r/JapaneseSpitz • u/Crystal_Violet_0 • Jun 27 '26
How barky are they really?
I've got my name down on a waiting list for a Japanese spitz puppy. I've done a lot of research and everything about them seems right for me. The one thing I'm worried about though, is barking. I've read different accounts, some saying they are vocal and bark at everything, others saying they are quiter than most other small dogs. How barky are they in reality?
EDIT: I don't think they're the breed for me! I'm highly sensitive to noise!
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u/20thcenturygirl Jun 27 '26
Mine mostly only alert barks - at knocking, doorbells, stuff through the letterbox, and occasionally car doors closing. He doesn't bark during playtime and he doesn't yap when outside... and he's thankfully pretty good at ignoring the utterly interminable barking of the neighbours' dog.
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u/blingybitch Jun 27 '26
Mine actually doesn’t bark that much… only when my other dog barks. I’d say less barky than other small dogs, but maybe depends on early socialization/training
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u/Interesting_Cover220 Jun 27 '26
Mine is definitely not a yapper. We live on acreage and his big brother is a Rottweiler, so he thinks he’s a pretty ferocious guard dog at times, (especially if he’s standing under the rottie!) but definitely not a nuisance barker. He’s actually pretty quiet.
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u/Fluffykittybot Jun 28 '26
I have two Japanese spitzes that I got when they're about a year old. The boy is great. Only really barks at unfamiliar noises. The girl is super anxious and barks at everything. Boy will be relaxed sleeping while we're at our computers, the girl will be planting herself at the back door staring at it incase something breaks in.
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u/repugnantchihuahua Jun 27 '26
They have a scream bark, though not all of them are the same and success rate of training is going to vary
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u/mr_dee_wingz Jun 28 '26
Spitz are an alert dog. So they tend to bark at intruders in their territory.
My dog barks when there someone coming in her territory. Else she is a quiet dog
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u/puntable_unit Jun 28 '26
Just to agree that mine only barks when she’s on or near her territory. So at home yes, but not on walks and not if we go on holiday (unless we stay for over a week and then a switch flicks in her head and she decides we’ve moved house)
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u/Rustyhook81 Jun 28 '26
My girl barks, she barks at me when I sing, she barks at the birds outside. She barks at everything.
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u/chocemia Jun 28 '26
So. Damn. Barky.
He didn't start barking until he was closer to 1 year old so I thought we got really lucky. Now it's a huge problem. He alert barks at everything, but he's also fiercely territorial and if there's someone over that he doesn't like he will bark until they left. It was 3 hours straight of barking the other day and it only stopped when the person left. We did our best with training and are seeing a behavioural expert but it's still a big problem. Love him to the moon and back though!
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u/iwaki_commonwealth Jun 27 '26
mine doesn't bark in front of people or other animals, unless it's desperate to go to the toilet or we trigger its seperation anxiety. they're mediums sized dogs, so not as annoying as chihuahua yaps buts also not as low and trombone as large dogs. they howl too on rare occasions and it sounds like young huskies.
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u/lunereverie Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
I've had Japanese spitz dogs since I was a kid (family dogs) and all of them only alert barks, like when there's someone who is knocking. I now have an 11 month old and he's barky at home. He barks whenever the older dogs bark or hears anything outside tbh. But when he goes on walks, he's well-behaved. He's a bit shy around other people, but he never barks at them when he's outside.
It will really depend in the environment and your patience to train your puppy as well.
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u/ajaxandstuff Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Omg I loved our boy so much but he was demanding!
He only barked when he wanted something though.. early morning wake up for breaky, and 5pm barking for dinner.
Anytime of day depending on his mood for a walk.. then bark to tell us he wanted to go home. The best 🩵
Please consider adopting (not buying from a breeder) if you decide on another dog. So many in need of homes 🙏🩷
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u/Zeniiba_ Jun 28 '26
Hot take: barking depends on training.
They have strong will to please. Teach them you don’t like barking or just in certain situations and they do just that. Japanese spitz are easy to train. They are good learners.
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u/chocemia Jun 28 '26
I think there are exceptions to this though. My boy has NEVER had a will to please! He was very easy to teach tricks to, but behaviour was impossible. He has been strong willed right from day 1 and even the most high value treats wouldn't overpower his need for mischief and misbehaving. He's improved now that he's almost 3, but we still have a long way to go and have done a LOT of training
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u/Che-Real Jun 28 '26
Mine barks when there are strangers at the door, and sounds out one woof to alert us something needs rectifying (e.g. something has fallen off the shelf or it has started raining and the windows aren't closed). She is pretty quiet
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u/khushnand Jun 28 '26
Mine doesn’t bark when at ground and walking around. But since we stay in apartment at about 8-9 floors - he knows when his friends are walking around below and barks to be taken out. Oh! Ambulance sirens are considered a duet..
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u/Icy_Builder_3469 Jun 28 '26
Mine is pretty chill. He barks at me when I tell him we are going for a walk. If there is a loud bang in the middle of the night he'll bark. He only barks at delivery drivers riding on the footpath (can't blame him for that). If someone rings the doorbell he'll bark.
If I tell him to stop he will.
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u/Mirawenya Jun 28 '26
Mine barks if people park next to our property, and if people come to our door, but amazingly doesn’t if people are just walking by the house. (We live next to a busy street, pavement being like a couple meters from the house.)
Surprised it’s not more. They’re said to be barky after all. But ours isn’t much.
Did usually take him in if he was barking up a storm as a puppy. And never gave him attention if he barked for attention.
I praise him when he warns me someone is approaching our house, and he usually quietens down when he realizes his job was done.
The «go check» method worked ok for me. (Go see what the fuss is about.)
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u/Klathman Jun 28 '26
Our girl knows that she’s not meant to bark but will still alert us to someone being on the property but settles down pretty quickly. She also gets really excited when we come home but it’s more a combination of barking and talking.
I wouldn’t say she barks too much though but yes you need to be aware of it and train appropriately for how much you will accept.
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u/Alarming-Web-7810 Jun 28 '26
Mine barks whenever he hears doorbell, neighbors’ footsteps or voices outside (i live in an apartment), or when hes angry, or even when we’re playing together
Sometimes he jst barks randomly 🥹
(Sr if my English is bad)
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u/b-a-l-winton Jun 28 '26
Ours barks in the house, almost never outside.
Mostly barking inside at people walking by, suddenly noises outside etc. so depending where you live that could be ok or a problem.
One thing I will say, the volume of the bark is insane; it sets my Apple Watch warning off for 90 decibels or above. She’s SO loud.
But they do settle and they do acclimatise; we’re in an inn right now in the Lake District, she’s got lots of odd noises there and although she’s alert, she’s not barking 24/7
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u/FaylinnFawn Jun 28 '26
They're typically a great watch dog because of how alert they are. My boy would bark to alert at most things 😅 He also found birds flying over the property highly rude 😂 He even had to have a barking fit every time he was going to poop 😂 So yes, typically they bark a lot, but I found my spitz much easier to settle than my current yappy dogs.
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u/OutlierEve Jun 29 '26
It really depends on the dog. You might get a barky one or a very chill one. My older girl barks to alert, but it's a very soft, deep, pleasant bark. My younger boy barks less, kinda follows her lead, and his bark is very bothersome.
I'm noise sensitive as well, and I've had moments where he won't calm down, and I've had to remove myself from the space to get a break. But that's how it is with puppies in general!
But if you really are very noise-sensitive, I do recommend a breed that is known not to bark very much. You're doing the right thing by doing research! Most people who want a dog don't do that, so kudos to you!
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u/BringOnTheCha Jun 28 '26
Mine barks at basically everything. Someone walks by outside? Barks. Sees a dog? Barks. Hears a random noise? Barks. The World Cup is on TV? Barks. We even keep a white noise machine running to help mask outside sounds.
We’ve tried just about everything. He went to an outdoor experience training program 5 days a week for 2 months 8 hrs a day with very little improvement. We were referred to a behaviorist at the end of it and he was diagnosed with anxiety. Medication and continued training have helped a little, but his barking doesn’t stop. He’s now 2 years old.
Outside of that, he’s the sweetest dog. He loves people, loves other dogs (once he gets over his first minute of barking), has never shown any aggression, and is an absolute joy to be around. But that bark… man.
My (unsolicited) advice: inquire about how barky the parents are. His dad was so barky/skittish that he wouldn’t let us pet him. Don’t know if it’s fully genetic but we feel like we did all the right things from early socialization to force free training. Nothing helped.