Most races of dogs have the ability to bark or howl, with the notable exception of dingos.
I’ve never heard a bulldog bark. Can they ? Can they howl (if prompted by a musical instrument or by imitating howling) ?
Any other races don’t bark ?
Do dingos howl (if prompted) or are they totally mute ?
As I understand, there is a race of African dog (Canis domesticus, not a wild dog) which does not bark but makes a musical sound. The dingo is usually considered a separate species from the domestic dog, no or little more closely related to the domestic dog than wolves, coyotes, dholes, etc. Some breeds of dog tend to bark more than others, but I suspect that all will bark (perhaps excepting the odd African dog I just mentioned, if someone knows more about it than I do).
My wife and I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback (bred from an African Dog Species) and he does not bark at all. Ever. They are known for not barking, instead they use intimidation and low growls to get their point across. Google Rhoesian Ridgeback and you can read all about them, and their no barking ways. Wondefully loyal and obediant dogs, however, they require massive amounts of training and consistant reinforcement to let them know who is boss. I frequently take Grissholm with me to work (environmental planning) and he does great witth others…
Basenjis don’t bark. It’s kind of eerie, actually.
According to modern nomeclature dingos, along with domestic dogs, are generally considered to belong to the same species as the Gray (or Timber) Wolf Canis lupus. Coyotes are definitely a separate species, Canis latrans, while the Dhole Cuon alpinus is in a different genus.
Well, nuts – I was going to say that. But seeing we have such similar names, I’m going to take a partial credit anyway.
Although dingos do not bark, they do howl and also have a number of other vocalizations.
A similar “primitive” type dog, the New Guinea Singing Dog, also does not give repetitive barks but has a variety of other vocalizations.
Of the more common dog breeds, Doberman Pinschers are one of the least vocal of the domesticated dogs.
Dobies still bark, quite loudly and deeply too (first time I heard one I about jumped out of my skin) just not terribly often. My Husky doesn’t vocalize too much - she just whines when she wants a walk - but Huskies DO love to dig.
Yes, but they do yodel. :eek: :eek: :eek:
Kinda cute and a bit freaky to hear them do so, though. 
what about (forgive the spelling, I’m a cat person) a malamute?
Basenjis are, in my experience, fun little quiet dogs. Until I had my friend’s Maui in my car while she went in to her apartment’s office to pick up a package or something.
They may not bark, but they can make NOISE…
Bulldogs most definitely bark.
They snore, too.
My Siberian Husky (not a malamute, the smaller breed) never barked- except once, in suprise. Yodel, talk, whine, yes, but no barking. YMMV.
There’s the, I believe unidentified and probably extinct, breed of dog that Columbus came across on the Caribbean islands that seemingly couldn’t bark. He was so surprised by this that he thought it worth remarking upon in his account of the first voyage.
Their disinclination to bark has been one of the reasons for a hypothesised link between RRs and dingoes. The other is the presence of that ridge. The only other ridgebacked breed in the world on the Indonesian ridgeback. The IR is part of the dingo, NSD, Malaysian dingo complex that spreads across much of micronesia and SE Asia. An IR looks remarkably like a dingo aside from the ridge, and like the dingo it can’t bark at all.
It’s been suggested that the RR is a descendant of IRs taken to Africa via Madagascar and interbred with bnative dogs. Not sure whether the genetic works in that hypothesis have been completed yet.
Which illustrates that there are numerous different breeds of ‘dingo’ throughout the Australasian and SE asian region and possibly further afield that can’t bark.
Of course the RR can bark. They just seem reticent to do so.
Mrs. Piper and I are the domestic servants of a basenji. It’s quite true: ours doesn’t bark. The most we’ve ever heard is a single, experimental “yap” kind of noise when the other household ruler, the miniature dachshund, is barking his fool head off at something, and the basenji tries to imitate him in a frustrated sort of way.
She does “sing,” though - or “yodel,” or just plain howl. She can make a tremendous amount of noise when she’s frustrated or lonely. We once were driving out to the lake in tandem with my parents and they took the basenji in their car while we were loading up ours. Before we got finished loading, they were driving back in and gave us back the basenji. Apparently as soon as she realised she was being dognapped by strangers, she just started howling. They went for a few miles with non-stop howling before giving up and driving back to town.
The explanation that I’ve heard is that basenjis are a “primitive” breed - one of the earliest domesticated dogs. In the wild, barking is actually a juvenile puppy sound, while adults howl: adult wolves and coyotes don’t bark, they howl. Over the millenia of domestication, other dogs have been bred with that juvenile behaviour because of the desire to have watch dogs who let you know when someone’s prowling around. Basenjis were originally bred for hunting, in packs, so barking wasn’t needed as a desired characteristic.
I thought it was a bit of wishful thinking on basenji owners’s part, sort of “dog lore”, but awhile ago I came across a website that said that DNA tracking of dogs did indicate that basenjis had deviated from most domestic dogs considerably farther back than most other breeds, so maybe there’s something to it.
Whatever - if you’re looking at getting a basenji because they don’t bark:
non-bark!=silent.
The other thing is that they are one of the most stubborn breeds of dogs to train - not stupid-stubborn, but smart-stubborn. Sounds sort of like Phlosphr’s experience with a Rhodesian Ridgeback.
Sausage Creature
I owned a Husky and they sure do bark and DIG (as you said.) They also like to chew.
However, although quite intelligent, I believe 80% of a Husky’s brain is concerned with one thought … PULL !!! (Am I right?)
Hot dogs don’t bark.
They howl, right ?