A dog's bark can be worse than its bite, at least for owners of a pet that's too noisy, anxious, or aggressive to be a good companion. Many people just want their four-legged friends to pipe down a bit. Fortunately, many wonderful breeds are quiet, which makes them good fits for families who need a calm environment, for close-quarter apartment living, or simply for homes that favor serenity.
Some are immensely popular, like the friendly golden retriever, while others are still quite rare. Many have something in common: They were bred for jobs where barking got in the way. Hunting dogs like the Rhodesian Ridgeback had to be stealthy and silent as they tracked prey. Retrievers had little need to bark, since they followed their noses to find and fetch downed birds.
Herding dogs, too, are among the quietest. Flocks startle easily, and a barking dog could create chaos, so dogs that rounded up sheep learned over generations to keep quiet. They had better tools than barking, whether rounding up wayward livestock or nipping at their heels. Indoor breeds were taught to be quiet and well-behaved for their roles in imperial palaces and aristocratic estate houses (today, they're more often found curled on a soft couch or in a comfortable lap). Others rely on their size or looks rather than a bark. A silent mastiff looks tough enough.
What dogs mean when they do bark is still a bit of a mystery to the people who live with them, though that may change. In June 2024, University of Michigan researchers reported that artificial intelligence may one day be used to translate dogs' language. That's just as well, since a 2025 study by Arizona State University researchers found that people often misread dogs' emotions, judging them by the dog's situation rather than its behavior.
Stacker used data from the American Kennel Club to rank dog breeds categorized as having an "infrequent" or "when necessary" barking level. Each of the 15 breeds is ranked by its AKC 2024 popularity rank, released in March 2025. Only dogs registered with and ranked by the AKC are included in the list.
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#15. Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #69 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, intelligent, outgoing
- Height: 18-21 inches (male), 17-20 inches (female)
- Weight: 35-50 pounds
- Life expectancy: 12-14 years
- AKC group: Sporting group
The Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever was historically used to lure ducks. The breed looks like a fox, and its play along the shoreline drew curious water birds into the range of hunters. Tollers rarely bark, but they're known to let out a piercing, high-pitched scream when excited.
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#14. Bullmastiff
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #67 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, loyal, brave
- Height: 25-27 inches (male), 24-26 inches (female)
- Weight: 110-130 pounds (male), 100-120 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 7-9 years
- AKC group: Working group
A cross of bulldogs and mastiffs, the daunting bullmastiff was bred to guard 19th-century English estates and game preserves from poachers. While they rarely bark, bullmastiffs are known to snore.
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#13. Saint Bernard
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #62 out of 201
- Temperament: Playful, charming, inquisitive
- Height: 28-30 inches (male), 26-28 inches (female)
- Weight: 140-180 pounds (male), 120-140 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 8-10 years
- AKC group: Working group
The Saint Bernard comes from the Swiss Alps, where monks at the Great St. Bernard Hospice used the dogs and their superior sense of smell to rescue stranded travelers. Historians say the dogs never carried tiny casks of brandy on their collars, but a well-known English painting showed a Saint Bernard with a little barrel at its neck, and the image stuck. They don't bark without reason, but they do drool and shed.
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#12. Akita
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #59 out of 201
- Temperament: Courageous, dignified, profoundly loyal
- Height: 26-28 inches (male), 24-26 inches (female)
- Weight: 100-130 pounds (male), 70-100 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 10-13 years
- AKC group: Working group
Akitas, with their large heads, dense coats, and curled tails, were bred to stay quiet as they hunted big game such as boar and bear in Japan. Helen Keller brought the first Akita to the United States after visiting Japan in 1937.
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#11. Whippet
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #50 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, playful, calm
- Height: 19-22 inches (male), 18-21 inches (female)
- Weight: 25-40 pounds
- Life expectancy: 12-15 years
- AKC group: Hound group
The lithe, arch-necked whippet was bred in Victorian England by coal miners who couldn't afford larger, more expensive greyhounds for racing and rabbit hunting. Whippets can run as fast as 35 miles per hour. They were nicknamed the "poor man's racehorse," and whippet racing continues today. They rarely bark unless taught to do so.
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#10. Australian cattle dog
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #49 out of 201
- Temperament: Alert, curious, pleasant
- Height: 18-20 inches (male), 17-19 inches (female)
- Weight: 35-50 pounds
- Life expectancy: 12-16 years
- AKC group: Herding group
Also called blue heelers, Australian cattle dogs were bred as quick, smart herders that could handle heat, long distances, and rocky ground. To get those traits, ranchers bred dingoes (the continent's feral dogs) with collies, dalmatians, and sheepdogs. Rather than bark, they herd or nip lightly to get what they want.
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#9. Newfoundland
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #47 out of 201
- Temperament: Sweet, patient, devoted
- Height: 28 inches (male), 26 inches (female)
- Weight: 130-150 pounds (male), 100-120 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 9-10 years
- AKC group: Working group
Giant Newfoundlands are known for their sweet dispositions and long worked on ships in the North Atlantic, where they were adept at water rescues and hauling heavy fishing nets. Lewis and Clark took a Newfoundland named Seaman on their 8,000-mile journey across America. Robert Kennedy's Newfoundland, Brumus, often went with him to his office when he was U.S. Attorney General. Newfoundlands rarely bark unless provoked.
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#8. Rhodesian Ridgeback
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #43 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, dignified, even-tempered
- Height: 25-27 inches (male), 24-26 inches (female)
- Weight: 85 pounds (male), 70 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: ~10 years
- AKC group: Hound group
The Rhodesian Ridgeback was bred in southern Africa from the dogs of the native Khoikhoi people (the source of the hair ridge on its back), crossed with greyhounds and terriers that Dutch colonists brought over. The goal was speed, stamina, and the stealth to track lions and hold them at bay. Hollywood's Errol Flynn is credited as the first person to breed the dogs in the United States in the 1930s.
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#7. Mastiff
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #40 out of 201
- Temperament: Courageous, dignified, good-natured
- Height: 30 inches and up (male), 27.5 inches and up (female)
- Weight: 160-230 pounds (male), 120-170 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 6-10 years
- AKC group: Working group
Mastiffs go back thousands of years in Britain, where Julius Caesar encountered them in 55 B.C. In England, the dogs were used for hunting and guarding, and some were taken to Rome to fight in the arena. Only a handful of mastiffs survived World War II in England, and a concerted effort followed to save the breed. Mastiffs have a deep bark they use only when needed, though they're known to howl.
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#6. Pug
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #38 out of 201
- Temperament: Charming, mischievous, loving
- Height: 10-13 inches
- Weight: 14-18 pounds
- Life expectancy: 13-15 years
- AKC group: Toy group
Pugs started out in the imperial palaces of China and spread to Europe with sea traders in the 1500s. Pugs may bark because they're territorial, but they're more likely to make noises like snoring, panting, and gulping.
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#5. Boston Terrier
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #23 out of 201
- Temperament: Friendly, bright, amusing
- Height: 15-17 inches
- Weight: 12-25 pounds
- Life expectancy: 11-13 years
- AKC group: Non-sporting group
The alert, cheerful Boston Terrier descends from a single dog bred in Britain from a bulldog and the now-extinct white English terrier. That dog, Hooper's Judge, was sold to an American in the late 1800s, who brought him to Boston, where he became the breed's patriarch. The state dog of Massachusetts (and the mascot of Boston University) is typically quiet and not aggressive.
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#4. Bulldog
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #9 out of 201
- Temperament: Friendly, courageous, calm
- Height: 14-15 inches
- Weight: 50 pounds (male), 40 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 8-10 years
- AKC group: Non-sporting group
Bulldogs got their start in medieval England, where they were used in a vicious sport called bullbaiting, in which a pack of dogs fought a bull. When the blood sport was outlawed in 1835, bulldogs faced extinction until advocates rebuilt the breed with less fierce, more affectionate traits. While they tend not to bark, bulldogs make plenty of noise snorting and wheezing because of their short air passages.
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#3. Rottweiler
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #8 out of 201
- Temperament: Loyal, loving, confident guardian
- Height: 24-27 inches (male), 22-25 inches (female)
- Weight: 95-135 pounds (male), 80-100 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 9-10 years
- AKC group: Working group
Powerful guard dogs with a playful streak, Rottweilers arrived in Germany with the ancient Roman army. They worked there as cattle herders and later as police dogs. They can look intimidating, but they're quiet, not easily excited, and not aggressive.
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#2. Golden retriever
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #3 out of 201
- Temperament: Friendly, intelligent, devoted
- Height: 23-24 inches (male), 21.5-22.5 inches (female)
- Weight: 65-75 pounds (male), 55-65 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 10-12 years
- AKC group: Sporting group
Golden retrievers come from the Scottish Highlands of the Victorian era, where they were bred to hunt game and fowl. They've since excelled as guide dogs and on search-and-rescue teams. They rarely bark, and when they do, it's a sign of friendliness, not aggression.
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#1. French bulldog
- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #1 out of 201
- Temperament: Adaptable, playful, smart
- Height: 11-13 inches
- Weight: under 28 pounds
- Life expectancy: 10-12 years
- AKC group: Non-sporting group
The companionable French bulldog descends from small bulldogs in England's lace-making regions, whose owners took them to France during the Industrial Revolution. The dogs became popular in Parisian cafe society and show up in paintings by Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. They don't bark much, but they do like to snuffle and make other noises when excited.
