Most owners would say yes. Our record gives the Harrier a bark rating of 4 out of 5, and the supporting picture fits: strangers are rated Friendly with strangers, energy is very high at 5 out of 5, and the breed's temperament, Calm, sociable, musical and single minded on a trail, is one that notices things and says so. The honest detail, when it barks, why, and what actually turns the volume down, is what the sections below are for.
Owners describe a noble, gentle pack dog whose needs are simple to state and serious to meet: miles, music, company and food, in that order daily. Puppies are all ears and enthusiasm; adults are athletic, devoted companions that work a trail in full cry and then sleep contentedly. Expect a companionable, musical dog that treats the household as its pack and every walk as the day's main event. A typical life runs 12 to 15 years. England, United Kingdom produced the Harrier, a medium sized scent hound bred to follow scent trails for hours, on game from rabbits to boar, baying so hunters can follow.
Numbers first, because they explain the voice. The Harrier carries a bark score of 4 of 5, flanked by energy at 5 of 5, shedding at 3 of 5 and grooming effort at 3 of 5. The breed needs 60 to 90 minutes of exercise a day, stands 19 to 21 inches and belongs to the Hound group, with roots in England, United Kingdom. Its social ratings read Friendly with strangers for strangers and Good with dogs for other dogs, and both audiences feature in the barking story below.
Expect the voice at transitions. A Harrier barks when the day changes gear: people leaving, people returning, the lead coming out, the car arriving, another dog appearing at the park fence. Add the door, the doorbell and the evening settle that never quite settles, and the pattern is complete: this is not a dog barking at nothing. It is a dog with a 4 out of 5 voice living in a world full of things it considers worth a headline, and the owner's work is editing the list, not burning the newspaper.
Owners describe the Goldilocks pack hound: all the foxhound nobility at beagle adjacent scale, with an athlete's invoice and a singer's voice. Calm, sociable and musical in the record's words, good with children, exceptionally good with other dogs and friendly with strangers, it rates apartments as not ideal because exercise, voice and pack needs push outward. Group training suits the pack brain beautifully.
For completeness, the record's remaining lines: the Harrier comes from England, United Kingdom, in the Hound group, and its color line reads: The standard accepts a range of colors and patterns, and individual markings vary a lot. Its coat is recorded as Short, dense, hard and glossy coat, weatherproof like most pack hounds. The breed's known health watch points, Hip dysplasia, Eye conditions and Ear infections, quietly shape the noise question in the senior years, when senior status arrives around age 8 years and hearing, joints and routine all change how a dog experiences its street. The barking verdict on this page describes the typical adult; the whole record describes the dog whose barking it will actually be.
Look sideways for a moment at the breeds this record finds most similar: the Sabueso Español, the Tyrolean Hound and the Plott Hound. Their bark ratings are not identical to the Harrier's 4 out of 5, which is worth remembering in both directions: do not borrow a similar breed's quiet reputation, and do not lend this one's volume out. Cross shoppers get more from comparing the full records side by side than from any single number, which is why each name on the shortlist carries its own page on this site.
Be honest about the environment, because it is half the instrument. A Harrier left facing a busy pavement through glass will bark at the pavement; the same dog with the blinds drawn at peak hours and its exercise done is a different neighbor. Sound masking helps at night, distance from the fence line helps in the garden, and a household rule of never opening the door mid-bark, waiting for the pause and rewarding it, slowly teaches the dog that quiet is the key that opens things. The Harrier can learn when to be quiet. It should never have to learn to be afraid of its own voice.
Old Harriers stay sociable, musical and devoted. Keep weight measured monthly, ears clean and the mileage honest.
Keep the record's figures in view while you decide. Height 19 to 21 inches, weight 45 to 60 lb, lifespan 12 to 15 years, exercise 60 to 90 minutes a day. Barking 4 of 5, energy 5 of 5, trainability 3 out of 5. A small dog's 4 out of 5 and a giant dog's 4 out of 5 are different acoustic events, which is why the size lines belong on a page about noise: pitch, volume and the neighbor's tolerance all scale with the dog producing them.
Read two lines of the record together: barking at 4 out of 5 and apartment suitability rated Not ideal. For the Harrier specifically, a Hound dog whose exercise needs run 60 to 90 minutes a day, that plays out in daily routines rather than in occasional big fixes. A low score with a good apartment rating is the easy yes. A high score means the honest answer depends on your walls, your neighbors and your willingness to run the management program on this page every day. What never works is hoping the dog did not get the memo about its own breed: a Harrier will be exactly as vocal as its record says, in whatever building it lives in. The Harrier suits very active rural households, ideally with other dogs, space, secure fencing and serious daily mileage.
Start with the cause, not the noise. In the Harrier's case the setting matters as much as the rule: this is a breed with very high energy and a bark level of 4 out of 5, so its voice is heard against a fairly specific home backdrop. Meet the exercise need first, 60 to 90 minutes daily, then teach a settle cue in calm moments so it exists in loud ones, and reward the pauses after barking rather than shouting through them. Manage the stages the dog performs on, windows, fences, the front door routine. At 4 out of 5, this breed's trainability of 3 out of 5 makes the program very workable, but it is a program of weeks. Anyone selling you a silent Harrier by Friday is selling you fear, not training.
Puppies of every breed experiment with their voices, and a young Harrier is no exception. With the Harrier, whose typical weight runs 45 to 60 pounds and whose lifespan reaches 12 to 15 years, the honest answer also changes a little across the dog's life, from puppyhood to senior status at about 8 years. The adult pattern, the one the 4 out of 5 score describes, settles in across the first two years as the dog learns which events are routine. Households shape that settling more than they expect: puppies whose barking reliably summons company, play or opened doors keep the habit, while puppies whose calm behavior is what pays grow into the economy of voice their record promises. The breed loads the dice; the first year rolls them.
Last updated: November 11, 2026