barking dogs

Having owned 16 dogs from 145lbs down to 9 lbs I suggest that your friend get a cat.

Some breeds tend to be noisier than others, but there are exceptions to every rule. I agree with Calais, research is very important. On top of that, proper care of the dog including sufficient exercise and mental stimulation are going to play a part in a dog's behavior. A dog that sits at home all day alone will be more apt to take up a barking hobby than one that gets an hour of cardio a day. As far as naming names, a lot of toy dogs tend to be noisy with the exception of the English Toy Spaniel, Pekingese, Italian Greyhound, and Japanese Chin. Sighthounds are generally very mild tempered and not prone to barking. . Greyhounds, Scottish Deerhound, Saluki, Whippet, Borzoi, etc. I'd stay away from just about any herding breed as they are known to be "talkers" as well terriers who are barkers through and through.

Well tell them not to get a dog that is breed for guarding, or a little yappy dog. Huskies I think dont bark much, I think they howl. But the best thing to do is research the breeds and find out which one suits them them the most. But keep in mind, some dogs only bark because they are bored.

OK all dogs bark. You just have to know how to train them not to. Dont yell at it when it barks. Get right up next to it and tell it to sit. Make it sit and behave. If it barks say No calmly but asertivly. You have to work on it every time. After a while of this the dog will get the point.

Try & avoid the small dogs, they tend to be pretty yappy - i have 4 small dogs (maltese, shih-tzu, wirey terrier etc) - Husky's don't bark at all, they howl, i guess it also depends on how it's trained. We have a pure bred Shih-Tzu here at the moment who was a prize winning show dog - now, even though she's a small dog, she was trained not to bark, it took us ages to convince her that it was ok to bark, it took a LOT of playing & stuff to get to her bark & even now (6 years later) she wont just bark for fun & if she does, it's only ever 1 or 2 bark in a row, nothing major. Any breed should be able to be taught or there are devices that discourage dogs from barking. I'd recommend going with a breed you like & then take it to obedience classes, you'll get a well behaved dog as well as one that is trained to not make noise!

Stay away from mini schnauzers. Mine barks and makes noises at everything. She drives me nuts sometimes. The big breeds ie: labs and goldens don't bark unless there's a good reason to be worried. Most of the little guys bark to make up for being so small. Yorkies bark like crazy.