Charlie The Golden Retriever Has The Loudest Bark!

What dog has the loudest bark? How can you tell? Well, let’s answer those questions in the article to come. Hint: there is a Golden Retriever involved!

First, how is a bark measured? Sound is measured using a decibel scale. The scale starts at 0 and moves up from there. All sounds that we hear will register on the decibel scale. As reference:

• The average household refrigerator is around 55 decibels
• The minimum for a dog barking is 60 decibels
• A normal conversation would be around 60-70 decibels
• A subway train is around 95 decibels
• A power mower comes in at 107 decibels
• A jet engine is around 140 decibels

In 2009 a white German Shepherd named Dez was crowned loudest dog. Guinness Book Of World Records found this London dog to have a bark of 108 decibels! Pretty impressive, just a touch louder than a power lawnmower.

Fast forward to October of 2012 and the Purina Bark in the Park event. The event took place in Adelaide, Australia on October 20th. One of the contestants was a Golden Retriever named Charlie.

At this national competition, Charlie barked a record-breaking 113.1-decibel bark! 113.1 decibels is approximately equivalent to a live rock band. Not too shabby for this 6-year-old Golden Retriever.

Yay Charlie! Charlie is the first dog living in Australia to hold a world record! Now, that’s pretty impressive.

Charlie’s owner, Belinda Freebairn, states that they knew he was loud but they didn’t think he could actually break the record. Further, Belinda Freebairn says that Charlie discovered his voice when he turned 1-year-old. Even at such a young age, she knew he had a big bark.

Thankfully, Belinda Freebairn has put in a lot of work with Charlie to train him to bark on command. So, Charlie rarely barks unless he is asked too. Belinda Freebairn states that Charlie is very quiet at home and almost never barks unless asked. I am sure that Charlie’s neighbors are grateful to Belinda Freebairn for her efforts. Imagine a dog with a bark as loud as a rock band waking you up in the middle of the night!

If you are interested in training your Golden Retriever to bark on command, here is a quick breakdown of how that is done. First, you need to find something that triggers your dog to bark. For many dogs, this is the doorbell ringing, a knock on the door, seeing someone through the window, some other sound or sight that makes him bark.

Once you find a trigger it's time to use the trigger to get your dog to bark. Say "speak" right before you initiate the trigger, then activate the trigger. Once your dog starts barking praise him for his efforts!

Next, it is a good idea to teach "shush." While your dog is barking say "shush" and offer him a treat. But don't give him the treats until he has been quiet for a few seconds.

Then you will just repeat the process of "speak" and "shush." Eventually, you will be able to get your dog to bark without needing to use a trigger. All he will need is the command "speak."