My dog lost his bark

[dave 911]

Yankee, our 7 year old Australian Shepherd, who is usually a barking fool whenever anyone leaves the house, or a jogger goes by, or the UPS truck, etc....all of a sudden last night has stopped barking completely. He seems otherwise healthy - still loves to play ball and is active as normal - but when he tries to bark either nothing comes out or he lets out a little cough every once in a while.

Has anyone had this happen to their dog?

[KFC911]

No answer for ya, but when I was a small child, we had a pug that never barked once in his life.

ps: and no that was not a typo...a pug, not a pig

[dennis in se pa]

My dog stops barking for days when he is nervous, like on a trip in the car.

[tops911]

I have a Deutsch Drahthaar (German Wirehair Pointer) who lost her bark. It took a while to figure out the issue. Ultimatly she had Myasthenia Gravis. A side effect from the MG was mega esophagus and that caused her to loose her bark. Once we treated the MG the mega esophagus went away and she got her bark back, it took several months.
I hope nothing like that is happening to Yankee

[Aragorn]

When my Golden got to around 13 or 14, she stopped barking. She would make a noise like she wanted to bark but nothing would come out. She was fine otherwise.

Dave, if you dog continues to have these symptoms for a few days, I would take him to the vet for a quick check up. Seven isn't that old and it sounds like there is something amiss for such a quick overnight change. May not be serious but if it were me, I would rather check it out now.

[126coupe]

I'm sure your neighbors are relieved.

[dave 911]

Originally Posted by 126coupe

I'm sure your neighbors are relieved.

Neighbors, heck, WE'RE ecstatic...this is the quietest it's been around here for years . We'll keep our eyes (and ears) on him and if he doesn't get his bark back well take him in....

[ossiblue]

Definitely get him checked out by a vet. We had an Irish setter that lost her bark and it turned out to be a condition in which the muscles in the throat lost their ability to constrict. Eventually, she was unable to swallow food. Doesn't mean your dog has that severe of an issue, but losing the ability to bark typically indicates a problem that should be checked out.

[pwd72s]

Wish that would happen to all the dogs around here...

[GH85Carrera]

My old neighbors had a useless little mutt that would bark at me incessantly when I was in my own back yard. One day it had a strange bark that sounded like she had a sore throat or a cold. I grabbed a 6 pack and sat in in the back yard and kicked the fence every so often. She was trying to bark but it was real quiet. I was hoping she would loose her bark. The next week she was fine unfortunately. I used to go beat on their front door to have them shut the dog up. I guess they were all deaf. I miss that dog like a bad toothache.

[Baz]

Dogs can lose their voices just like humans do. In other words, they get laryngitis, which is an inflammation of the voice box and vocal cords. It can be caused by barking too much, infection and other causes. If your dog had been coughing, or has a runny nose and other cold like symptoms, your dog may have an upper respiratory infection. If this is the case, your dog should be seen by your vet.



If your dog does not have any other symptoms, I'd try to keep him in an area where he doesn't normally bark much so his vocal cords can rest and recover. If your dog's loss of voice continues for more than a week, you will need to have him seen to ensure there is no physical problem such as a growth causing the problem.

Read more: My dog suddenly seems to have lost his bark, when he barks - JustAnswer My dog suddenly seems to have lost his bark, when he barks - JustAnswer

[Baz]

Hoarse Barking and Dogs on MedicineNet