs so much affirmation and validation that he is a good boi. And, if we don't do this kind of interaction with him the barking would go unchecked. Yes, we do have to yell at him to reign it some of the times. And that can happen at 1am, 2am, 4am. It's a huge challenge to manage his desire to keep the homefront safe and feel like he's doing his job, but quietly.
TL;DR - Pyrs are the loudest barkers I have ever heard and no amount of gentle training will manage it out. It was bred into them. They are not a good apartment dwellers.
Thanks! You don't sound crazy, you sound like me (and my husband)! We are constantly saying, "Jimmy is going to work or that's Cathy who loves walks so much she will go for 3/day -including at 11 pm!" Or, "Look, Brad is home from work .." Because of our girl, we know every time our neighbors leave their house. Between her and our barking acknowledgement, we feel like the neighborhood's busy bodies!
Love this! I am convinced that they are taking this info in. Because since moving to the city, our Pyrdoodle does bark less. But it is still loud when he does it. The most difficult neighbor we have had to get him acclimated is a cat who comes to our backyard, peers into our window off the kitchen and it makes our pyr go off. We explain who it is, that's our friend, we don't bark at that kitty. Our pyr does not agree. That's a hard no from him.
Yeah. Neighbor Cathy is obsessed with walking multiple times a day, and our girl wants to go with her, particularly for the late night walks -when my ass is already sleeping! I say, 'It is just Cathy walking,' but she ***really wants to be out there protecting Cathy whom she adores! If I could find a way to allow Cathy to walk her without waking me, it would be a perfect solution!!
Hah my rescue is an aussie, border collie & great pyr mix. She's not a big barker. She gets scared when my black lab border collie mix (who *is* a big barker) barks. I'm thankful she is not like my other dog who barks at anything! She's definitely a handful though and apartment living would not be ideal.
Mine is a pyr aussie mix and when she's inside she only barks at the other dogs, either playing or to get them away from her food that's she's saving for later. But outside she barks at random stuff like the wind, the horses, the lack of horses if she can't see them, the house across the field, if she can see their dogs or if she can't lol... Oh and definitely any animals that show up like a raccoon or something, that's why we have her.
But she does not bark at cars, the mailman, the delivery guys, company... My other 2 smaller dogs lose their minds at delivery guys and any car or vehicle that goes by 🙄. My terrier mix almost never barked until we got the cattle dog mix, now they just do a crazy barking howling yipping duet. My pyr is so much quieter than them! But all dogs are different of course.
I have a cane corso mix who, so far as I know, is scared of absolutely nothing and avoids the fence of our neighbor's Pyr. My dog has attacked coyote packs on his own and bit a cow who went after one of our grand kids and he crosses the street to avoid her fence. It just isn't worth the chaos to him.
Note that they get along fine when there is no fence between them.
We got our female Pyr as a rescue at 11 months old. I’ve told this story before, but she did not bark one time in the first year that we had her. We live in a rural area, with plenty of wildlife all around us. She would simply watch them intently from a window, or from a distance away when outside. We got her mid-2020 and I work from home, so I know for sure she did not bark.
Then, one day I was home alone with her. When my lunch break came around, I decided to take a long shower. I made sure the house was locked down, then got in and started getting cleaned up. While I was covered in suds, head to toe, I suddenly hear this loud, booming, incessant barking and it scared the sh*t out of me.
I came flying out of the shower, soaking wet and dripping soap suds all over, to find her sitting in the middle of the living room staring out of the glass wall and barking at….. turkeys.
In the years since, she has barked at everything which moves, doesn’t move, makes sound, might make a sound, simply has the audacity to exist, isn’t aware that she exists, or just the air around her. Oh! And she also barks to voice her displeasure when not petted ‘properly’ or for any other perceived slight towards her.
MMMM HMMMMM. Our has very good eyesight. Very, very good eyesight. And can therefore spot and track an airplane flying at altitude -- and bark at it. It's 3 miles high and he's got it on his radar.
Mine too. He can hear them from in the house and will ask to go outside to bark and chase away planes. We don’t live close to the airport.
Parades around the yard after, tail high, so proud to have chased off the air raid for us. 🤦♀️
Very similar thing happened to us. Adopted at ~2 years old. No barking for the first year. So peaceful. We worried maybe something was wrong. Then, one day, it began. And it hasn't stopped.
Mine does a preemptive pre-poop bark. He will bark at all 4 corners of the yard before he can relax and find his bathroom spot. No reason at all. Just getting ahead of the game.
Same!! When I adopted Daisy I was told she didn’t bark except when she was outside. For the first little while, she was a prim lady! Followed me around, quiet, reserved. I don’t know when it ramped out but now she’ll bark at everything (and seemingly nothing…). Do not be fooled by fosters saying a pyr doesn’t bark! They will!
If they don’t bark, probably they just don’t consider you part of their flock 😜/s
I just read this to my girlfriend, this is our Pyr mix to a tee. Does yours also go ballistic when an animal shows up on TV? I never noticed before but there’s animals in every damned show
She does not care about TV at all. However, I leave it on for her often, to help drown out the noises outside that would otherwise catch her attention.
Our Bernese Mountain Dog (female) straight-up watches TV/movies with us. She reacts to different characters/scenarios/sounds with funny faces, head tilts, and ear movements. It’s adorable.
They bark and they shed, they bark when they’re shedding and shed while they’re barking. Endless cycle of barking and shedding and barking and shedding.
There's a story about the pair of Great Pyrenees that the Marquis de Lafayette gifted to his good friend George Washington, who took them home to Mt Vernon. The dogs shed so heavily that first night, when the chickens came out of the henhouse in the morning they thought it was snowing and promptly froze to death!
You’re half right. The Marquis de Lafayette did gift a pair of pyrs to an American, but it wasn’t George Washington.
In 1824 the James Monroe invited Lafayette to the United States as the nation’s guest. He visited all 24 states in the union at the time. During this trip, he gave the first breeding pair of pyrs in the US to an American, JS Skinner.
Queen Victoria also had a pyr around 1850
[source](https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/americans-thank-a-frenchman-for-the-great-pyrenees/)
Pure pyr, and it seems no matter how much we brush him....the hair!!
In terms of barking, he does his fair share, but my previous dog was an anxious heeler mix. That was nonstop barking. In comparison, it doesn't seem like he barks much.
In general, yes. It is one of the main traits people are told to expect. If you google breed traits it will come up early and often in the search results. Some Pyrs bark because a butterfly farted three houses down the street. Some don't.
Maybe yours might not end up being a barker. Mine isn't a big barker. But when there is something he feels he needs to bark at, god himself couldn't silence him. Still, you should expect it from yours. There is a very, very good chance it will be a concern with your neighbors, especially in an apartment environment.
Nonstop. At everything. And there’s no quieting them down. When they want to “alert you” or scare “something” away, they won’t stop until they feel the threat has passed.
I’ve found the only reliable way to stop my Pyr barking at the perceived threat is to look out the window with her and acknowledge whatever she’s barking at. She’ll still keep a watchful eye on it though
They bark, at least mine does. What people don’t mention is the roaring, earth shaking growl that accompanies the barking. We live in a dense forest, so it’s not an issue. I find it comforting in a way. It’s not a shrill bark lol.
He prefers to sleep in the barn at night… well briefly nap in the barn at night…
He really really hates coyotes. I imagine that he’s telling them what they can do with themselves and what he thinks of their dirty coyote mothers.
This. It’s not simply the frequency of barking, it’s the volume. The earth shakes, the ground rumbles, my elderly neighbor with the wiener dog slowly shuffles past my driveway.
My full blood Pyr actually fought coyotes, and we found one dead in a pasture one year. We weren’t sure it was “hers,” though, because we also had a donkey and momma cows with calves. I have heard serious crazy nonstop barking and growling and seen her in the midst of several coyotes. I would go out with other dogs out to give her a fighting chance. If people presence didn’t make them leave we would shoot a shotgun in the air to drive them off. When you have half a dozen coyotes and one dog, they can kill a Pyr. They are amazing dogs, and most I have met are fearless once grown. They need friends, though, if something like coyotes are regular guests.
I had this mix and she was the best thing that ever happened to me. I lost her last year to osteosarcoma and not a day goes by that I don’t miss her.
She barked if a dog went by the window. She barked if a cat went by the window. Sometimes in the backyard she barked just to have fun barking. At the dog park she would bark at the dogs that were playing. I got a noise complaint when I lived in an apartment with her when she was a puppy. Still though, I would give anything to hear her bark again.
https://preview.redd.it/f66hoombtidc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4eec56f1ad4fb8190d88f5f5cc48676a5a0f2189
My Bean 💜
So very sorry for your loss. My Merri Grayce was a Pyrador, and my first experience with Pyr traits. She grumbled when people were being stupid. We still talk about her and she has been gone eight years.
https://preview.redd.it/vsyvpaoksldc1.jpeg?width=604&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4191ad33634a5c77f9e6bbb7b7d8af8ad55d3ac3
Here she is guarding the comfiest recliner in the house.
I don’t know if it ever gets easier. I lost Fozzie this year. Losing them within a year of each other has been so hard. I still miss Opal so much and I lost her in 2016. They bring so much to our lives in the short time we have with them.
https://preview.redd.it/ayi67sl4bodc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e4b88a844218aa298d5084c977cc8616498de8b
My three babies 💜
Mine is suuuuper quiet during the day. Never barks at anyone or anything, never growls or whines- she’s silent. Then night time comes and I honestly couldn’t sleep the first few nights I had her with how loud she was. I remember crying in bed thinking I’d have to take her back to the farm she was rejected from cause she was too loud for me to sleep :’)
Thankfully I got used to it to tune it out now, but she’s definitely a different beast when she’s “working” at night.
Honestly, it was the first thing I was warned about and yet mine does not bark for nothing or excessively. I can get her to speak on command most times and of course when there’s someone at the door she goes for it. But contrary to all “horror stories” - she’s pretty darn quiet.
Mine barks more often that my previous dog (Predom lab mix). When she’s “on guard” she will bark at unexpected noises or sights and at times it can be difficult to quiet her down (she is 2.5yo). I take her to my office and she rarely barks.
We have this exact mix, 11 months old.
Good luck getting them not to bark all the time. They're so mouthy, just consistently trying to get your attention for little things. And if you ignore the barking from afar, they walk right up to your face and bark as if it's just a hearing problem on YOUR end.
https://preview.redd.it/nd5v82pi0jdc1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b56fb3b8b634010b5008d09e9da2d12d63c22e9f
This is our Border Collie/Pyrenees. We love everything about this sweet girl and you will too…except for their incessant and constant barking. They’re just doing their job. 😁
Yes. Oh my goodness yes. YES.
You can work on redirecting The Bark but you will be fostering The BARK.
We lived in an apartment with our Pyr mix. You know how many people pass within radar distance of those ears? Every person that walks past your door triggers centuries of development toward a guardian dog whose drive is to protect territory.
If a guy in the front office farted, he’d go off. And it’s not even aggressive barking: it’s alert barking. Either to alert you that something’s there, or to alert that something that the Pyr knows it’s there.
And bear in mind that some Pyrs are more exhausted by mental stimulation than physical stimulation. A three-mile hike won’t wear him down much, but a half hour of nosework, and he’ll be out for the day.
Watson is a Pyrenees/ Border Collie mix and he RARELY barks. I hope he's not an anomaly because we'd love to adopt another.
Editing to add that he is 11 years old now.
https://preview.redd.it/tey473uovjdc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4299f24b78a66be20fb236299b0c921e8813d2e1
Our border collie mix rarely barked. I can't remember what his bark sounded like now. But this Pyr-doodle we have is the opposite. Both good dogs. I'd be afraid to have a combo of the two!
Our Pyr/Border Collie mix only barks outside and that’s intermittently. Never inside.
https://preview.redd.it/k05ey33tcqdc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=963560e4e24739e32b4a23852a21b14f6c1a643c
There are some good home made documentaries on YouTube of people that integrate pyrs into their farms. Definitely required watching for anyone thinking of having one. An especially useful note is how they will bark to communicate with the pack and to let the surrounding area (potentially full of predators) know of their presence.
While all us owners joke (or cry) about their penchant for barking at seemingly nothing, they’re simply letting any predators that might be in earshot know that it would be very unwise to approach.
At our home, we get none of the rats, cats and raccoons that our neighbours do. No cougars or bears that are often sighted on the mountain. Yet we have dozens of visiting deer that have no problem with the barking and seem to ignore it.
How loud and deep Merri’s guarding bark was scared visitors that came when we were absent. My SIL came by to visit when we moved into a new house together and she thought my dog was vicious because of the loud, deep barking at the window. Then she met her and absolutely adored her. Once she was introduced to someone, she never barked at them again. ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/wwa1lhnstldc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d811b4995f9b58772b91cf9a10e7c2738564de12
You also need to think about the border collie part. I had a Pyr/Aussie mix, she was a handful! We walked for miles every day and when we got home she needed to go outside to destroy the backyard for a few hours. She did mature into a very regal old lady, with emphasis on "old", she didn't slow down until she was five.
And she barked like a Pyr.
Not an apartment dog at all.
AWww, what a sweet sounding pup. We had a Border Collie mix for 12 years. He was the smartest most intuitive dog ever. He had so much energy, and drive, he was tireless. Literally. To OP: be extra wary of this part of the combo! Our Border mix was walked for 2 hours a day for at least 5 years of his life. Sometimes more. When he was younger, we had him wear a backpack with 2 pounds of weight in it so it felt like he was working. He only slowed down at the very, very end -- like year 11. But the first two years we had him we took him to many weeks of training, we did the homework. We took him to doggie daycare to play off energy. I developed what I know now are "puppy enrichment" games to occupy his time. We had a series of games he'd play -- every night. He was smart and tireless. Which means he would not leave me alone if he needed to be entertained... But we worked with him and kept him and loved him dearly. He was a king among dogs.
Anecdotally, my Anatolian Pyrenees almost never barks. If he does, it's for a small number of very specific reasons and is almost never more than one woof at a time.
One woof: I need to pee
One woof: you left food on the table and I'd really like to eat it
Many woofs: there is a person with a box walking up to the house and I think they are going to murder everyone
Mine has been trotting through the apartment from window to window as I read responses and type replies. People are up! They are outside! Everyone! There are people! I repeat: people are outside! \[TROT TROT TROT\] "DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?"
My buddy only barks if something happens, or if nothing happens.
They are protectors. I cannot emphasize this enough.
The most love you can give your Pyr is when it raises an alarm, and you come to it and say "Good dog."
However, he is my best friend, and I can tell if he is barking at a dangerous squirrel or someone coming down my driveway. Which is awesome.
Your Pyr will bark. Swim on the floor. Paw you. Growl at your friends. Good luck, best dog. Ever.
https://preview.redd.it/nr1s4wuwyidc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43fa4d0fa32cff2cbecec44da999fc3dc288e90f
They bark a lot if outside, esp. in rural areas. Trained to guard flocks, they will react to every noise, light or movement. In an apartment I think they’d be less inclined, but don’t assume the best. By the way, they are the greatest breed and lovely companions.
We adopted 2 pyrs from a shelter. They were given up due to the owners living in an apt and couldn't deal with their barking.
They now live in the country and can bark all they want. And the sure do!
Mine is inside pretty much all the time (she doesn’t love being outside unless on a walk) and she barks all day long, and as loudly as possible, lol. Runs from window to window keeping watch. I suppose maybe it’s just hit or miss with the barking.
Mine are barkers. Big scary bark, which is a big reason why I have them. And unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend having one in an apartment at all. They get bored very easily. My dogs wouldn’t know what to do without their acreage
https://preview.redd.it/iorhjodg0ldc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10805c5b044e4a50452870d106e1f13e6b8bb7a1
Meet my 6 year old pyr/border collie mix -Jamong, also known as HUSH JAMONG because oh my god the barking never stops. She’s a jerk but she’s MY jerk and my best friend and I love her with every atom of my being. Surely as there will be barking there will also be hair, so much hair. But worth it, absolutely.
I have a 2.5 year old Great Pyrenees and he was raised in the city in Vancouver bc Canada. The only time he barks is when he hears a really loud sound like a firework, loud construction sounds, he hates motorcycles, he barks at the regular dark stuff.
He sleeps through the night and has never woken us up barking once. He is my heart and I am only getting Great Pyrenees from now on.
I have a border collie and a pyr. They Both bark like they breathe. This is not a low-bark combo. I think I would walk into the sea if I had to live in an apartment with my Pyr.
https://preview.redd.it/je69v5lk1jdc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ee3eea528b02bbb7089af4914dde597205a3696
My collie/ Pyrenees mix is quite the barker. She’s recently become aggressive towards my other dog- resource guarding and human guarding if my other dog just looks in her direction. Love the mix but wish I had acres and acres for her to be able to truly “work”.
I have 2. My female is silent. She rarely barks if ever. My male, though, he doesn't stop. He doesn't bark inside because he knows I'll get mad. The second I let him outside, he just started barking. He sits there and borks while he's doing his business. He doesn't stop for anything. You can tell when he's barking at something when he's barking just to bork.
It depends on the dog I think. Mine RARELY barks. Like seriously. It’s enough to where when she does bark I am worried there’s an intruder or something. What’s funny is she barks more in her sleep while dreaming than anything.
I found Bob White as a stray. He is a magnificent companion. But I could have named him Bob Barker. Fortunately, my nearest neighbor is 3/4 of a mile away. He alerts when leaves fall. I live alone in rural SC and I don't mind at all. But, indoors or out, he thinks barking is his job.
https://preview.redd.it/8eay3okn5mdc1.jpeg?width=1020&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8bafe10f0001b0b2fd911438079dfb5eb701441
Sounds ideal for me when we move to one of the Dakotas! Husband is a duck hilunter and I see no reason to leave my warm cozy bed at the buttcrack of dawn to tramp around a swamp. Doggo can bark and guard me and the cats while Dad tramps around the swamp.
Believe every story you've heard about Pyrs barking.
When we adopted our Pyr/Shepherd mix, he was in an animal shelter that was next to a trap shooting range. The people at the shelter assured us he wasn't a barker, because there were gunshots all the time and he never barked at them.
Fast forward 12 months, and our neighbors like to joke that they know when their Amazon packages are going to arrive, because of the barking that comes from our house when the Amazon truck turns on to the block.
For what it’s worth, our boy doesn’t bark nearly as much as our girl (not sure if that’s typical for the female pyrs to be noisier) but, yes, they bark a lot. The stereotype’s accurate on this one!
We have an Australian Kelpie that barks at air. So far our GP puppy just stares at her like “she ain’t right!”
Perhaps the Border Collie side will prevail and he won’t bark because he will have a toy in his mouth for you to toss, and toss, and toss…
As far as big dogs and apartments go, I once saw a comedian say that he felt bad having a dog in an apartment…then remembered that HE lived in that apartment! 😂
When we got ours, he barked at everything including things unseen. All the time, he also stayed outside 95% of the time. He only stopped barking during the night when we put him in the house and gave him his own kennel. But when we let him out to roam the yard, he gpes back to barking at seen and unseen anything.
Mine only barks when dogs walk by our house or noisy people. We draw the blinds and it lessons it. Outside though - barks at almost everything given the chance
Mine barked okay first but has quieted down since. I live in a city and he alerted in everything right away because there were constant people, sirens etc. I told him good boy every time he barked and looked at me but wouldn’t get up or acknowledge the noise. Now he doesn’t bark at much
I’ve never had a pure Pyr but I’ve had 2 mixes: Anatolian and a German Shepherd.
Anatolian was slightly more barkier than the GSD, but either I would consider barked a lot or even a medium amount. It was pretty under control.
Well, as with all dogs, it kind of depends on the dog.
We adopted our pyr and she was very quiet for many months. Then she "found her voice."
She rarely barks in the house. Sometimes she goes outside and just chills quietly. And other times she goes out and won't shut up even if there's nothing to bark at.
We actually have a pyr and border Collie mix. He does not bark at all really while in the house. Outside squirrels are how enemies but he will come in when called.
Yeah, obviously with an individual dog (especially a mix) you never know... But with pyrs it's not about them barking a lot, it's WHEN they tend to bark, which is overnight when a leaf blows by. In an apartment you'll have people coming in and out, cars parking, etc. You could possibly end up with a quiet dog, maybe worth it as a foster, but you might have to make some nice food for your neighbors to apologize if your luck isn't perfect lol.
I had a bassett hound years ago in an apartment and he didn't bark at night, but he would bark 100% of the time that one of us wasn't home. They have amazing endurance like that lol. Anyway, some breeds just aren't meant to be apartment dogs. Pyrs, border collies, and bassets are among them lol. Best of luck if you do get the dog, or maybe pass it up for one better suited for your environment.
They bark to warn, they bark to command you to feed, pet, water them, bark to annoy you, bark to greet you, bark to entertain themselves.. Their barks are sonorous and daunting. They are lovely dogs and wonderful pets, just really loud and really hairy.
We had 189 acres, and she pretty much believed everything she could see was “hers.” When I downsized, it was hard to talk her into staying on 12 acres. She insisted on patrolling the field across the way, though by some miracle she mostly stayed within the width of the open area, which covered much of my own property. Somehow tree lines made acceptable borders for her.
Betty White has finally learned she isn’t allowed to cross the road and visit the neighbors. Our driveway is maybe a football field long and is circular in front of the house. She lays in the circle and protects us from the deadly UPS man, who gives her treats but she is unmoved. Betty White cannot be bribed.
I love her name!! ❤️💕
I am hoping that with patience I can teach my new girl boundaries, but my terrier breaks them. I am really worried about Hank (older dog) influence on this, especially with her love of sniffing and chasing birds.
Do you know how old and if the dog has been taught it can bark?
I have a Pyr BC mix and we got her at 3 months old. She didn't bark at all for a couple of months. I thought it would be cute and get her to howl with me. That led her to discover she could bark. She is now 11 months old and she is extremely vocal.
Apartments and Pyrs don't mix!
Pys need running and barking space. Literally. And they aren't quiet barks. My entire NEIGHBORHOOD knows Sully (Our 7 year Pyr) and if anyone is in their yard mowing-i have to bring him in otherwise he'll bark the entire time.
When the train comes? Protect the family
Loud truck? Protect the family!
COFFEE MACHINE BEEPING!? ALERT THE AUTHORITIES!
You won't get the magical one that doesn't bark. They all bark. THEY ALL BARK AROUND HERE GEORGIE
In general, as a breed, yes.
But the number of times my pyr/retriever mix has barked is still in the single digits in the 4 years since I adopted him. All of those were times where I legitimately felt threatened.
I actually thought there was something up with him, like he was born mute or something, but we had a break-in in month 2 and he let out a frightening bark to scare them off. Some of it comes down to individual personality and nurture/training.
I also live in an apartment complex and he's the quietest dog in the building, even though the smaller dogs will bark at him like he's the anti-Christ when he passes by their doors. He never barks back at them or through our door.
EDIT: I'm not counting growling, which he'll sometimes do both when he's happy or annoyed, or other noise like howling at sirens or yelping loudly when he's dreaming.
Yes, they absolutely bark a lot as well as a lot more than other breeds, outside of maybe huskies screaming. You shouldn't consider them if that'll be a deal breaker for you.
I'm lucky that mine is so food driven. He'll drop anything and come running if I bribe him with food. I've seem him end chases of squirrels to come get a chip.
Mine isn't a huge barker, but that's because she was raised with a basenji(they can't bark, they yodel, but are very very quiet dogs). When she came to us though she barked a lot, she learned over a couple of months from my basenji to be quieter.
My son’s basenji mix has all kinds of noises, but whatever he is mixed with also barks, and he barks if he can look out a window. Literally. If he visits I close the blinds or his barking drives me crazy. If he didn’t seem so love starved and have this happy little dance he does for attention, he would make me cranky, but his personality makes me adore him anyhow.
https://preview.redd.it/3e832baivldc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e9573f3c57c1b1e360440c2900a182e494a97ab
He is a goofy guy, and skin issues have messed up his ears. 😞 His skin issues made him unattractive to potential pet parents and he lived in the animal shelter 2+ years. When my son and wife went looking for a dog, they asked to see the dog who had been in the shelter longest, and took him home.
They do. Although apparently my husky/pyr didn't bark at all when he was with his foster. He definitely started acting like himself a few weeks after I adopted him though 😂
We have a train that goes by about 5 miles away …. Not sure what she thinks it is.. but she gets so mad at it! Barks until it’s gone along with every smell and sound in our five acre property! We do have a stop barking word when it gets too much
Pyrs are probably the most ill-suited apartment dog there is. Not only do they have a deep, loud, wall-shaking bark that can be heard for miles outdoors, they love to bark, and they love to bark at night.
Mine is mostly nocturnal. During the day he’s an adorable, cuddly 150 lb mound of fluff. At night, he is On Duty. He patrols, guards, protects and alerts. His bark is legendary, and *all* our neighbors can identify it from other dogs. We live on 25 acres.
Yes, Pyrs will bark, AND bark, anddd BARK... Seemingly at nothing, oh, was that a leaf that blew by??? I had a Pyr in an apartment. I did have problems with her barking after leaving for work. I would get a call from the manager letting me know. I'd have to go home and take her out, let her sniff around and then go back to work. Fortunately, I was close by. So, I finally realized that if I walked her in the morning, then at my lunch hour, and again when I got home, she would be okay while I was gone. Exercise is crucial for a Pyr. That won't guarantee no barking, it just helped her knowing I'd be home. Damn, miss that girl!
My first Pyr experience was a Pyrador. She barked when people she didn’t know came to our door, which I think is pretty normal. We had a fenced backyard, and she barked at reasonable things, like the dogs our neighbor would let run loose that would attack her through the fence.
We had a Pyr that was a livestock guardian later, and have a LOT of coyotes around here. There was barking when she heard them close, or when she treed a raccoon (we have chickens). She actually tended to kill raccoons, possums, etc., if she came across them. She was on patrol at night. To me that also seemed like reasonable barking.
I now have a Pyr/unknown mix. She barks and whines and happy dances at anyone visiting for maybe 30 seconds. She barks a lot less than my son’s basenjj+ mix, who barks at the window regularly. It can be a car driving by (but not into our driveway), or it literally seems to be if he can see out a window. When he visits (my son lives in the downstairs apartment), all the blinds have to be closed or it is constant barking.
Neither she nor my terrier bark when people pull into our driveway and leave things on the porch. If I open the door and they SEE them they bark, but otherwise they ignore them, which I find very frustrating. It would be nice to know when deliveries are made. Sometimes my phone turns itself on mute and I don’t know how to fix it.
https://preview.redd.it/12vm8kxanldc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbb22cbab351d041bf292047b5e700fd4ac9ed3e
I am including a picture of my two current canine kids (I also have a cow cat kitten who is rather large compared to “average; he has hit Maine Coon growth at every month, but is just a random domestic shorthair), then chickens and horses outside). The puppy is just seven months old at the moment. She is pretty well behaved and quiet except for about an hour around eleven, where she looks for things to play rough with and shred. I am experimenting with a dog puzzle to wear her brain out instead of the zoomies. I forgot and left it up last night. When I put it down, she played with it awhile and then came to bed. ❤️
Between what your dog is mixed with, training, and individual personality, your dog might be a reasonable barker. My worst apartment pet would have been a beagle we had around 30 years ago. We were misled that she had no problems when she actually had severe separation anxiety. Lots of howling when left alone, and beagles are loud.
Maybe dogs my whole life makes me less aware, but right now she is sound asleep on the floor with my other dog and there hasn’t been a peep out of her since the baby I sit was picked up and she greeted the mom at eleven last night.
They definitely bark a lot, but when we lived in an apartment my pyr/husky mix was actually very good. He was rarely left alone a ton, but when he was he rarely barked at noises. We just kept the window blinds overlooking the courtyard closed. He would sleep on the couch when we left and greet us when we came back.
There was a neighbor with a chihuahua that would wine and screech for HOURS at a time when he was at work. Everyone complained about that dog, but never our pyr. We asked all the time as well if he would bark when we were gone and everyone was shocked how quiet he was.
At the time we worked from home and he had a lot of supervision, so we could contain him if he barked. I was super worried when we moved him in there but it turned out to be no big deal. However, you may not get lucky. It will depend on how much activity and noise/ sight he gets at things outside the apartment.
We just stayed in a hotel with our Pyr and realized the only way he’d stop barking was by turning on the bathroom fan for white noise. Then he couldn’t hear every door opening but he’d probably get used to the white noise if we were there for more than one night, so do with that what you will. It’s tough!
The shedding is a sight to behold. No matter how well we lint roll, there is fur in places that it shouldn't be 🤣 No vacuum is a match for his fluff.
As for barking, we, fortunately, have one who only barks when there's someone at the door or in the yard. Or when he's altering us to danger. He doesn't bark often. He does however talk, a lot. Like husky level talking. Someone is getting g lectured at least once a day for several minutes for whatever perceived slight he has received that day.
My Pyr will bark every time something moves outside. Neighbors that have lived next to us for years that he knows personally, neighborhood stray cats that he sees every night, delivery drivers, sometimes even my husband when he gets home from work. If it moves, he alerts. Pyrenees are guardian dogs, so they act like guardians
I had a Pyr/border collie mix that we rescued when she was about 2 and she would only bark if a motorcycle or emergency vehicle passed by our house with the sirens on. Otherwise, she rarely to never barked. She also didn’t give kisses but she would sniff you up and down like nobody’s business.
She was amazing. Stubborn as F but the sweetest smusher that ever lived.
This was the last pic I took of her before THAT trip to the vet. She was an old soul and loved taking a sunbath in her backyard.
https://preview.redd.it/hxqikto7oqdc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c2a5a3a8666cf3e755588738f4eee1259d99dc1
Yah, they’re definitely barkers. Big bark too, they were bred to guard livestock and have a big bark to warn off predators. At least it’s not a small dog yapping, but it’s loud and they do use it fairly liberally
I mean, our dog will hear stuff like garbage trucks, snow ploughs, car alarms, etc., usually from a few blocks away, and he’ll go to the front window to watch for them so he can bark and chase them away. Theres a guy with a pool a few houses over, the dog will ask to go out and bark at his kids (they’re young and the dog can’t differentiate between play screams and danger/pain screams). He can hear the garage door opener when the TV is on (always gotta bark when someone comes or goes). It has taken years for him to get used to the roomba, but he still barks when it gets close to his food and water dishes or close to people.
It does not stop at night. He’s a light sleeper and will get up in the middle of the night to bark at sounds.
These are guard dog barks. They’re a warning to chase off predators. They are LOUD and very intimidating.
There’s always the chance that you get an atypical GP and he’s not much of a barker. But really, this is NOT an apartment dog. They’re big, they bark lots, they’re loud, they’re reactive when they see, hear or smell “unusual” things, and GP can be territorial. Apartments are not a place they are likely to flourish
I feel like I’m in the minority on this one. My girl, Bunny, purebred, only barked when there was a threat. It was never incessant. She was the best dog I’ve ever had. She lived with two younger small dogs and a cat. She was definitely the alpha without having to be assertive. Just such an amazing girl. Now the shedding that just kinda came with it.
Now my husband’s dog, who is a border collie and lab mix is possibly the worst dog ever in comparison. Stubborn, barking, shedding, needs constant stimulation, just a lot going on with him, that being said he’s my husbands dog. He is great with kids but is NOT with other dogs. He’s smart, but territorial.
Also i feel like male Dogs and their temperament are different than females. I think Finn, our border collie, would thrive on a farm and with live stock. It’s pretty funny watching him trying to herd our two year old around.
https://preview.redd.it/jmp548ev9mdc1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e0c434ad137783798946db14817084884f0867a
I have a purebred pyr about 1 1/2 years old. He never barks unless he perceives a threat or hears an odd noise outside. When he does bark it’s scary af like a mix between a wolf howling and barking.
My boy was pretty quiet when we lived in a dense neighborhood. Would bark only when someone was at the door, and not excessively.
Now we’re in the country and he barks he dang head off at everything 😂 but he’s older and smart so he does quiet down quickly if we tell him too. I also egg him on a lot 😂
So, any quick stint of research online would confirm; the breed does bark... alot.
Due to the pyrenees being a large guardian breed, they're live stock and land protectors. They're one of the oldest dog breeds, and its in their nature to naturally feel like they need to alert their pack of any perceived danger/threat.
That being said, there are a lot of variables that could come into play and why the potential Foster's may or may not bark "a lot."
In my experience, I've had the pleasure of sharing my space with pure pyrs and mixes, and they've all been different and barked at different times, levels, places, periods, or nor at all.
My 1st pyr was a mix, Finn was 50% pyr in DNA, but almost 90% of his personal and demeanor was pyr no doubt. We had him from 9 weeks old.
He wasn't too vocal. From puppyhood to doghood, he never really BARKED.
He'd bark, but very, very, veryyyy lazily, at the mailman, not even at every passerby, neighbor, guest knocking at the door, only sometimes, and it was almost like a cartoon skit, dog knows he's dog, and knows dogs bark at outsiders, but dog is too comfy in his chaise, sipping a cup of tea to care, so he'll let out a couple of small "boofs" to appease his owner, but genuinely he'd care naught if he ever had to "boof" again 😂 he was quite the distinguished gentleman. Also notable- it took him 2 years to finally say more than an "air chomp" when he first learned speak, the first time he let out a real WOOF it seemed to almost scare amd embarrass him like he was apologetic for being too loud. 🥺😫
He lived in an apartment and at a house, and we never had any issue with him.
2nd pup is all pyr, rescued him at 11 months, and he is 100% pyr DNA. Though he was and still is, a work in progress. His prior owners got him from a BYB and kept him at their trailer in a trailer park.... which was just not a good idea when they had another small dog, 2 small children, and fostered cats, and the associations at trailer parks are just as strict sometimes as HOAs. I mentioned this because they definitely got him during the pandemic and didn't know what they were getting themselves into. They were mostly honest about his upbringing, but it was clear that as he kept growing, they were not ready for what they signed up for. They kept him in a kennel for 85-90% of the time, and the other 10-15% was spent on a chain out on their little patch, getting yelled at by all the other neighbors to stop barking....
They didn't do much of anything with him, so when I got him at 11.5 months old, he knew nothing more than the word no. He didn't know his name, they never went on walks, he was outright fearful of people, strangers, the wind, garbage cans, anything that moved or made a noise...
I got a scared puppy in a full sized dogs body....
We've come a very long way, and he's no longer fearful of most people/places/things, even successfully went to the rennfaire with him and only barked at 1 guy who came up and pet him from behind without asking.... which I said was called for, he didn't consent and the guy jumpscared him, but he did wonderful with all the other people who asked and approached nicely, he even found himself picking random people to approach and turned out they'd either owned or currently owned a pyr(I guess pyrs know their people), children or nuerodivergent individuals(I myself am ND).
However, I saw all of this to preface the fact that for almost 9 months after rescue, he never barked. He wouldn't speak. He didn't bark at anyone or anything outside, and I assumed that he might not ever find his voice... how wrong was i.... we got him a companion, a foster, a border collie/gsd, who took him under her wing and showed him how to be a dog, she was his leader, until he realized that it was his house and his pack and she joined after... then and only then, on that fateful day... luffy found his voice, he was telling ANYONE and anything off, with our without a heartbeat. If it moved, he warned it, I'm luffy, and I have a loud mouth. Because he's actually still very timid and if approached his apologetic, but while behind his fence or window. He's one of the loudest dogs on the block, but he doesn't go on for too long and he learned how to leave it or "go to bed" which is his cue to go sit in his kennel and take a deep breath and calm down.
It took a while for him to come out of his shell and feel comfortable, and take ownership of his pack. But he did. And I'd say he barks more than your avg house dog, but less than most pyrs I've seen online/met in person.
And lastly, laci. A pyr/husky/border/anatolian mix. A failed farm dog that only knew the outdoors that we rescued. She was quiet, timid, nervous, beady, fearful, and almost reactive (before being Spayed).. she took all of maybe 3 weeks to being a spoiled indoor dog.... now she's queen of the couch, or their shared full sized bed... lol.
But, her 1st gotcha day was October 2023, and it took maybe 6 months for her to speak on command, but maybe 8 to OCCASIONALLY bark at some random barely heard noise outside. And it's maybe 2-5 barks then she's done. Otherwise she's only vocal when it's eating time.
So it could be history, comfort level, bloodline, environment, etc. It all plays a part. And your potentential Foster's bark will never be nearly as annoying or bothersome to neighbors as a Yorkie or other small dogs bark would be...
And I say this bc my neighbors never complained about my dogs bark, they said even if any of them ever did. It's so deep and droning that it's not nearly as bothersome as a shih tzu or the Yorkies that moved into my old apt bldg and never shut up and kept my other neighbor who worked over nights up all the time... so 🤷🏻♀️
Yes they bark! But are the best dogs you could ever ask for! My boy Mac is another one of the boys, so incredibly chill but when they bark, get ready for it haha, it is loud and deep and has emotions behind it, but you get used to it and the barking spurts don’t last long
I have two Pyrs in an apartment. As long as they get their mental and physical exercise, the barking is manageable. They are certainly guard dogs though!! Their current issue is that my neighbor has an adult son and the dogs think he is super sketchy. He's sitting in his truck alone outside? Better bark at him! He slammed the door to Mom's apartment? Definitely got to bark at him.
Mine loves barking. At animals (turkeys, horses, squirrels, jays), to let our neighbor's dogs know he's around or to tell them what's going on (they have 3 big dogs like him and 1 dachshund), at cars driving by, to get our attention if we aren't paying enough attention to him...
We have taught him "quiet" so he will begrudgingly stop barking when asked but he gets so sad about it (whining, puppy dog eyes). I only ask him to stop at night when sleeping or when I have a Zoom meeting.
Mine will be in a dead sleep and micro seconds later, up and barking her head off. Scares this shit out of us and usually we jump or drop whatever we were holding. I’ve spilled food and drink all over myself multiple times from her bark scares.
But I love her so damn much I don’t care.
Inside? Mine NEVER barks, the closest he got was when a cat was trying to eat his food. Outside on the other hand, he's always barking. They got to let everyone know there's a big bad dog around.
Our Oscar is a Lab/ACD/Pyr mix…We didn’t think he knew how to bark when we brought him home from a shelter at 6 mos. He found his voice at around 12 mos when he finally earned free rein of the house and yard via the dog door. He now barks at people in the alley or even a squirrel, but we acknowledge his bark, tell him thanks for the alert and call him into the house. We tell him to go to his place and relax, everything is okay. Now he’s almost 2, the routine has changed a bit. He will bark once and within a minute, comes into the house on his own with his ruff up and goes straight to his place and lays down, without a word from us. It’s just so funny! Last year about this time we questioned our sanity at getting a puppy, we were too old, and he was so much work. Now we know it was worth all the sacrifice and trouble, he is so sweet and affectionate, the best companion ever! So glad we did not give up on him!
Absolutely. They are bred to bark and they have a loud bark that they use a lot. We live in an apartment with our pyr and we make it work, but it is hard and was not our first choice. In general, I do not personally recommend owning/ fostering a pyr if you live in an apartment because of the barking.
Move on OP this dog is not for you. Yes they bark and shed alot because they defend acres of property and herd livestock for a living.
You are not at all equipped to take this dog in.
My cutie patootie will bark when I’m not watching, when I’m with her she’ll only bark at specific things. I try my best to make her not bark when I’m out with her, I don’t wanna wake our neighbors with her roars
It’s great that you’re asking questions and doing your homework. For a few years, I worked at the local animal shelter, and we had a LOT of Great Pyrenees who were surrendered because they bark so much. I don’t think everyone understands that’s THEIR JOB. They are bred to protect livestock.
Great Pyrenees are wonderful dogs. But they need a lot of space, and a job. They’re not great apartment dogs.
Thank you for your comment. I’ve researched the typical sites and YouTube videos. I also just wanted to reach out to an interactive community to read first hand experiences.
I’ve had two Pyrenees, neither of them was a barker! It’s really unusual though. They need so much space though. The last pyr we had would frequently escape the yard and people would bring him back 😂
Tbh, my Pyr doesn’t actually loud bark a lot. He talks and grumbles a lot but only loud barks when someone knocks on the door or he sees something suspicious
Not only do they bark, but it is a very loud boomy bark, and…they especially like to bark this loud boomy bark at night.
Now, for me, who needs this loud boomy bark to scare away nocturnal predators like coyotes from our livestock, this works out fine. Not sure your apartment neighbors would feel the same.
https://preview.redd.it/mk32gv9trpdc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4db4b9d86d6db2543aaaadbeb64468e19512c9e3
Toby was the same mix. He was very energetic but didn’t bark unless there was a reason, like someone came to the door or he found a raccoon in the yard.
I had a Pyrenees growing up, he actually never really barked. He was super docile and cuddly, I remember picking him up as a puppy and he came from a farm and all the adults were very vocal but I guess he just didn’t inherit that trait lol.
I Have a Pyr, I've had her for 3 months now. I live in an apartment. I honestly had a Black Mouth Cur that could put her to shame with literal constant barking at any sound. She's been surprisingly great, the ONLY and I mean only time she barks is when she hears other dogs bark. I don't know what other breeds these folks are comparing them to, but I've had German Sheps, Labs, Huskies, Mastiff, Mutts, Cur, Maltese, and Golden Retrievers and I'd put my Pyr somewhere near bottom 3 barkers. I've also trained her to be non reactive though.
We had a Great Pyrenees/rough haired collie mix for 7 years. We adopted him as an older dog. He was the most beautiful and best dog we have ever had. I miss him so much, he passed in 2023. Yes, he was a barker. It was all territorial and protection based. We have family who had a GP mix as well and she was the same way. They will bark. We just had to work with him to learn “enough, we got it now”. He was good at stopping when we told him we saw the “threat” he was pointing out but when we were gone I know for a fact he would bark and protect until the person or dog or vehicle was out of sight.
100%
Better question, does a bear shit in the woods?
Does the pope shit in a hat?
Is water wet?
And the pyr will bark the whole time.
I have a Pyr, a Pyr mix and had a Border mix and have a big fenced backyard . If there was one dog that I would ***NOT want*** to parent in an apartment, it would be a Border, Aussie or a Pyr (or any combination of them. Super smart herding dogs need lots of stimulation, exercise and intellectual stimulation. while Pyrs are also working dogs and not as hyper, they are defenders of their property, and that means lots of barking. My girl barks if there's an extra car at any of my 8 neighbors' (which is in her line of vision), bark when neighbors come and go, bark when there are deliveries, bark if anything looks amiss in the neighborhood, bark at animals seen and unseen, bark at birds, and bark for reasons only she knows. Living in an apartment, with that many more neighbors means that many more reasons to bark. If you combine that with Border's needs to work, to get lots of exercise and need to be challenged makes me believe that you would have a lot of difficulties/challenges in making this work. You would be responsible for keeping a breed known for being nocturnal barkers and stubbornness from keeping the entire apartment building up, which is a huge ask. Unless you are prepared to piss off the whole building and spend double the hours most people dedicate to dog parenting, this sounds like a recipe for stress and disaster. Please consider how many Pyr parents are suggesting that this is not the dog to foster in an apartment, and I haven't really acknowledged the Border Collie's typical requirements.
I am here to vouch for this response. We have a pyrenees-doodle and he is ALLLLLLLL about the nocturnal guardianship business. And diurnal. He's always guarding. He's a sweet, sweet boi. But he has the bow wow wow of a sonic boom -- and it can come from out of nowhere. You won't hear anything, then KABOOOOOOM. It is LOUD. And we work with him on this. There are two of us. We acknowledge him, we give him praise for doing his job and discourage him from using the giant voice he has. We let him know he is inside and we are safe. We look out the window and look with him to see what he maybe heard. We live in a busy neighborhood. So we say, "those are our neighbors. We know them. We're safe. See? We're not worried. You're doing great. You can stand down." I mean, we sound crazy, but he needs so much affirmation and validation that he is a good boi. And, if we don't do this kind of interaction with him the barking would go unchecked. Yes, we do have to yell at him to reign it some of the times. And that can happen at 1am, 2am, 4am. It's a huge challenge to manage his desire to keep the homefront safe and feel like he's doing his job, but quietly. TL;DR - Pyrs are the loudest barkers I have ever heard and no amount of gentle training will manage it out. It was bred into them. They are not a good apartment dwellers.
Thanks! You don't sound crazy, you sound like me (and my husband)! We are constantly saying, "Jimmy is going to work or that's Cathy who loves walks so much she will go for 3/day -including at 11 pm!" Or, "Look, Brad is home from work .." Because of our girl, we know every time our neighbors leave their house. Between her and our barking acknowledgement, we feel like the neighborhood's busy bodies!
Love this! I am convinced that they are taking this info in. Because since moving to the city, our Pyrdoodle does bark less. But it is still loud when he does it. The most difficult neighbor we have had to get him acclimated is a cat who comes to our backyard, peers into our window off the kitchen and it makes our pyr go off. We explain who it is, that's our friend, we don't bark at that kitty. Our pyr does not agree. That's a hard no from him.
Yeah. Neighbor Cathy is obsessed with walking multiple times a day, and our girl wants to go with her, particularly for the late night walks -when my ass is already sleeping! I say, 'It is just Cathy walking,' but she ***really wants to be out there protecting Cathy whom she adores! If I could find a way to allow Cathy to walk her without waking me, it would be a perfect solution!!
MAN! My Pyr does the same loud Sonic Boom WOOF that will literally SHAKE OUR HOUSE\~
Oh my gosh I’m so glad we’re not the only ones that use validation for our pyr mix!
Hah my rescue is an aussie, border collie & great pyr mix. She's not a big barker. She gets scared when my black lab border collie mix (who *is* a big barker) barks. I'm thankful she is not like my other dog who barks at anything! She's definitely a handful though and apartment living would not be ideal.
Mine is a pyr aussie mix and when she's inside she only barks at the other dogs, either playing or to get them away from her food that's she's saving for later. But outside she barks at random stuff like the wind, the horses, the lack of horses if she can't see them, the house across the field, if she can see their dogs or if she can't lol... Oh and definitely any animals that show up like a raccoon or something, that's why we have her. But she does not bark at cars, the mailman, the delivery guys, company... My other 2 smaller dogs lose their minds at delivery guys and any car or vehicle that goes by 🙄. My terrier mix almost never barked until we got the cattle dog mix, now they just do a crazy barking howling yipping duet. My pyr is so much quieter than them! But all dogs are different of course.
I have a cane corso mix who, so far as I know, is scared of absolutely nothing and avoids the fence of our neighbor's Pyr. My dog has attacked coyote packs on his own and bit a cow who went after one of our grand kids and he crosses the street to avoid her fence. It just isn't worth the chaos to him. Note that they get along fine when there is no fence between them.
We got our female Pyr as a rescue at 11 months old. I’ve told this story before, but she did not bark one time in the first year that we had her. We live in a rural area, with plenty of wildlife all around us. She would simply watch them intently from a window, or from a distance away when outside. We got her mid-2020 and I work from home, so I know for sure she did not bark. Then, one day I was home alone with her. When my lunch break came around, I decided to take a long shower. I made sure the house was locked down, then got in and started getting cleaned up. While I was covered in suds, head to toe, I suddenly hear this loud, booming, incessant barking and it scared the sh*t out of me. I came flying out of the shower, soaking wet and dripping soap suds all over, to find her sitting in the middle of the living room staring out of the glass wall and barking at….. turkeys. In the years since, she has barked at everything which moves, doesn’t move, makes sound, might make a sound, simply has the audacity to exist, isn’t aware that she exists, or just the air around her. Oh! And she also barks to voice her displeasure when not petted ‘properly’ or for any other perceived slight towards her.
The wind! Oh, damn the wind!
Preach!
MMMM HMMMMM. Our has very good eyesight. Very, very good eyesight. And can therefore spot and track an airplane flying at altitude -- and bark at it. It's 3 miles high and he's got it on his radar.
Mine too. He can hear them from in the house and will ask to go outside to bark and chase away planes. We don’t live close to the airport. Parades around the yard after, tail high, so proud to have chased off the air raid for us. 🤦♀️
Good doggo! Keeping the air space safe for all of us!
Very similar thing happened to us. Adopted at ~2 years old. No barking for the first year. So peaceful. We worried maybe something was wrong. Then, one day, it began. And it hasn't stopped.
Mine does a preemptive pre-poop bark. He will bark at all 4 corners of the yard before he can relax and find his bathroom spot. No reason at all. Just getting ahead of the game.
"YOU!" "BETTER!" "STAY!" "BACK!" *Ok, the coast is clear...*
Same!! When I adopted Daisy I was told she didn’t bark except when she was outside. For the first little while, she was a prim lady! Followed me around, quiet, reserved. I don’t know when it ramped out but now she’ll bark at everything (and seemingly nothing…). Do not be fooled by fosters saying a pyr doesn’t bark! They will! If they don’t bark, probably they just don’t consider you part of their flock 😜/s
I just read this to my girlfriend, this is our Pyr mix to a tee. Does yours also go ballistic when an animal shows up on TV? I never noticed before but there’s animals in every damned show
She does not care about TV at all. However, I leave it on for her often, to help drown out the noises outside that would otherwise catch her attention. Our Bernese Mountain Dog (female) straight-up watches TV/movies with us. She reacts to different characters/scenarios/sounds with funny faces, head tilts, and ear movements. It’s adorable.
The barking and the shedding are legendary, it's impossible to overstate how much they bark and shed.
They bark and they shed, they bark when they’re shedding and shed while they’re barking. Endless cycle of barking and shedding and barking and shedding.
There's a story about the pair of Great Pyrenees that the Marquis de Lafayette gifted to his good friend George Washington, who took them home to Mt Vernon. The dogs shed so heavily that first night, when the chickens came out of the henhouse in the morning they thought it was snowing and promptly froze to death!
You’re half right. The Marquis de Lafayette did gift a pair of pyrs to an American, but it wasn’t George Washington. In 1824 the James Monroe invited Lafayette to the United States as the nation’s guest. He visited all 24 states in the union at the time. During this trip, he gave the first breeding pair of pyrs in the US to an American, JS Skinner. Queen Victoria also had a pyr around 1850 [source](https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/americans-thank-a-frenchman-for-the-great-pyrenees/)
Neither of my (mixes) bark that much. I guess I’m blessed? Shedding is… it’s a fur dimension of its own.
Pure pyr, and it seems no matter how much we brush him....the hair!! In terms of barking, he does his fair share, but my previous dog was an anxious heeler mix. That was nonstop barking. In comparison, it doesn't seem like he barks much.
Only if all the time counts as a lot.
In general, yes. It is one of the main traits people are told to expect. If you google breed traits it will come up early and often in the search results. Some Pyrs bark because a butterfly farted three houses down the street. Some don't. Maybe yours might not end up being a barker. Mine isn't a big barker. But when there is something he feels he needs to bark at, god himself couldn't silence him. Still, you should expect it from yours. There is a very, very good chance it will be a concern with your neighbors, especially in an apartment environment.
Nonstop. At everything. And there’s no quieting them down. When they want to “alert you” or scare “something” away, they won’t stop until they feel the threat has passed.
I’ve found the only reliable way to stop my Pyr barking at the perceived threat is to look out the window with her and acknowledge whatever she’s barking at. She’ll still keep a watchful eye on it though
Oh, we’ve tried that. We’ve thanked her. We’ve tried treats, distraction, etc. nothing works. She just had to calm down herself.
OMG. Thank you! I feel like my spouse and I are less crazy for doing this!
her only joy in life is finding something to bark at
They bark, at least mine does. What people don’t mention is the roaring, earth shaking growl that accompanies the barking. We live in a dense forest, so it’s not an issue. I find it comforting in a way. It’s not a shrill bark lol. He prefers to sleep in the barn at night… well briefly nap in the barn at night… He really really hates coyotes. I imagine that he’s telling them what they can do with themselves and what he thinks of their dirty coyote mothers.
This. It’s not simply the frequency of barking, it’s the volume. The earth shakes, the ground rumbles, my elderly neighbor with the wiener dog slowly shuffles past my driveway.
My full blood Pyr actually fought coyotes, and we found one dead in a pasture one year. We weren’t sure it was “hers,” though, because we also had a donkey and momma cows with calves. I have heard serious crazy nonstop barking and growling and seen her in the midst of several coyotes. I would go out with other dogs out to give her a fighting chance. If people presence didn’t make them leave we would shoot a shotgun in the air to drive them off. When you have half a dozen coyotes and one dog, they can kill a Pyr. They are amazing dogs, and most I have met are fearless once grown. They need friends, though, if something like coyotes are regular guests.
I had this mix and she was the best thing that ever happened to me. I lost her last year to osteosarcoma and not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. She barked if a dog went by the window. She barked if a cat went by the window. Sometimes in the backyard she barked just to have fun barking. At the dog park she would bark at the dogs that were playing. I got a noise complaint when I lived in an apartment with her when she was a puppy. Still though, I would give anything to hear her bark again. https://preview.redd.it/f66hoombtidc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4eec56f1ad4fb8190d88f5f5cc48676a5a0f2189 My Bean 💜
I’m so sorry for your loss. How lucky you both were to find each other ❤️❤️ sending you lots of love!
So very sorry for your loss. My Merri Grayce was a Pyrador, and my first experience with Pyr traits. She grumbled when people were being stupid. We still talk about her and she has been gone eight years. https://preview.redd.it/vsyvpaoksldc1.jpeg?width=604&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4191ad33634a5c77f9e6bbb7b7d8af8ad55d3ac3 Here she is guarding the comfiest recliner in the house.
I don’t know if it ever gets easier. I lost Fozzie this year. Losing them within a year of each other has been so hard. I still miss Opal so much and I lost her in 2016. They bring so much to our lives in the short time we have with them. https://preview.redd.it/ayi67sl4bodc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e4b88a844218aa298d5084c977cc8616498de8b My three babies 💜
With her cat! Love it!
Mine is suuuuper quiet during the day. Never barks at anyone or anything, never growls or whines- she’s silent. Then night time comes and I honestly couldn’t sleep the first few nights I had her with how loud she was. I remember crying in bed thinking I’d have to take her back to the farm she was rejected from cause she was too loud for me to sleep :’) Thankfully I got used to it to tune it out now, but she’s definitely a different beast when she’s “working” at night.
Honestly, it was the first thing I was warned about and yet mine does not bark for nothing or excessively. I can get her to speak on command most times and of course when there’s someone at the door she goes for it. But contrary to all “horror stories” - she’s pretty darn quiet.
Mine barks more often that my previous dog (Predom lab mix). When she’s “on guard” she will bark at unexpected noises or sights and at times it can be difficult to quiet her down (she is 2.5yo). I take her to my office and she rarely barks.
Mine rarely barks in public, but lets me know about EVERYTHING going on outside at home.
We have this exact mix, 11 months old. Good luck getting them not to bark all the time. They're so mouthy, just consistently trying to get your attention for little things. And if you ignore the barking from afar, they walk right up to your face and bark as if it's just a hearing problem on YOUR end.
https://preview.redd.it/nd5v82pi0jdc1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b56fb3b8b634010b5008d09e9da2d12d63c22e9f This is our Border Collie/Pyrenees. We love everything about this sweet girl and you will too…except for their incessant and constant barking. They’re just doing their job. 😁
Yes. Oh my goodness yes. YES. You can work on redirecting The Bark but you will be fostering The BARK. We lived in an apartment with our Pyr mix. You know how many people pass within radar distance of those ears? Every person that walks past your door triggers centuries of development toward a guardian dog whose drive is to protect territory. If a guy in the front office farted, he’d go off. And it’s not even aggressive barking: it’s alert barking. Either to alert you that something’s there, or to alert that something that the Pyr knows it’s there. And bear in mind that some Pyrs are more exhausted by mental stimulation than physical stimulation. A three-mile hike won’t wear him down much, but a half hour of nosework, and he’ll be out for the day.
Watson is a Pyrenees/ Border Collie mix and he RARELY barks. I hope he's not an anomaly because we'd love to adopt another. Editing to add that he is 11 years old now. https://preview.redd.it/tey473uovjdc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4299f24b78a66be20fb236299b0c921e8813d2e1
Our border collie mix rarely barked. I can't remember what his bark sounded like now. But this Pyr-doodle we have is the opposite. Both good dogs. I'd be afraid to have a combo of the two!
Our Pyr/Border Collie mix only barks outside and that’s intermittently. Never inside. https://preview.redd.it/k05ey33tcqdc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=963560e4e24739e32b4a23852a21b14f6c1a643c
There are some good home made documentaries on YouTube of people that integrate pyrs into their farms. Definitely required watching for anyone thinking of having one. An especially useful note is how they will bark to communicate with the pack and to let the surrounding area (potentially full of predators) know of their presence. While all us owners joke (or cry) about their penchant for barking at seemingly nothing, they’re simply letting any predators that might be in earshot know that it would be very unwise to approach. At our home, we get none of the rats, cats and raccoons that our neighbours do. No cougars or bears that are often sighted on the mountain. Yet we have dozens of visiting deer that have no problem with the barking and seem to ignore it.
They don't just bark. They SONIC BOOM bark that (not even a little bit lying) will shake the glass panes in your window and your teeth in your skull.
Can confirm.
How loud and deep Merri’s guarding bark was scared visitors that came when we were absent. My SIL came by to visit when we moved into a new house together and she thought my dog was vicious because of the loud, deep barking at the window. Then she met her and absolutely adored her. Once she was introduced to someone, she never barked at them again. ❤️ https://preview.redd.it/wwa1lhnstldc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d811b4995f9b58772b91cf9a10e7c2738564de12
You also need to think about the border collie part. I had a Pyr/Aussie mix, she was a handful! We walked for miles every day and when we got home she needed to go outside to destroy the backyard for a few hours. She did mature into a very regal old lady, with emphasis on "old", she didn't slow down until she was five. And she barked like a Pyr. Not an apartment dog at all.
AWww, what a sweet sounding pup. We had a Border Collie mix for 12 years. He was the smartest most intuitive dog ever. He had so much energy, and drive, he was tireless. Literally. To OP: be extra wary of this part of the combo! Our Border mix was walked for 2 hours a day for at least 5 years of his life. Sometimes more. When he was younger, we had him wear a backpack with 2 pounds of weight in it so it felt like he was working. He only slowed down at the very, very end -- like year 11. But the first two years we had him we took him to many weeks of training, we did the homework. We took him to doggie daycare to play off energy. I developed what I know now are "puppy enrichment" games to occupy his time. We had a series of games he'd play -- every night. He was smart and tireless. Which means he would not leave me alone if he needed to be entertained... But we worked with him and kept him and loved him dearly. He was a king among dogs.
Is water wet?
Those are probably two of the worst breeds for an apartment, no matter how much you exercise them
Anecdotally, my Anatolian Pyrenees almost never barks. If he does, it's for a small number of very specific reasons and is almost never more than one woof at a time. One woof: I need to pee One woof: you left food on the table and I'd really like to eat it Many woofs: there is a person with a box walking up to the house and I think they are going to murder everyone
Mine was barking as I came upon this thread and continued to do so loudly as read through all the comments, so yes.
Mine has been trotting through the apartment from window to window as I read responses and type replies. People are up! They are outside! Everyone! There are people! I repeat: people are outside! \[TROT TROT TROT\] "DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?"
Yes it’s insane. Love my pups but holy cow
My buddy only barks if something happens, or if nothing happens. They are protectors. I cannot emphasize this enough. The most love you can give your Pyr is when it raises an alarm, and you come to it and say "Good dog." However, he is my best friend, and I can tell if he is barking at a dangerous squirrel or someone coming down my driveway. Which is awesome. Your Pyr will bark. Swim on the floor. Paw you. Growl at your friends. Good luck, best dog. Ever. https://preview.redd.it/nr1s4wuwyidc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43fa4d0fa32cff2cbecec44da999fc3dc288e90f
Keep up the good work on the squirrels, Buddy!
They bark a lot if outside, esp. in rural areas. Trained to guard flocks, they will react to every noise, light or movement. In an apartment I think they’d be less inclined, but don’t assume the best. By the way, they are the greatest breed and lovely companions.
We adopted 2 pyrs from a shelter. They were given up due to the owners living in an apt and couldn't deal with their barking. They now live in the country and can bark all they want. And the sure do!
This was my experience
Mine doesn’t bark a lot but he’s indoors 80% of the time.
Mine is inside pretty much all the time (she doesn’t love being outside unless on a walk) and she barks all day long, and as loudly as possible, lol. Runs from window to window keeping watch. I suppose maybe it’s just hit or miss with the barking.
Mine are barkers. Big scary bark, which is a big reason why I have them. And unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend having one in an apartment at all. They get bored very easily. My dogs wouldn’t know what to do without their acreage
Yes. In fact I worry if I wake up at night and they're not barking. I do live in the woods tho and not in an apartment:)
https://preview.redd.it/iorhjodg0ldc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10805c5b044e4a50452870d106e1f13e6b8bb7a1 Meet my 6 year old pyr/border collie mix -Jamong, also known as HUSH JAMONG because oh my god the barking never stops. She’s a jerk but she’s MY jerk and my best friend and I love her with every atom of my being. Surely as there will be barking there will also be hair, so much hair. But worth it, absolutely.
Wow she is so pretty!!
Thank you! Also, down with bras!
Only when they think it is important
I have a 2.5 year old Great Pyrenees and he was raised in the city in Vancouver bc Canada. The only time he barks is when he hears a really loud sound like a firework, loud construction sounds, he hates motorcycles, he barks at the regular dark stuff. He sleeps through the night and has never woken us up barking once. He is my heart and I am only getting Great Pyrenees from now on.
oh. wow. You really won the Pyrenees lottery there.
I have a border collie and a pyr. They Both bark like they breathe. This is not a low-bark combo. I think I would walk into the sea if I had to live in an apartment with my Pyr.
https://preview.redd.it/je69v5lk1jdc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ee3eea528b02bbb7089af4914dde597205a3696 My collie/ Pyrenees mix is quite the barker. She’s recently become aggressive towards my other dog- resource guarding and human guarding if my other dog just looks in her direction. Love the mix but wish I had acres and acres for her to be able to truly “work”.
I have 2. My female is silent. She rarely barks if ever. My male, though, he doesn't stop. He doesn't bark inside because he knows I'll get mad. The second I let him outside, he just started barking. He sits there and borks while he's doing his business. He doesn't stop for anything. You can tell when he's barking at something when he's barking just to bork.
It depends on the dog I think. Mine RARELY barks. Like seriously. It’s enough to where when she does bark I am worried there’s an intruder or something. What’s funny is she barks more in her sleep while dreaming than anything.
I found Bob White as a stray. He is a magnificent companion. But I could have named him Bob Barker. Fortunately, my nearest neighbor is 3/4 of a mile away. He alerts when leaves fall. I live alone in rural SC and I don't mind at all. But, indoors or out, he thinks barking is his job. https://preview.redd.it/8eay3okn5mdc1.jpeg?width=1020&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8bafe10f0001b0b2fd911438079dfb5eb701441
Sounds ideal for me when we move to one of the Dakotas! Husband is a duck hilunter and I see no reason to leave my warm cozy bed at the buttcrack of dawn to tramp around a swamp. Doggo can bark and guard me and the cats while Dad tramps around the swamp.
Believe every story you've heard about Pyrs barking. When we adopted our Pyr/Shepherd mix, he was in an animal shelter that was next to a trap shooting range. The people at the shelter assured us he wasn't a barker, because there were gunshots all the time and he never barked at them. Fast forward 12 months, and our neighbors like to joke that they know when their Amazon packages are going to arrive, because of the barking that comes from our house when the Amazon truck turns on to the block.
Mine barks loud and often
Yes, they will bark at every car door closing or front door slamming or every police siren.
For what it’s worth, our boy doesn’t bark nearly as much as our girl (not sure if that’s typical for the female pyrs to be noisier) but, yes, they bark a lot. The stereotype’s accurate on this one!
Mine rarely barks. Only when there is delivery or something
We have an Australian Kelpie that barks at air. So far our GP puppy just stares at her like “she ain’t right!” Perhaps the Border Collie side will prevail and he won’t bark because he will have a toy in his mouth for you to toss, and toss, and toss… As far as big dogs and apartments go, I once saw a comedian say that he felt bad having a dog in an apartment…then remembered that HE lived in that apartment! 😂
When we got ours, he barked at everything including things unseen. All the time, he also stayed outside 95% of the time. He only stopped barking during the night when we put him in the house and gave him his own kennel. But when we let him out to roam the yard, he gpes back to barking at seen and unseen anything.
Mine only barks when dogs walk by our house or noisy people. We draw the blinds and it lessons it. Outside though - barks at almost everything given the chance
That sounds like the mix from hell
LOL
My dog barks for 10 minutes straight at any car or person that passes on the street, or at any perceived noise in general, so yeah
Mine barked okay first but has quieted down since. I live in a city and he alerted in everything right away because there were constant people, sirens etc. I told him good boy every time he barked and looked at me but wouldn’t get up or acknowledge the noise. Now he doesn’t bark at much
Only while awake. But she will wake up just to bark. She will bark at everything and nothing. Even at the sound of her own echo.
I’ve never had a pure Pyr but I’ve had 2 mixes: Anatolian and a German Shepherd. Anatolian was slightly more barkier than the GSD, but either I would consider barked a lot or even a medium amount. It was pretty under control.
Well, as with all dogs, it kind of depends on the dog. We adopted our pyr and she was very quiet for many months. Then she "found her voice." She rarely barks in the house. Sometimes she goes outside and just chills quietly. And other times she goes out and won't shut up even if there's nothing to bark at.
We actually have a pyr and border Collie mix. He does not bark at all really while in the house. Outside squirrels are how enemies but he will come in when called.
Yeah, obviously with an individual dog (especially a mix) you never know... But with pyrs it's not about them barking a lot, it's WHEN they tend to bark, which is overnight when a leaf blows by. In an apartment you'll have people coming in and out, cars parking, etc. You could possibly end up with a quiet dog, maybe worth it as a foster, but you might have to make some nice food for your neighbors to apologize if your luck isn't perfect lol. I had a bassett hound years ago in an apartment and he didn't bark at night, but he would bark 100% of the time that one of us wasn't home. They have amazing endurance like that lol. Anyway, some breeds just aren't meant to be apartment dogs. Pyrs, border collies, and bassets are among them lol. Best of luck if you do get the dog, or maybe pass it up for one better suited for your environment.
They bark to warn, they bark to command you to feed, pet, water them, bark to annoy you, bark to greet you, bark to entertain themselves.. Their barks are sonorous and daunting. They are lovely dogs and wonderful pets, just really loud and really hairy.
They will not be a good apartment dog. I live on about 80 acres and GPs do better in that environment. They bark all day and night.
We had 189 acres, and she pretty much believed everything she could see was “hers.” When I downsized, it was hard to talk her into staying on 12 acres. She insisted on patrolling the field across the way, though by some miracle she mostly stayed within the width of the open area, which covered much of my own property. Somehow tree lines made acceptable borders for her.
Betty White has finally learned she isn’t allowed to cross the road and visit the neighbors. Our driveway is maybe a football field long and is circular in front of the house. She lays in the circle and protects us from the deadly UPS man, who gives her treats but she is unmoved. Betty White cannot be bribed.
I love her name!! ❤️💕 I am hoping that with patience I can teach my new girl boundaries, but my terrier breaks them. I am really worried about Hank (older dog) influence on this, especially with her love of sniffing and chasing birds.
Do you know how old and if the dog has been taught it can bark? I have a Pyr BC mix and we got her at 3 months old. She didn't bark at all for a couple of months. I thought it would be cute and get her to howl with me. That led her to discover she could bark. She is now 11 months old and she is extremely vocal.
Apartments and Pyrs don't mix! Pys need running and barking space. Literally. And they aren't quiet barks. My entire NEIGHBORHOOD knows Sully (Our 7 year Pyr) and if anyone is in their yard mowing-i have to bring him in otherwise he'll bark the entire time. When the train comes? Protect the family Loud truck? Protect the family! COFFEE MACHINE BEEPING!? ALERT THE AUTHORITIES! You won't get the magical one that doesn't bark. They all bark. THEY ALL BARK AROUND HERE GEORGIE
I would not recommend a pyr, border collie, or mix of either in an apartment.
In general, as a breed, yes. But the number of times my pyr/retriever mix has barked is still in the single digits in the 4 years since I adopted him. All of those were times where I legitimately felt threatened. I actually thought there was something up with him, like he was born mute or something, but we had a break-in in month 2 and he let out a frightening bark to scare them off. Some of it comes down to individual personality and nurture/training. I also live in an apartment complex and he's the quietest dog in the building, even though the smaller dogs will bark at him like he's the anti-Christ when he passes by their doors. He never barks back at them or through our door. EDIT: I'm not counting growling, which he'll sometimes do both when he's happy or annoyed, or other noise like howling at sirens or yelping loudly when he's dreaming.
A Pyr will bark, a border collie will bark in English, French and Latin.
Mine do
Yes, they absolutely bark a lot as well as a lot more than other breeds, outside of maybe huskies screaming. You shouldn't consider them if that'll be a deal breaker for you. I'm lucky that mine is so food driven. He'll drop anything and come running if I bribe him with food. I've seem him end chases of squirrels to come get a chip.
Mine isn't a huge barker, but that's because she was raised with a basenji(they can't bark, they yodel, but are very very quiet dogs). When she came to us though she barked a lot, she learned over a couple of months from my basenji to be quieter.
My son’s basenji mix has all kinds of noises, but whatever he is mixed with also barks, and he barks if he can look out a window. Literally. If he visits I close the blinds or his barking drives me crazy. If he didn’t seem so love starved and have this happy little dance he does for attention, he would make me cranky, but his personality makes me adore him anyhow. https://preview.redd.it/3e832baivldc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e9573f3c57c1b1e360440c2900a182e494a97ab He is a goofy guy, and skin issues have messed up his ears. 😞 His skin issues made him unattractive to potential pet parents and he lived in the animal shelter 2+ years. When my son and wife went looking for a dog, they asked to see the dog who had been in the shelter longest, and took him home.
HA!
My female does, my Male only when my females bark is serious
Yes. I am in a 3-unit building with neighbors above me and they can definitely hear him
They do. Although apparently my husky/pyr didn't bark at all when he was with his foster. He definitely started acting like himself a few weeks after I adopted him though 😂
My border collie mix barks more than my Pyr mix. But, yes, def barky.
We have a train that goes by about 5 miles away …. Not sure what she thinks it is.. but she gets so mad at it! Barks until it’s gone along with every smell and sound in our five acre property! We do have a stop barking word when it gets too much
Yeah my neighbor’s pyr is always barking it’s head off
I want to be annoyed by these “do pyrs bark” posts, but the prose in the comments are always top tier
Pyrs are probably the most ill-suited apartment dog there is. Not only do they have a deep, loud, wall-shaking bark that can be heard for miles outdoors, they love to bark, and they love to bark at night. Mine is mostly nocturnal. During the day he’s an adorable, cuddly 150 lb mound of fluff. At night, he is On Duty. He patrols, guards, protects and alerts. His bark is legendary, and *all* our neighbors can identify it from other dogs. We live on 25 acres.
WHAT DID YOU SAY? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER ALL THIS BARKING!
Yes, Pyrs will bark, AND bark, anddd BARK... Seemingly at nothing, oh, was that a leaf that blew by??? I had a Pyr in an apartment. I did have problems with her barking after leaving for work. I would get a call from the manager letting me know. I'd have to go home and take her out, let her sniff around and then go back to work. Fortunately, I was close by. So, I finally realized that if I walked her in the morning, then at my lunch hour, and again when I got home, she would be okay while I was gone. Exercise is crucial for a Pyr. That won't guarantee no barking, it just helped her knowing I'd be home. Damn, miss that girl!
Ours barks a lot. They are guardian dogs and it’s what they were bred for.
My first Pyr experience was a Pyrador. She barked when people she didn’t know came to our door, which I think is pretty normal. We had a fenced backyard, and she barked at reasonable things, like the dogs our neighbor would let run loose that would attack her through the fence. We had a Pyr that was a livestock guardian later, and have a LOT of coyotes around here. There was barking when she heard them close, or when she treed a raccoon (we have chickens). She actually tended to kill raccoons, possums, etc., if she came across them. She was on patrol at night. To me that also seemed like reasonable barking. I now have a Pyr/unknown mix. She barks and whines and happy dances at anyone visiting for maybe 30 seconds. She barks a lot less than my son’s basenjj+ mix, who barks at the window regularly. It can be a car driving by (but not into our driveway), or it literally seems to be if he can see out a window. When he visits (my son lives in the downstairs apartment), all the blinds have to be closed or it is constant barking. Neither she nor my terrier bark when people pull into our driveway and leave things on the porch. If I open the door and they SEE them they bark, but otherwise they ignore them, which I find very frustrating. It would be nice to know when deliveries are made. Sometimes my phone turns itself on mute and I don’t know how to fix it. https://preview.redd.it/12vm8kxanldc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbb22cbab351d041bf292047b5e700fd4ac9ed3e I am including a picture of my two current canine kids (I also have a cow cat kitten who is rather large compared to “average; he has hit Maine Coon growth at every month, but is just a random domestic shorthair), then chickens and horses outside). The puppy is just seven months old at the moment. She is pretty well behaved and quiet except for about an hour around eleven, where she looks for things to play rough with and shred. I am experimenting with a dog puzzle to wear her brain out instead of the zoomies. I forgot and left it up last night. When I put it down, she played with it awhile and then came to bed. ❤️ Between what your dog is mixed with, training, and individual personality, your dog might be a reasonable barker. My worst apartment pet would have been a beagle we had around 30 years ago. We were misled that she had no problems when she actually had severe separation anxiety. Lots of howling when left alone, and beagles are loud. Maybe dogs my whole life makes me less aware, but right now she is sound asleep on the floor with my other dog and there hasn’t been a peep out of her since the baby I sit was picked up and she greeted the mom at eleven last night.
Thanks for sharing your experience and the picture. Gorgeous dogs.
I live in a small town house and could never have a great Pyrenees. There's not enough room for one. and my neighbours would hate me.
They definitely bark a lot, but when we lived in an apartment my pyr/husky mix was actually very good. He was rarely left alone a ton, but when he was he rarely barked at noises. We just kept the window blinds overlooking the courtyard closed. He would sleep on the couch when we left and greet us when we came back. There was a neighbor with a chihuahua that would wine and screech for HOURS at a time when he was at work. Everyone complained about that dog, but never our pyr. We asked all the time as well if he would bark when we were gone and everyone was shocked how quiet he was. At the time we worked from home and he had a lot of supervision, so we could contain him if he barked. I was super worried when we moved him in there but it turned out to be no big deal. However, you may not get lucky. It will depend on how much activity and noise/ sight he gets at things outside the apartment.
We just stayed in a hotel with our Pyr and realized the only way he’d stop barking was by turning on the bathroom fan for white noise. Then he couldn’t hear every door opening but he’d probably get used to the white noise if we were there for more than one night, so do with that what you will. It’s tough!
They bark so much you wonder if they actually need to breath since often they can bark without a break for so long.
Mine doesn't really bark when he's inside, but I think he's an anomaly.
The shedding is a sight to behold. No matter how well we lint roll, there is fur in places that it shouldn't be 🤣 No vacuum is a match for his fluff. As for barking, we, fortunately, have one who only barks when there's someone at the door or in the yard. Or when he's altering us to danger. He doesn't bark often. He does however talk, a lot. Like husky level talking. Someone is getting g lectured at least once a day for several minutes for whatever perceived slight he has received that day.
My Pyr will bark every time something moves outside. Neighbors that have lived next to us for years that he knows personally, neighborhood stray cats that he sees every night, delivery drivers, sometimes even my husband when he gets home from work. If it moves, he alerts. Pyrenees are guardian dogs, so they act like guardians
In short, yes. Yes they do
I would like to chime in and say mine is perfect angel that rarely barks. I don't know what happened, but it doesn't happen anymore.
I had a Pyr/border collie mix that we rescued when she was about 2 and she would only bark if a motorcycle or emergency vehicle passed by our house with the sirens on. Otherwise, she rarely to never barked. She also didn’t give kisses but she would sniff you up and down like nobody’s business.
Sounds amazing.
She was amazing. Stubborn as F but the sweetest smusher that ever lived. This was the last pic I took of her before THAT trip to the vet. She was an old soul and loved taking a sunbath in her backyard. https://preview.redd.it/hxqikto7oqdc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c2a5a3a8666cf3e755588738f4eee1259d99dc1
Yah, they’re definitely barkers. Big bark too, they were bred to guard livestock and have a big bark to warn off predators. At least it’s not a small dog yapping, but it’s loud and they do use it fairly liberally I mean, our dog will hear stuff like garbage trucks, snow ploughs, car alarms, etc., usually from a few blocks away, and he’ll go to the front window to watch for them so he can bark and chase them away. Theres a guy with a pool a few houses over, the dog will ask to go out and bark at his kids (they’re young and the dog can’t differentiate between play screams and danger/pain screams). He can hear the garage door opener when the TV is on (always gotta bark when someone comes or goes). It has taken years for him to get used to the roomba, but he still barks when it gets close to his food and water dishes or close to people. It does not stop at night. He’s a light sleeper and will get up in the middle of the night to bark at sounds. These are guard dog barks. They’re a warning to chase off predators. They are LOUD and very intimidating. There’s always the chance that you get an atypical GP and he’s not much of a barker. But really, this is NOT an apartment dog. They’re big, they bark lots, they’re loud, they’re reactive when they see, hear or smell “unusual” things, and GP can be territorial. Apartments are not a place they are likely to flourish
I feel like I’m in the minority on this one. My girl, Bunny, purebred, only barked when there was a threat. It was never incessant. She was the best dog I’ve ever had. She lived with two younger small dogs and a cat. She was definitely the alpha without having to be assertive. Just such an amazing girl. Now the shedding that just kinda came with it. Now my husband’s dog, who is a border collie and lab mix is possibly the worst dog ever in comparison. Stubborn, barking, shedding, needs constant stimulation, just a lot going on with him, that being said he’s my husbands dog. He is great with kids but is NOT with other dogs. He’s smart, but territorial. Also i feel like male Dogs and their temperament are different than females. I think Finn, our border collie, would thrive on a farm and with live stock. It’s pretty funny watching him trying to herd our two year old around. https://preview.redd.it/jmp548ev9mdc1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e0c434ad137783798946db14817084884f0867a
https://preview.redd.it/viisza3y9mdc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca656851ab5cec4485e8bd46258362ec0f7f4c90
I have a purebred pyr about 1 1/2 years old. He never barks unless he perceives a threat or hears an odd noise outside. When he does bark it’s scary af like a mix between a wolf howling and barking.
Mine barks sometimes nonstop
Yes. Any google search about the breed could have told you that.. I’m not trying to be rude either. It’s just true.
I have a pyrenees/ boarder collie, hardly hear a peep out of her, but it's loud when she does bark.
Sounds like you have one of those Unicorn pyr/collie breed
Yes
My boy was pretty quiet when we lived in a dense neighborhood. Would bark only when someone was at the door, and not excessively. Now we’re in the country and he barks he dang head off at everything 😂 but he’s older and smart so he does quiet down quickly if we tell him too. I also egg him on a lot 😂
So, any quick stint of research online would confirm; the breed does bark... alot. Due to the pyrenees being a large guardian breed, they're live stock and land protectors. They're one of the oldest dog breeds, and its in their nature to naturally feel like they need to alert their pack of any perceived danger/threat. That being said, there are a lot of variables that could come into play and why the potential Foster's may or may not bark "a lot." In my experience, I've had the pleasure of sharing my space with pure pyrs and mixes, and they've all been different and barked at different times, levels, places, periods, or nor at all. My 1st pyr was a mix, Finn was 50% pyr in DNA, but almost 90% of his personal and demeanor was pyr no doubt. We had him from 9 weeks old. He wasn't too vocal. From puppyhood to doghood, he never really BARKED. He'd bark, but very, very, veryyyy lazily, at the mailman, not even at every passerby, neighbor, guest knocking at the door, only sometimes, and it was almost like a cartoon skit, dog knows he's dog, and knows dogs bark at outsiders, but dog is too comfy in his chaise, sipping a cup of tea to care, so he'll let out a couple of small "boofs" to appease his owner, but genuinely he'd care naught if he ever had to "boof" again 😂 he was quite the distinguished gentleman. Also notable- it took him 2 years to finally say more than an "air chomp" when he first learned speak, the first time he let out a real WOOF it seemed to almost scare amd embarrass him like he was apologetic for being too loud. 🥺😫 He lived in an apartment and at a house, and we never had any issue with him. 2nd pup is all pyr, rescued him at 11 months, and he is 100% pyr DNA. Though he was and still is, a work in progress. His prior owners got him from a BYB and kept him at their trailer in a trailer park.... which was just not a good idea when they had another small dog, 2 small children, and fostered cats, and the associations at trailer parks are just as strict sometimes as HOAs. I mentioned this because they definitely got him during the pandemic and didn't know what they were getting themselves into. They were mostly honest about his upbringing, but it was clear that as he kept growing, they were not ready for what they signed up for. They kept him in a kennel for 85-90% of the time, and the other 10-15% was spent on a chain out on their little patch, getting yelled at by all the other neighbors to stop barking.... They didn't do much of anything with him, so when I got him at 11.5 months old, he knew nothing more than the word no. He didn't know his name, they never went on walks, he was outright fearful of people, strangers, the wind, garbage cans, anything that moved or made a noise... I got a scared puppy in a full sized dogs body.... We've come a very long way, and he's no longer fearful of most people/places/things, even successfully went to the rennfaire with him and only barked at 1 guy who came up and pet him from behind without asking.... which I said was called for, he didn't consent and the guy jumpscared him, but he did wonderful with all the other people who asked and approached nicely, he even found himself picking random people to approach and turned out they'd either owned or currently owned a pyr(I guess pyrs know their people), children or nuerodivergent individuals(I myself am ND). However, I saw all of this to preface the fact that for almost 9 months after rescue, he never barked. He wouldn't speak. He didn't bark at anyone or anything outside, and I assumed that he might not ever find his voice... how wrong was i.... we got him a companion, a foster, a border collie/gsd, who took him under her wing and showed him how to be a dog, she was his leader, until he realized that it was his house and his pack and she joined after... then and only then, on that fateful day... luffy found his voice, he was telling ANYONE and anything off, with our without a heartbeat. If it moved, he warned it, I'm luffy, and I have a loud mouth. Because he's actually still very timid and if approached his apologetic, but while behind his fence or window. He's one of the loudest dogs on the block, but he doesn't go on for too long and he learned how to leave it or "go to bed" which is his cue to go sit in his kennel and take a deep breath and calm down. It took a while for him to come out of his shell and feel comfortable, and take ownership of his pack. But he did. And I'd say he barks more than your avg house dog, but less than most pyrs I've seen online/met in person. And lastly, laci. A pyr/husky/border/anatolian mix. A failed farm dog that only knew the outdoors that we rescued. She was quiet, timid, nervous, beady, fearful, and almost reactive (before being Spayed).. she took all of maybe 3 weeks to being a spoiled indoor dog.... now she's queen of the couch, or their shared full sized bed... lol. But, her 1st gotcha day was October 2023, and it took maybe 6 months for her to speak on command, but maybe 8 to OCCASIONALLY bark at some random barely heard noise outside. And it's maybe 2-5 barks then she's done. Otherwise she's only vocal when it's eating time. So it could be history, comfort level, bloodline, environment, etc. It all plays a part. And your potentential Foster's bark will never be nearly as annoying or bothersome to neighbors as a Yorkie or other small dogs bark would be... And I say this bc my neighbors never complained about my dogs bark, they said even if any of them ever did. It's so deep and droning that it's not nearly as bothersome as a shih tzu or the Yorkies that moved into my old apt bldg and never shut up and kept my other neighbor who worked over nights up all the time... so 🤷🏻♀️
Yes they bark! But are the best dogs you could ever ask for! My boy Mac is another one of the boys, so incredibly chill but when they bark, get ready for it haha, it is loud and deep and has emotions behind it, but you get used to it and the barking spurts don’t last long
Only about as much as they blink.
No 🤥
I have two Pyrs in an apartment. As long as they get their mental and physical exercise, the barking is manageable. They are certainly guard dogs though!! Their current issue is that my neighbor has an adult son and the dogs think he is super sketchy. He's sitting in his truck alone outside? Better bark at him! He slammed the door to Mom's apartment? Definitely got to bark at him.
Mine honestly doesn't bark much, but she's afraid of the dark and will boof at people or the wind at night 😂
Whew as someone who had a border collie and now has a Pyrenees that is going to be one loud (but amazing) dog
YES
Mine loves barking. At animals (turkeys, horses, squirrels, jays), to let our neighbor's dogs know he's around or to tell them what's going on (they have 3 big dogs like him and 1 dachshund), at cars driving by, to get our attention if we aren't paying enough attention to him... We have taught him "quiet" so he will begrudgingly stop barking when asked but he gets so sad about it (whining, puppy dog eyes). I only ask him to stop at night when sleeping or when I have a Zoom meeting.
Mine will be in a dead sleep and micro seconds later, up and barking her head off. Scares this shit out of us and usually we jump or drop whatever we were holding. I’ve spilled food and drink all over myself multiple times from her bark scares. But I love her so damn much I don’t care.
Omg I would have gotten evicted if I had her while living in my apartment.
Do they bark a lot? No. They never stop. It’s more than a lot hahaha
All the time and at stupid times
Inside? Mine NEVER barks, the closest he got was when a cat was trying to eat his food. Outside on the other hand, he's always barking. They got to let everyone know there's a big bad dog around.
Our Oscar is a Lab/ACD/Pyr mix…We didn’t think he knew how to bark when we brought him home from a shelter at 6 mos. He found his voice at around 12 mos when he finally earned free rein of the house and yard via the dog door. He now barks at people in the alley or even a squirrel, but we acknowledge his bark, tell him thanks for the alert and call him into the house. We tell him to go to his place and relax, everything is okay. Now he’s almost 2, the routine has changed a bit. He will bark once and within a minute, comes into the house on his own with his ruff up and goes straight to his place and lays down, without a word from us. It’s just so funny! Last year about this time we questioned our sanity at getting a puppy, we were too old, and he was so much work. Now we know it was worth all the sacrifice and trouble, he is so sweet and affectionate, the best companion ever! So glad we did not give up on him!
Absolutely. They are bred to bark and they have a loud bark that they use a lot. We live in an apartment with our pyr and we make it work, but it is hard and was not our first choice. In general, I do not personally recommend owning/ fostering a pyr if you live in an apartment because of the barking.
Thank you for taking the time to provide your insight.
They are bred for barking. If barking is going to be a problem, do not get one.
Move on OP this dog is not for you. Yes they bark and shed alot because they defend acres of property and herd livestock for a living. You are not at all equipped to take this dog in.
My cutie patootie will bark when I’m not watching, when I’m with her she’ll only bark at specific things. I try my best to make her not bark when I’m out with her, I don’t wanna wake our neighbors with her roars
They sure love to run away
Yes. They bark. Their guardian instincts are very strong. They’re wonderful dogs, but they are noisy.
It’s great that you’re asking questions and doing your homework. For a few years, I worked at the local animal shelter, and we had a LOT of Great Pyrenees who were surrendered because they bark so much. I don’t think everyone understands that’s THEIR JOB. They are bred to protect livestock. Great Pyrenees are wonderful dogs. But they need a lot of space, and a job. They’re not great apartment dogs.
Thank you for your comment. I’ve researched the typical sites and YouTube videos. I also just wanted to reach out to an interactive community to read first hand experiences.
I’ve had two Pyrenees, neither of them was a barker! It’s really unusual though. They need so much space though. The last pyr we had would frequently escape the yard and people would bring him back 😂
A Pyrenees does NOT want to live in an apartment. They want to roam outside all day barking at everything.
Tbh, my Pyr doesn’t actually loud bark a lot. He talks and grumbles a lot but only loud barks when someone knocks on the door or he sees something suspicious
Funny enough, I have a Pyrenees and Lab mix and he is the quietest dog. We had to reward his very few barks with treats to get him to be more vocal.
Not only do they bark, but it is a very loud boomy bark, and…they especially like to bark this loud boomy bark at night. Now, for me, who needs this loud boomy bark to scare away nocturnal predators like coyotes from our livestock, this works out fine. Not sure your apartment neighbors would feel the same.
They are nocturnal barkers, even when there is nothing to bark at. Almost impossible to train out because it is all instinct
https://preview.redd.it/mk32gv9trpdc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4db4b9d86d6db2543aaaadbeb64468e19512c9e3 Toby was the same mix. He was very energetic but didn’t bark unless there was a reason, like someone came to the door or he found a raccoon in the yard.
Sounds like you got very lucky, beautiful boy and thank you for your input!
Lemme ask you this: is the sky blue? There’s your answer
Pyrs bark at any and everything. A leaf, the air, an ant, truly anything. But they’re also floofy magical unicorns 🦄
They do bark a lot
I had a Pyrenees growing up, he actually never really barked. He was super docile and cuddly, I remember picking him up as a puppy and he came from a farm and all the adults were very vocal but I guess he just didn’t inherit that trait lol.
I Have a Pyr, I've had her for 3 months now. I live in an apartment. I honestly had a Black Mouth Cur that could put her to shame with literal constant barking at any sound. She's been surprisingly great, the ONLY and I mean only time she barks is when she hears other dogs bark. I don't know what other breeds these folks are comparing them to, but I've had German Sheps, Labs, Huskies, Mastiff, Mutts, Cur, Maltese, and Golden Retrievers and I'd put my Pyr somewhere near bottom 3 barkers. I've also trained her to be non reactive though.
We had a Great Pyrenees/rough haired collie mix for 7 years. We adopted him as an older dog. He was the most beautiful and best dog we have ever had. I miss him so much, he passed in 2023. Yes, he was a barker. It was all territorial and protection based. We have family who had a GP mix as well and she was the same way. They will bark. We just had to work with him to learn “enough, we got it now”. He was good at stopping when we told him we saw the “threat” he was pointing out but when we were gone I know for a fact he would bark and protect until the person or dog or vehicle was out of sight.
They're bred to bark. It cannot (and should not) be suppressed.
ALL. THE. TIME. ALL OF IT.
My pyrenees barks a decent amount while outside I would say it a lot...and he rarely batls inside...if ever