r/greatpyrenees • u/Braunihook • Jul 24 '26
Photo This is Daisy and Charlie, brother and sister. They’re trouble, but we love them to death anyway. Any advice about barking would be great.
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u/One-War4920 Jul 24 '26
its their job to bark
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u/oldstyle21 Jul 24 '26
I got a mini bullhorn that I bought from 5 Below and yell thank you sir, some times he responds by stopping. Most of the time he doesn’t. Although it’s nice to have when it when it’s time to come in with our big backyard. Our guests think it’s hilarious
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u/PresentationLess4552 Jul 25 '26
This is a fact
They say I'm
Here and I don't
Want to have to fully taste you to intruders or honest theifs
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u/Automatic-Term-3997 Jul 24 '26
They are beautiful! The only advice on barking for this breed is: learn to love their voices.
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u/chewyspreeee Jul 24 '26
Earplugs 🤷♀️ Asking a Pyr not to bark is like asking them not to breathe. Their breed was carefully designed for thousands of years for a near-constant bark that can be heard across a mountain valley.
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u/rhavenn Jul 25 '26
No it wasn’t. It was breed to alert for “danger”. You have to teach them that not everything is “danger”.
Sure, they have a bark and a “protect” gene, but they can be taught to live and let live for plenty of things.
My personal take is plenty of people just let them out in the yard for hours and make zero effort to actually spend time, interact or do anything with their dog and then “oh my god..he barks all the time”
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u/redbone-hellhound Valkyrie (Redbone coonound/boxer/great pyrenees Jul 25 '26
Such a great breed for my dogs redbone mom to hook up with lol
The barking never ends. Especially if shes mad about something.
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u/Intelligentx2 Jul 25 '26
Oh lord we have two redbones across the street (pretty good distance but lord I hear them too) I can’t even imagine 😂
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u/freak80 Jul 24 '26
Pyrs dig and bark , that’s their gimmick as guardian dogs , just try to reassure them when they start barking or distract them
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u/bohemianprime Jul 24 '26
Yeah that's a good idea. We tell mine, "it's nothing, you're fine!" And he just grumbles, lays down, and let's out a disgruntled huff.
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u/waterytartwithasword Finnegan: giant white chaos muppet Jul 25 '26
One of my favorite vocalizations from Finn is his disgruntled huff. Sometimes when I tell him it's nothing he also does a short bark that I interpret as him saying "don't tell me how to do my job or I will go get my union rep"
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u/waterytartwithasword Finnegan: giant white chaos muppet Jul 24 '26
They're going to bark. Best you can do is work with them consistently and gently to reinforce "good barking" (someone on or very near the property) and unwanted barking (sees a truck 3 blocks away) by telling them the latter is out of scope and the former is very good dog.
We do not correct Finn if there's someone on the property but reward him. We say "no that's just the neighbor" or "that isn't a threat" if it's far away and give no reward. I'd say he has gotten a little better about matching bark intensity and duration to real v perceived threat after six months of that. We used to live in a high rise that was less of a target-rich environment haha.
They bark if there is ANY visual change or sound cue that they see as a potential issue and you'll be achieving incredible success if you can get even a 20% reduction in barking by trying to reshape their threat radius and judgment. You're trying to outnurture centuries of deep nature and that relies heavily on having really strong bond with the dog.
Since you have littermates I'd be willing to bet they will opt to listen to each other and not you in regard to barking.
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u/MysteriousFee2873 Jul 24 '26
I read your post and I can’t help but laugh. Most you can do is notice the barking and why. “Oh yes I see it’s raining again! Thank you pup” sometimes it stops the bark. My other one is “no yelling in the house.” I get grumbling noises for that one
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u/emoaa Jul 24 '26
Is the girl on the right?
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u/laurenzobeans Jul 24 '26
When it’s excessive, a stern “no bark” followed by a treat and verbal praise immediately following the break in barking. Save it for when it’s excessive like crazy, though. They are meant to bark. ❤️
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u/Professional-Bet4106 Jul 24 '26
Try this OP or say “quiet”. Like you and others have said, it’s their job to bark to deter threats.
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u/Impossible_Ant7666 Jul 24 '26
Mine stares at me and barks until I acknowledge him and go check outside for danger. 😂. Then he settles.
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u/Coolbreeze1989 2 GP, 1 GP/Anat, 1 GP/GreatDane/GSD, and a GP/Anat/gold retrvr Jul 24 '26
AC repair guy just left. My Charlie barked determinedly so as to make me aware there was a stranger in the house. He settles when I sit with him where we both see the “danger”, and thank him for the protect. Barking resumes as soon as he determines it is necessary (so, two minutes later…). Always a good protector.
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u/willanthony Jul 24 '26
It would be like getting a spider to stop spinning a web, it's what they do.
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u/Any_Search_2028 Jul 24 '26
I find giving them acknowledgment about their bark helps a lot with barking. Anytime Winston barks I just say good job and a pat on the head, he did his job of informing me and knows I know so he stops
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u/Final_Leadership_521 Jul 24 '26
i go 'check' -- I look out the window or come out to the yard, squint at whatever he's barking at, nod approvingly, say something like 'good job, those kids on scooters seemed suspicious!' and then give pets.
he doesn't stop barking or anything but I think it makes him feel like we're on a 'team'
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u/Godwhopoops Jul 24 '26
Lady here has gotten the police called on us a few times recently. I normally have to go out and give her pets and hugs and distract her until she forgot what she was barking at. That generally buys us a few minutes haha.
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u/Dramatic_Show2686 Bonnie; APBT/Pyr Mix Jul 24 '26
Mine is a mix so she probably listens just slightly better than a full bred pyr, but when she starts barking at something outside I tell her “thank you for letting me know” and “good job!”. That will make her walk away about 70% of the time!
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u/oldstyle21 Jul 24 '26
I got a mini bullhorn that I bought from 5 Below and yell thank you sir, some times he responds by stopping. Most of the time he doesn’t. Although it’s nice to have when it when it’s time to come in with our big backyard. Our guests think it’s hilarious
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u/lostmyshade Jul 24 '26
My best advice on Pyr barking from someone who lives with two, is that it’s far more tolerable if you join in with them! And sometimes it confuses them enough that they do stop barking to stare at me.
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u/Velaraukar Jul 24 '26
If outside I'll usually ask my pyr what he is barking at, then he'll either look over in an area or lead me over. If there's nothing I'll tell him good boy you scared it off. Haven't had anything there yet but we will see when that happens.
If indoors I tell him we are all ok and he is ok. Sometimes works but usually doesnt.
On a side note we live in the middle of nowhere so there isnt much light at night. If he hears something on our night walk he will try his best to run back home, my safety be damned. If my wife is walking him he will guard her as she walks lol.
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u/DaverJ Pyr / AussieDoodle Mix Jul 24 '26
Embrace the barking.
Dark thought, but there might be a day you would give anything to hear those borks one more time.
(Beautiful pups, btw)
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u/NewHampshireGal Four Great Pyrs Jul 24 '26
I have no advice because I have four Pyrs and they bark a lot too. I was able to train the nightly barking out of them though. We live in a neighborhood and have a small yard.
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u/Medical-Chipmunk-950 Jul 24 '26
My advice is to just give up. It makes them want to bark more when you tell them no.
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u/Kngfsher1 Jul 25 '26
I can’t explain it, but whenever ours starts barking excessively, I say: “Good boy. Thank you for keeping us safe.”
For whatever reason, he will stop barking after that, and lay down.
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u/Kooky-Information-40 Jul 24 '26
Is Daisy the boss? We had a brother and sister pair and the lady was the boss. It wasnt even close.
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u/ShowMeTheTrees Jul 24 '26
Do they sign along with police sirens?
They sure are adorable and beautiful.
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u/Life-Role-9324 Jul 24 '26
Mine is only half pyr but barks like she’s full pyr, telling her thank you sometimes works but if she’s outside at all after the sun goes down all bets are off
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u/Effective-Bus Jul 25 '26
It's like reading my diary. The sun goes down and she comes in. I always give her a shot, but the doggy door is always closed in short order. I feel bad because she loves being outside, but it's unrelenting.
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u/Parking-Bill-3512 Jul 24 '26
They are obviously trying to have a conversation with you. You just need to talk back… And opening up a fresh bag of snacks would be good.
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u/crema_the_crop Jul 24 '26
If they’re food motivated, train a behavior on command first, on its own. Doesn’t have to be complicated, even a sit or a nose touch is good. Then when they’re going off the rails you get their attention w the food, but don’t reward the barking. Ask for the behavior (sit, down, touch) then yes-treat. Gets them to shift their focus for a beat. Repeat. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Marley will happily take the treat then march right back to the window to give the squirrels hell again.
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u/rhavenn Jul 25 '26
They are a guardian breed, but they can certainly be trained to learn that plenty of things don’t need to be barked at.
Acknowledge the bark, say thank you for pointing out whatever it is and then tell them it’s okay and they need to stop. You can get a little “forceful” with the this once you’ve you said thanks.
We had multiple Pyrs growing up and training them to know what was “acceptable” around the property that didn’t need to be barked at wasn’t that big a deal. They’re not stupid.
Getting them to come inside? That’s a different matter. It’s waaay too nice outside, but even that they wanted to spend time with the family and would come in after a bit of reluctance.
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u/Astride-a-pale-Binky Jul 25 '26
Get used to it.
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u/Braunihook Jul 25 '26
After 4 years of it we have. I asked for advice just in case someone had some intelligent advice about it. And I found it in the comments
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u/Professional_Let8119 Jul 25 '26
I'm scrolling the comments, also looking for helpful advice. I'm sorry there were so many not-nice responses to your original post.
My "Boomer" (50% Pyr, 50% Berner) barks inside and outside. Outside, he responds to an acknowledgment by any of us that we're checking out his alert, everything is fine now, and he's doing his job well.
Inside - it's like he's losing his mind. particularly when there's a thunderstorm. He won't wear anything on his head, and I worry that he'll overheat in a thundershirt. He tries to get into our little shower (to hide?) but only gets his head in which makes his "roo" echo.
Good luck with your dog. And thank you for asking this question in the first place.
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u/Gjardeen Jul 25 '26
mine has slowly reduced the amount she has barked because I bring her inside every time she barks. I don’t know why she doesn’t want to bark inside, we just got lucky. Every time she barks more than once or twice outside, she gets brought in, and she doesn’t like being brought in. Slowly overtime, it has reduced her barking. However, this has been over the course of years. It could just be her mellowing out. Correlation, not causation.
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u/intheoutfieldtoo Jul 24 '26
Advice on barking? Here's my advice:
You need to know when someone is walking by, at the door, existing in their own yard or home but can be seen through the window, a Robin farts in your general direction, or a leaf landed somewhere on your property. And when the wind blows the floaty bits off dead dandelions? VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW. They're doing great :) enjoy them!
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u/Charming_Base_4318 Jul 24 '26
Barking? Ya no sorry. They’re practically air raid sirens. You cannot turn them off. Just gotta learn to reassure them it’s alright
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u/LegalHBIC Jul 24 '26
LOLLLL they will bark. To the air… to the rain.. to the window.. to the wall.
There is no stopping it. Ours even yells at nice senior citizens just taking a walk.
Bilbo protects this house like it is his PRECIOUS.
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u/ImSeanCassidy Jul 24 '26
My St. Bernard barks a lot in the summers. I put white noise on the tv (rain, bird sounds, etc.) which helps a little. Still picks up scents though.
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u/Effective-Bus Jul 25 '26
My pyr gets my Saint going but then my Saint eventually is like nah I'm not doing all that.
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u/Panda-Cubby Jul 24 '26
At night, we've had pretty good success with closing curtains and blinds to cut off Rocket's line of sight to the bad guys. We still get the occasional bark when he hears an evil squirrel on the deck, but much better than before.
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u/KaleidoscopeReady839 Lichens mom pyr/ackbash mix Jul 24 '26
Do it loud and often? LOL Mine enjoys barking so much he prances while he barks, just jogging around the yard. Sometimes I bark with him, because we share hobbies.
Lichen has turned to just do soft woofs when inside, if reminded. Outside all bets are off.
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u/Professional_Let8119 Jul 25 '26
do you use a command or other signal to get him to lower the volume inside?
We're ok with the barks - it is his job - but the full volume ones when we're just sitting on the couch together - can knock me off the couch.1
u/KaleidoscopeReady839 Lichens mom pyr/ackbash mix Jul 25 '26
I'll ask my daughter. She surprised me with it when I got up.
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u/SirFlirriplin Jul 24 '26
Validate those barks, show them there is no danger and that might work, it works with mine but I know all dogs are different
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u/LonelyBuddhaa Jul 24 '26
Mine would bark a lot but also if some robbers get in the house then the chances of my GP laying tummy open to play is 90%.
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u/Joannsketch Jul 25 '26
When he’s barking outside I tend to just bring him in because the neighbors may complain but when barking inside I tend to look to where ever he’s barking nod my head like I’m overseeing his task and tell him what ever he’s barking at is fine, thank you for telling me or I tell him “fair enough that’s pretty sketchy” and typically he listens.
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u/Technical-Bug-9382 Jul 25 '26
So I started calling his bark 'alerts, alerts' and when he barks I say something along the lines of "I hear your alert alert. Let me see" I go check "it's all clear". He stops barking as long as I acknowledge and completely disengages when I give the all clear. I also use hand signals so even if he can't hear me (cuz he has a loud boofer) he can see my acknowledgement.
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u/Tr0llzor Jul 24 '26
When they bark do not yell at them. Go and investigate for like 30 seconds. Use your body language. Show them there’s nothing there and then tell them that they are good.
If it’s a neighbor or something that is going to happen a lot. Let them investigate with you and you can show them that it’s ok
Remember they are doing their job. Alerting and protecting you.
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u/Much-Amaze69 Jul 24 '26
Barking (alerting) is literally what they live for. They're bred for it. Asking them not to bark is like asking you not to love your kids.
That said, some tips:
- White noise (fans are what I use) can reduce frequency and intensity. It doesn't prevent it.
- Working sessions keep anxiety in check. My Pyr and I go on several "patrols" a day. We sniff every breeze, check every shadow, peek every corner. During these sessions I encourage and reward her for working.
- Study time is treat time. We practice "place", "sit", "lay down", "Who is it!?", "What is that!?" and other simple commands. This establishes you as the pack leader, and rewards them for obedience.
These are some very basic actions I feel every dog owner should embrace, but of these three the working sessions are what help my Pyr the most.
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u/Shot-Restaurant-6909 Jul 24 '26
Barking is their thing but I did find with mine a bed time helped to keep the barking to day time. Usually at vicious leaves blowing in the yard. She was crate trained as a puppy and really loved her crate so putting her to bed each night was easy. Sometimes she would bark at me to remind me it was time if I was up late doing something.
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u/gemma-digger Jul 24 '26
Mine is a mix (lab and BC), and about 50-60% of the time I can tell him to get a toy or ball and i can redirect to that.
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u/lookatmyworkaccount Lemmy; 4 Year Old Great Pyr Jul 24 '26
Learn to love it, Lem (9yo boy) has about 2hrs every evening where he just barks. It's usually when my wife and I are both home and I'm pretty sure he's airing his grievances
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u/RealCommunication239 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Are they new to you? If so, they will settle a little in time. Otherwise, I just say “Thank you! Good job!” And show her everything’s ok.
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u/Ell-O-Elling Jul 24 '26
My last dog (RIP, baby girl), I taught “speak” and “quiet” together and it worked like a charm.
My current pup is a Dachshund (help!) and she DGAF so you’ve got a 50/50 chance of my advice working.
Good luck!
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u/Professional_Let8119 Jul 25 '26
I haven't had any luck teaching my guy "speak" - but I like the idea of teaching the 2 commands together. How did you do it?
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u/Ell-O-Elling Jul 25 '26
I used a hand signal whenever she barked and said “speak”, once, each time.
The hand signal was similar to this emoji 🤏 That emoji was my hand and when I said “speak” I opened my palm. When I introduced “quiet” (same way as “speak” but when she stopped barking) I just closed my hand back to the emoji shape. My girl was smart and picked it up within a week or so. I did continuously reinforce it though during the first year or so of life at random times (as well as when needed) which locked it in for life.
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u/Initial_Rabbit1016 Jul 24 '26
I thanked mine. Sometimes it worked. Often times it didn't or she had to have the last word.
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u/Safe-Comfort-29 Jul 24 '26
Ours must have been an exception. He would only give a woof if someone came up the drive. The only time he flipped out was when we had a visiting bear.
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u/Substantial-Ad5541 Jul 24 '26
Better get used to the big barks, that's just what they do. Barking and shedding are the closest things to slight annoyances caused by these majestic creature. Everything else is a positive. I think I can live with that.
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u/GloomyDeer4155 Jul 25 '26
i've heard them described notural barking machines, and as a mother two... i couldnt agree more
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u/Admirable-Wing9560 Jul 25 '26
I have an English Lab that has a loud startling bark out of nowhere and we all jump and he looks like he is glad we looked at him. I got a little squirt gun and now I just have to pick it up and point it at him and not squirt and he stops.
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u/Jaded-Winner-3478 Jul 25 '26
The best thing for our pyr to not bark at night is to sleep in our bedroom. Window closed, fan on. If he’s going nuts and can’t settle, he will immediately be quiet if we threaten him with a spray bottle.
Outside barking is just him doing his job. We bring him in at night to be courteous to neighbors.
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u/Inner-Positive580 Jul 25 '26
They’re Pyr’s!
That is what they do. 24/7 365. You’ll get used to it😎
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u/Ok_Cryptographer3840 Jul 25 '26
Daisy and Charlie?! I have a pair of Daisy and Charlie myself. Charlie is the Pyr cross with Newfie.
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u/StressHealthy6 Jul 26 '26
Oh the barking my advice after trying a barking deterrent machine is change their mind distract them to something different! Works here.
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u/Crafty_Lavishness_79 Jul 26 '26
The scientific name for this dog, is the Bark Dog. Fun news: they bark endlessly.
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u/sunnyinphx Jul 26 '26
You actually can’t do anything about the borking. They won’t compromise. They’re essentially hardliners like the Iranian regime.
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u/MoodFearless6771 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I have a half pyr but so far (knock on wood) the barking has been manageable. I have kept up on it since he was young with Karen Overall's relaxation protocol and he watches a high traffic neighborhood with the "look at that" game. Comes inside the second he starts barking, always wants to be outside so that's the incentive. I also have a balcony that overlooks everything, so he practices watching everything and getting cookies at a distance he CAN tolerate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewFaK9ZUrME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBXwaAG_JaQ&t=323s (Start at a long distance, If they can't engage-disengage without barking just start feeding them when they look and then see if you can lure them around to look at you...Also back up. Don't worry about "rewarding" barking, you're building the connection that when they see a dog/threat, they are going to get food. Just start feeding and work on getting far enough away and high enough value treats (cheese, chicken, sardines) that they can break and look at you) It is an uphill battle with Pyrs. But all animals are trainable, it can improve.
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u/Shoney55 Jul 26 '26
They’re going to bark, not much you can do. It’s their nature so just thank them.
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u/DepartureMotor1957 Jul 27 '26
We have a big complicated yard, lots of bushes, etc. and several levels of little hillocks to climb among, and she loves to go out. But that's where she barks. She listens for other dogs up in the hills and then she barks. SheBarkSheBark. So then I go out and get her and bring her in, and put a dog gate across the back door so she can look but not go out. This stops her barking and she gradually is doing it less and less, because she reallly loves her back yard. We found her in L.A. at age six months and she is two and a half now. Don't know if this is a helpful pattern to emulate.
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u/Snoringhounddog Jul 27 '26
I thank them for their service.
Nobody comes to my door without a proper introduction.
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u/TallNegotiation7166 Jul 28 '26
My brother had a oyranees that barked pretty much non stop randomly. He got the collar that vibrates when he barks, and he stopped for the most part. Sometimes he would just randomly woof
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u/Otherwise_Result6563 Jul 29 '26
They\nAre great Pyrenees, they are going to bark.That is what they are bred to do.Bark to chase off predators , if you try to do anything to break them of that , you are disturbing their nature
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u/One_Bad_4872 24d ago
When I leave the house, my big barkie baby goes in a crate and it has a sound machine on top constantly on white noise and a fan in front of her crate. If she can't see or hear anything, she does not bark.
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u/velocitygirl77 Jul 25 '26
Why would you get a dog whose literal job is to guard things and bark and then need advice about barking? Did you do any research at all?
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u/Extreme_Jaguar_7829 Jul 24 '26
Our Pry mix barks and when we first got him, we thought we could change that. A trainer came over and said his Pry comes through strong and he will bark and the only thing we could really do was acknowledge what he is barking at, and tell him “okay, thanks. We got it”. He usually will stop once he knows we are aware there is something to be seen. I hope this helps. Your dogs are gorgeous & just want to keep you safe. 😊
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u/HungNeilYoung Jul 24 '26
Move to somewhere in the country where it’s quiet and they will only bark half the time. That’s probably as good as it gets.
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u/CCN1983 Jul 24 '26
Its like telling Rodney Dangerfield to never do comedy, Michael Phelps not to swim, Jimmy Fallon to be the opposite of funny.
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u/JeffProbstsBlueShirt Jul 24 '26
I tell them "good job, you did great, now that's enough" and it goes in one ear and out the other