I know this is a very long post but please read it all i would be very greatful.

After recent disscusion in a different thread i did and the mention of German shepherds being very vocal got me thinking. And i was visting my mom and dad today and took both dogs with me and i asked my mom and dad who have owned GSD for over 40yrs and my dad also grew up around them. They both said they have not found them very vocal at all they said that there is also no reason for a german shepherd to be very vocal and that it all comes down to the breeders and there line , and a massive part is training and socialization. And socializing is VERY important with a German shepherd so that they become more confident around a variety of things\situations \ environments. They said that all there GSD's which has been over 20 Shepherds in total so far ( they have 5 currently) only bark for a reason such as if someone knocks on the door\ walks up the path \ cat in the garden\ during play . they dont bark for no reason and all there dogs have been trained to stop barking once they give the cue thank you, then all stop barking but all stay alert though. None have barked while in the car or at little things. However they said what GSD's do , do best is talk or make other noises instead of barking but all these noises are not loud.

My GSD diesel is the same as what they said and its got me thinking about what was said on here and what my partners mom said about her GSD's being very vocal.

I started thinking so much about this because we have had a scare with diesel i have found a lump on his stomach ( i noticed it when i was cuddling with him and rubbed under his belly) i went to the vet yesterday who is not too worried but hes having further tests to be safe. Im waiting for results and am going out of my mind and then it hit me i could not live with out not only him but a German shepherd i just cant see myself without one. German shepherds are my heart breed and they are the only breed i can see myself with ( kiara the lab is my partners dog i still love her too) any other breed as i already had diesel before i met my partner. I know some of you might not understand what im about to say but im serious when i say i love diesel and the breed so much that i would leave my partner if he didnt want another. GSD are part of me they have been eversince i was born my passion and love for this breed has always been strong ever since i was a kid.

Obviously i dont want to leave my partner i love him dearly but the wreck i have been the past 24hrs has made him realise just how strongly i love this breed and has agreed that i can always have one but the only thing that worries him is if he did get the same hearing condtion as his mom that , that would stop me having one with them being very vocal according to his mom so thats why i asked my mom and dad as they have owned them for over 40yrs.

Is what my mom and dad said true as thats been my experience so far with diesel?

And i want you to base you awnser of how vocal GSD's are on a Well bred , well socialized ,well trained GSD or gets enough mental stimulation and physical exercise.

I have never need to have a cue with diesel but if i needed to teach a cue to help in him\ her not being too vocal would it be possible to train with a cue like my mom and dad do with a german shepherd in General.

it fit in with my experience f the two I had. yes the can be vocal when excited. I think nikita posted about one that " sang  all the way to the chiropractor. Certainly mine would sing and woofle lots  when getting near the places we walked but generally at home I didnt find them noisy. no one complained either. training of course will help . I would listen to tour mum and dad sounds like they have a lot  amount of experience
I did also have pom x chi now she was  vocal :) Hardly surprising given the spitz breed that was her mum  .

I hope all is well with your dog , hopefully if external just a lipoma or similar and they arnt a problem . My flat coat has one on her chest all safe though

Thanks Furriefriends , i have my fingers and toes crossed that his lump is nothing serious.

Iv been doing research on his moms condition hypercusis and talking with members on a forum and it seems being vocal outside is not a problem as hes outside so the bark wont be as loud , its inside that would be an issue as the bark is then in an enclosed area being in a house the the bark would appear louder and potentially damage the condition further. So being vocal outside is not an issue.

Both my mom and dad and myself furriefriends have found like you indoors not that vocal.

I belive that everyone finds "there" breed thats is meant for them and German Shepherds are my breed.

The car may be a problem .

Hmmm, diesel doesn't bark when hes in the car and my mom and dad have never had an issue.

What about blocking there view of outside?

Works for some dogs .or ear defenders for the people affected

He hates putting things over his ears , maybe good earplugs.

I would still love to hear from others so if you could share your experiences or any advice you have on GSD's being vocal i would be cery greatful.

Of course why not find your nearest bgsd club and go there and chat.thay will.be all.gsd and there owners .also some of.the dog shows will have gsd classes

I've not read all these posts, but I would say that, when working/living in a Boarding Kennel, our GSD customers were always put into the kennel block furthest away from our living quarters.   It's not so much how frequently they barked, but the NOISE they made (some would almost scream) when they did utter

In the home, they should be able to be trained!!

I have already asked on two GSD's forums that im a member on and they all have said what my mom and dad said that theres are not that vocal only for a reason and a lot of them said a quite or thank cue helps them stop them from barking. They all said in the house they are not that vocal , outside they can be some bark ,whine when playing others dont some are quite outside, some bark in the car others dont.

However all of them disagreed with what Nikita said , i just said on another forum a member said the following and wanted to know if there experience is the same. This is the part that really worried me....

"I apologise, but this did make me chuckle.  Many german shepherds are just as vocal as a sheltie and just as high pitched! "

How on the two GSD forums they said none of theres have been as vocal as a shetland sheepdog and that GSD's are not high pitched. They said that it depends on the GSD she is talking about wheatjer they get enough physical and mental Exersice , if there well socialized and well trained and if they have come from a good breeder ect.

So thats why im concered and why i asked on here as everyone i speak too disagrees with what i was told here by Nikita. So im just really confused.

Nikita is a very experienced behaviourist and was reporting what she found in the one she is working with while in the car
.  As I said both whispa and lisa could get woof and noisy if they were near where they thought we were going to walk but generally they wernt and only in the car and other experiences

Not Vocal at home or most times in the car without reason .
When out and about they were both quiet.seeing another dog.walking past the house would illicit barking boy only a short time but it soon stopped  as they matured and with training it wasnt a problem
Some barking will happen as you know they aren't silent but not like the sheltie imo

Depends on the type of GSD, my friends who have GSDs all have German working line GSDs, they are no more "vocal" than other breeds, but they do sometimes"whinge" in the car, it's akin to a child asking"are we there yet" when you are still in the driveway lol. They very quickly settle down & my collies make more noise during travel.

They do tend to greet people almost singing voice if the people are known to them.

These are all trained dogs of course

It was Nikita furriefriends who said there as vocal as shetland sheepdogs and its with her being a very good , experienced behaviorist why it worried me.

When they bark its high pitched and does go through you i have found. The ones ive known and worked with only bark for a reason and usually to alert something or someone is there. As for telling them enough, it was always on the dogs terms when they felt it was enough.

I think that you are jumping the gun and imagining things that may never happen. Your dog may be fine and your partner is highly unlikely to develop this condition.  I have  hyperacusis which was apparent from a very early age (pre school) and have three grown up sons who are not affected.  If it is not already present the things which can trigger it are usually a life changing event/head injury/sudden exposure to very loud noise,
I am now in my seventies and having had hyperacusis almost all my life and having had dogs all my adult life i have found many many more everyday sounds much more difficult to cope with than a barking dog!

Thank you Goldenfrenzy its nice to hear from someone else who suffers the condition. I am presuming by your name you own Golden retrievers , which i have found have a much deeper bark than diesel.

Suejaw , i think i read someone you owned bernese mountain dogs. My partners mom said that German shepherds and shetland sheepdogs were tje worst dogs shes ever owned for barking but she said her Bernese was the best his bark was never high pitched and she hardley heard him. Dont know if thats true for all bernese but it was interesting.

I think GolsenFrenzy is right, i think im just so nervous about diesel. The vet phoned this morning and asked me to come in as she needs to talk to me, so im hoping everything is fine.

I hope your dog is fine and the vet can give you good news.

i hope your dog is ok too, i have been around a lot of GSD my dad was an ex policemen and for 25yrs of his career he was a dog handler. He always had German shepherds but if im being honest all were high pitched not all were very vocal but they were all high pitched which from a quick google search it looks like a High pitched bark might not be great for said condition if and there is a big if your partner gets this condition. But if he did in future and i think it comes down to how much you want a GSD are you willing to get one knowing that his condition if he ever got it could be made worse and if you did get a GSD and then he gets the condition and the GSD bark does affect his ears what would you do , would you then have to think of rehoming ect. You need to weigh up the risks if it happened. But this is all in theory he may never even get the condition and you may be able to have GSD all your life.

Were your father's dogs German working line types or donated/ UK bloodlines types? A world of difference in behaviours & character.

I sometines have one or two of my friend's dogs here to stockproof(my friends live in midst of sheep/cattle area & like to make sure their younger dogs learn to ignore livestock at an early age)& TBH my collies bark far more than the GSDs & the GSDs quickly learn a quiet command. Never hsd much close contact with any other type of GSD Back in the day most police dogs were reject pets rather than working line bred to work dogs.

>  I know some of you might not understand what im about to say but im serious when i say i love diesel and the breed so much that i would leave my partner if he didnt want another

Fully understand.  One of the things that put paid to my last relationship was him saying that long term, he would only let me have more than one dog if they were a toy breed.  My heart breed is the dobermann and the malinois runs a close second, so that was never going to work!

> How on the two GSD forums they said none of theres have been as vocal as a shetland sheepdog and that GSD's are not high pitched.

To be fair, no, he doesn't get enough of anything.  But he is still a very vocal dog and many, many of the GSDs I have met over the 16 years I've worked with dogs in various guises (4 different kennels including one where the owner had excellently bred GSDs from her own lines), grooming and for the past 10 years, training and behaviour work) have been much the same.  It's not constant barking, it's everything else - the squeaking, squealing and talking that they do.  Some people don't find it an issue but it would drive me completely bananas!  Their excited bark can be very high pitched.

I dare say they shouldn't be, and those well bred ones were certainly quieter than most, but on the whole these days I find them to be very vocal.

> It's not so much how frequently they barked, but the NOISE they made (some would almost scream) when they did utter

^ This!

Nikita do u think its different if they are only dogs ? My first was an only and whispa was in his own until about 3 ? By which time he had matured and the others didntset him off .only the dreaded foxes

Environment must surely make a difference.

I live in a city suburb and I do find that going past any house with GSD's ilicits barking, so they could be noisy if they are where they will get a lot of visual/noise stimulus.

My own breed is known for being vocal and I work hard to minimise this, and removing outside stimulus as much as possible keeps them pretty reasonably quiet.

They will bark at passing dogs, and go ape at cats, in my front garden, that they can see out of the window  if they are in the livingroom.

Dont all dogs make thos squealing , whinibg noises?
Kiara makes a lot of talking noises ( could be diesel taught her) but i thought all dogs make lots of talkative noises but maybe im wrong.

Diesel is fine the lump was not cancer it is a Sebaceous cysts the vet has given me something to disinfect it to prevent and infection or any yellow gunk but if yellow stuff is there she said come back do not pop it yourself. So im so relieved.

I have 5 German shepherds and although they don’t bark ( only when someone knocks...even the postman has a free pass) ..I have to agree with Nikita they do make some weird and wonderful noises!!

Out of the 5 girls I only have one that really doesn’t make noise, I have one that sounds like Chewbacca...and one squeaky enough to burst an eardrum!!

Pleased to here all.is well woth the lump .yep quite common and easily dealt with fortunately .we have had a few here

> Dont all dogs make thos squealing , whinibg noises?

> Kiara makes a lot of talking noises ( could be diesel taught her) but i thought all dogs make lots of talkative noises but maybe im wrong.

Nope, not at all!  IME the very talkative ones are actually the minority.  I've had some whiners here over the years but my only a few really chatty dogs, and one of those is only in one situation.  The mali though doesn't shut up once she's wound up, and it drives me nuts!

So its highly likley Nikita that she ( kiara my lab) has learnt to be so noisy and talkative from diesel? A lot of my friends who have labs say there normally super quite as a breed.