At What Age Do Pitbulls Start Barking?

Barking is an essential part of every dog’s development as it’s how they communicate with others and respond to their surroundings. When adopting a pitbull puppy you should know when it will start barking and what causes it to bark.

So, at what age do Pitbulls start barking? Pitbulls start barking when they are at about 7 or 8 weeks of age, and sometimes it might take them until they’re at 16 weeks. How often pitbulls bark mainly depends on multiple factors including the dog’s personality, health, and training.

Keep reading to learn more about how often Pitbulls bark, what causes them to bark, and how to stop them from barking too much.

How Often Do Pitbulls Bark?

Pitbulls are not the type of breed to bark excessively without a reason. How often they bark is considered to be moderate compared to other dog breeds.

However, each dog is different and there are exceptions. It mainly depends on the dog’s personality, health, and how well they were trained and socialized.

Let’s take break down each factor in more detail:

Personality – Some dogs have chipper personalities so they are more vocal and will bark more often while other dogs have timid personalities so they will not bark as much.
Health – The tendency of your dog to bark could be an indicator of some health problems. If the dog has weak hearing, low stamina, or throat problems, it will not bark too often.
Training and Socialization – If the dogs are properly trained and socialized, they will bark less often than dogs who aren’t. That is because they perceive fewer things as threats.

As a pet parent, you need to understand when to expect your pitbull to start barking as well as what triggers them to bark, so you can understand what they’re trying to communicate and whether their behavior is normal.

When Do Pitbulls Start Barking?

Once your pitbull starts getting exposed to stimuli, it will start becoming more vocal. At 2 weeks of age, your dog’s eyes will open, then at 3 weeks, its ears will start picking up clearly on sounds.

So, pitbulls will attempt to communicate and respond to their surroundings, mostly through grunts and whines, at 2 to 3 weeks of age.

When they reach 7 or 8 weeks of age, their communication attempts will develop to yipping then to barking. However, some dogs might take until they’re at 16 weeks of age to start barking.

If your pittie is older than that and he is still not barking, there could be a few reasons for that. You can check out my guide that answers why doesn’t your pitbull b a rk here.

What Makes Pitbulls Bark?

Barking is perfectly natural for all dogs. If your dog is received proper training and socialization, it will only bark when it has a reason to.

It’s important for all dog parents to understand what their dogs might be trying to communicate when they bark in order to provide them with what they need.

So, let’s take a look at some of the reasons that can trigger your pitbull to bark more often than usual:

It’s feeling threatened or scared

Your pitbull might feel threatened or scared by many things including other dogs or strangers entering their territory or experiencing any kind of violence.

So, your dog will typically start barking as a defense mechanism in order to protect itself against that threat. It will also start barking if they feel that the threat is coming toward its owners and family members as they are known to be very protective.

It got startled by an unexpected or loud noise

Pitbulls can be extremely sensitive to stimuli, especially at a young age.

Unexpected or loud noises will normally startle them and cause them to feel scared or threatened, so they will normally start barking to communicate that they’re uncomfortable.

Some of the noises that can upset dogs are thunderstorms, cars honking, construction work, loud television as well as yelling and shouting.

It’s feeling happy or excited

Sometimes your pitbull just cannot contain their happiness or excitement, and so they feel a need to express themselves through barking.

It’s perfectly normal to see your pitbull barking more than usual when it sees you or when you’re playing together. There are other things that might get your pitbull to become excited such as watching people walk by, hearing a knock on the door, or seeing their favorite toys and treats.

It’s feeling lonely or bored

If your pitbull is used to doing certain activities or receiving a certain amount of attention, it might start to feel lonely or bored when it suddenly has nothing to do or no one to play with.

So, it’s perfectly normal for it to start barking just to occupy its time or hear the sound of its own voice.

How to Get Pitbulls to Stop Barking Too Much?

The key to getting your pitbull to stop barking too much without a valid reason is proper socializing. This involves allowing your dog to interact with new environments and exposing it to different scents, sounds, animals, and people. This will help the dog perceive fewer things as a threat and will

You also need to understand what your dog is trying to communicate when they’re barking, so you can provide them with what they need whether it’s attention, food, or exercise.

If you feel like your dog is still barking too much even though it’s properly socialized, you can train it to communicate with you in other ways. For example, you can tie a bell somewhere your dog can access and train to paw at it so that it can let you know if whenever it wants something.

At What Age Do Pitbulls Start Barking?