
If I would get a dollar for everytime someone asks me…
Do Pomeranians bark a lot?
… I could buy enough dog cookies for 10 years.
Joke aside. Here I’ll reveal the answer to this common question.
You’ll discover:
- What the Watchdog Syndrome is.
- Why some Pomeranians bark a lot (and what to do about it).
- 4 wrong assumptions that Pomeranian parents have about why their pooch is barking.
- And more…
Table of contents
Do Pomeranians bark a lot?
Some Pomeranians bark a lot. This depends on their early socialization, personality, and lifestyle. They communicate with humans mainly through barking. Pomeranians are no bigger barkers than the average dog.
If your Pomeranian emits a lot of barks, some of the most basic reasons include wanting your attention, having separation anxiety or just being excited.
Whatever the reason might be, it’s up to you to determine what causes him to bark. After you learn to understand your Pomeranian, you’ll be able to deal with his behavior and communicate with him better.
In this article, we’ll look at all the possible scenarios which could make your Pom bark a lot.
Why do Pomeranians bark so much?

Barking is the natural way of dogs to communicate. If you look at cats, they meow. Horses whinny. But no one is concerned with how to make them stop. With dogs, people have adopted a different approach and expect them to behave less-doglike.
When your Pom is living in an apartment with you, there are neighbors involved. So it makes sense that you would want to minimize the barking.
When people are faced with the bark of a Pom, they often think it’s because:
- The Pom is trying to take the dominance role.
- The Pom is being aggressive.
- The Pom does it to irritate them.
- This bad behavior is part of their Pom.
Don’t be too quick to make assumptions though. When people don’t understand why the Pom is barking, it’s easy to get confused, frustrated and to overreact.
Don’t revert to punishment as a solution, as this can make barking worse, plus you could stress your Pom out. If that happens, your Pom can develop eating or health problems.
Understanding why your Pomeranian is barking is key
Then you can work together with your Pom instead of ‘fighting’ with him. With more patience and a cool head, you can make better decisions and choose appropriate solutions.
Plus, you’ll be able to distinguish between exaggerated barking or small harmless attempts to communicate.
Dogs do not let the tension build up without expressing it. We as people are good at covering up our emotions. In the dog world, sending out a warning is done before getting into a fight or an ‘argument’.
If your Pom feels you weren’t ‘listening’ while he was trying to communicate with you, he might revert to ‘yelling’. Poms always ‘voice’ their feelings.
Now that you know the basics, let’s go through some of the reasons why your Pom could be barking.
9 reasons why a Pom can bark too much
#1: Pomeranian barks at the doorbell or at the knocks on the door
This is an all-too-common scenario. While your Pomeranian was a pup, he probably never paid too much attention to the door and the doorbell. And why would he?
In time though, he learned to associate the door with visitors. Dogs are smart creatures, so it doesn’t take long for a pup to learn the pattern. Doorbell rings – boom, visitors come in.
Begin to observe your Pomeranian as guests enter through the door. If the barking is excessive, you’ll have to curb it.
The Watchdog Syndrome in Pomeranians
‘Watchdog’ refers to a dog that is keeping an eye on who gets near to the house or enters. By barking, your Pom is doing nothing more than warning you of that. In other terms, he’s being a good watchdog.
If that’s the case, it’s likely your Pom will stop barking once the guests have entered the house.
Your Pom will sniff and can even lick the guests as a ’welcome’ greeting from his side.
Your Pomeranian’s Excitement (to Greet Guests)

How do you act if you’re super excited about something? Do you feel like jumping or yelling ‘YES!’ several times in a row? Well, your Pom can’t do exactly that but does something quite similar.
The Pomeranian’s excitement emotions could range from being happy to sensing something good is about to happen. Here barking communicates good vibes.
Your Pom might be simply excited to interact with the guests once they’re over. For him guests are fun and stimulating. If that’s the case, he’ll start jumping on them, attempting to lick them as if he’s been waiting for them all along.
Other times when you can see excitement barking is when the Pom is about to go for a walk when he is nearing the park or any other fun place.
You can be sure if your Pom is barking out of excitement by observing his tone of voice and movements.
How it sounds:
Your Pom emits a high-frequency sound. Between the series of barks that follow, there could be some whining intertwined.
How your Pom moves:
When your Pomeranian is excited, his Adrenalin levels are going up. Not being able to hold him till is what you can expect. He’ll be jumping up and down.
Or he’ll be spinning. And he’ll wag his tail. If he’s off the leash, he’ll be running here and there. Sometimes he’ll be doing all of these at the same time. Talk about ‘bursting with excitement’.
Note: Don’t punish your Pom for acting like that. Yelling at him or jerking his leash shouldn’t be something you revert to. The danger of doing so is that he’ll begin to associate newcomers with bad emotions. This will then result in fear of people.
#2: Your Pomeranian’s fear
Dogs can become afraid of pretty much everything. Circumstances and the dog’s mental state play a big role here.
Some examples that can evoke fear in your Pom include but are not limited to:
- Being left alone in a car, at home, or tied up in front of a store.
- Sudden and/or loud sounds.
- People and dogs that act threatening.
- Anger between family members.
- Being restricted to move all the time (by a leash).
- Exposure to new strange objects.
Your Pomeranian’s fear of Territoriality
If your Pom doesn’t like the idea of having strangers at the door, he might retreat to barking. Poms are territorial, so it’s likely that’s why he’s acting barky. On the other hand, he might be fearful of the newcomers.
One way to distinguish the fearful and the excited barking is to pay attention to whether the barking is used to chase the guests away.
If so, the Pomeranian is communicating ‘Go away, I said! I don’t want you here!’
This behavior can occur if your Pomeranian hasn’t been exposed to a variety of people and animals while being a puppy. Hence, he’s not used to different people or animals being on his territory and can perceive them as a threat.
#3: Pomeranian barks at the neighbors
If you live in a house with a yard where your Pomeranian can run free, he’ll for sure have several encounters with the neighbors each day.
For the sake of the good tone between you and your neighbor, you’d want to work with your Pomeranian if he’s barking at one or more neighbors.
What would happen is that your Pomeranian used to get along with the neighbor and has recently started lashing out at them.
A lot of pet owners assume that if their pooch is barking at the neighbor, it’s the neighbor’s fault. While this could be a possibility, it’s highly unlikely.
Maybe the neighbor does something which your Pom perceives as threatening. If the person who lives next to you carries big objects such as new furniture in or out of the house, the Pom might feel startled.
If the neighbor was doing something and your Pom started barking unstoppable, your neighbor might have stopped what he was currently doing.
The Pom could have perceived this as a victory from his side. If the Pom felt such reinforcement, chances are he’d repeat his barking strategy next time.
If barking doesn’t drive the neighbor away like last time, the Pom could increase it. This is based on the idea that what your Pomeranian did once worked and if it isn’t working now, he needs to try harder.
Has your Pom barked at the neighbor from the very beginning? It could be because your Pom lacks proper socialization. What happens is that your Pomeranian feels intimidated or threatened.
Or, this could be your Pom’s way of stating ‘you’re on my territory, get off’.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that the Pom could get bored of being on his own all day. And that’s understandable because Pomeranians love to be close to their humans as much as possible.
#4: Pomeranian barks at nothing
Does your Pom start barking at thin air?
You might be wondering if he sees something you don’t. Don’t go worrying about extraterrestrial or supernatural things now. The explanations might come as a boring surprise to you.
Critters
Dogs have far better hearing than humans and your Pom might be irritated from a noise that you cannot detect. No need for calling ghost whisperers. But it wouldn’t hurt to get in touch with an exterminator. There could be a critter living in the basement, in the attic or under your deck.
Far away sounds
Even though you’ve closed all windows and doors, your Pomeranian’s ears are wide open for all of the surrounding sounds. Even when they’re miles away. Just because you don’t hear other dogs barking or sirens wailing, doesn’t mean they’re not there.
#5: Pomeranian barking at you
You could be sitting at the dinner table. Or chilling on the couch. Maybe you’re trying to read a book or check something on your phone.
Then, all of a sudden your Pomeranian starts barking. And not only that but he’s keeping his eye on you. His gaze looks almost demanding.
That’s because your Pom is demanding your attention. If he hasn’t had enough exercise throughout the day, or he needs mental stimulation, he will turn to you.
And if you don’t give him what he wants, he will only start to bark harder. It’s alright. Many Pomeranian parents don’t know that by actually looking back at their Pomeranian, they reinforce the barking.
Talking to your Pomeranian or telling him to stop won’t do any good, so you might just leave it.
You might also like: Do Pomeranians Make Good (Family) Pets?
Pomeranian barking at triggers
Besides critters that could be living in your home, there are other triggers that might be making your Pom bark. And they can be outside ones. Does your Pom lash out at children or unknown adults?
#6: Pomeranian barking out of frustration

This barking is probably the most misunderstood one. You’ve probably heard the famous saying ‘Barking dogs never bite’.
When a dog is concerned and feels threatened, he will bite. Look at it this way – usually, most dogs find other dogs very interesting. Of course your Pom will want to get closer to that new dog then.
As weird as it may come to you, sometimes dogs get frustrated when they’re restrained by a leash and can’t go whenever they want and sniff whatever or whoever they want.
It might help you to look at it like this – toddlers do kind of the same thing when they want something. They start screaming, pointing and jumping in the thing’s direction.
Your Pom might seem aggressive in this case but might be actually excited to get closer to the other pet.
There are 2 reasons why your Pom could be reacting this way:
- Reason #1: Your Pom has always played too much and too wildly with other dogs. Then, next time he sees another dog, his excitement levels are off the scale. This leads to barking.
- Reason #2: Or, your Pom rarely meets other dogs. So, at the sight of one, he becomes hysterical.
Pomeranian puppies need to be in the presence of other dogs – both pups and adults. They should not learn to socialize only through play with peers. There should be different points of social contact.
It’s nice to introduce your Pomeranian puppy to older dogs that mean well. They can be good role models.
By doing this, your Pomeranian puppy won’t get the idea that whenever he sees a dog, it’s all about jumping, running, play-biting and all.
#7: Pomeranian barking out of chronic stress
Although exercise is good and recommended for your Pom, too much of it can lead to high-stress levels. If your Pomeranian is overreacting to things, he likely has high-stress levels.
Even if you’re teaching him commands, this won’t be as helpful if you haven’t found out the cause of stress.
Chronic stress in your Pom could be caused by:
- Owners who are constantly angry, nervous and aggressive.
- Engaging every day with other dogs and pet owners.
- Throwing balls, frisbees, sticks.
- Very high demands without regarding your Pom’s experience, attention span, and mental stimulation.
An environment that can lead your Pom to develop chronic stress includes:
- Not enough sleep and rest.
- Not enough food and water, especially for puppies.
- Not being exposed to many different owners and dogs during puppyhood.
- Spending too much alone time during the day.
- Not being able to go potty when he needs to.
- A hectic noisy atmosphere around the house.
- Too little movement due to leashes, crates, staying in a small room.
- Being exposed to threatening things like strangers or storms without support from his owner.
Being exposed to stressful situations is okay from time to time. Exp[osing your pom to stressful situations day by day can make him sick.
#8: Pomeranian barking out of reactivity
The thought of your Pom being excited to meet others is comforting. Well, that’s not always the case.
Another explanation of your Pom is barking at the top of his lungs, is that he doesn’t want anyone near him. You could call it ‘the warning bark’. You will not hear it as often as other types of barking.
How it sounds: It’s a short sharp bark.
This behavior is typical of Poms who haven’t been socialized well enough. Or Poms who have had negative experiences with strangers.
#9: Pomeranian barking to guard you
Maybe you haven’t given it a thought but you’re your Pomeranian’s ultimate resource of food, shelter, walks, and affection.
You could call it ‘jealous’ barking. Whenever anyone tries to approach you, your Pom will snarl, bare his teeth and even try to jump at the ‘intruder’.
Reading tip: Here you’ll discover if Pomeranians make good guard dogs.
Bonus reason: Pomeranian barking to protect his territory

Whether this is your house’s private yard or the garden between the blocks, your Pom will defend it. Why? Because he simply perceives it as his. In general, wherever your Pomeranian spends a lot of time, he considers his own territory.
How exactly your Pom will protect his territory, depends on his age, breed, genes and how much training and socialization he has received.
It’s only natural that your Pom will start alerting you if there’s someone nearing the fence of the yard. The same goes for the front door if the Pomeranian notices unknown steps from the outside.
Once the newcomer enters the house, the barking might stop.
How to train your Pom not to bark
Congrats! Now you know how to speak ‘dog’ better.
Next step: Check out these tips on how to stop your Pomeranian from barking.