Facebook page.My DS isn't vocal at all. Part of this, I'm sure, is her specific nature as an individual, but it makes me wonder, how vocal are DS in general, when compared to, let's say, GSDs?
It may make a difference that she's an only dog, too. There are no other dogs in the house to spark barking.
She does bark, when she has something to say..."The neighbor dogs are behind our property RIGHT NOW!" "Mac (the cat) is waking across the yard, RIGHT NOW!" "There is a motorcycle behind our vehicle!" (She rides sitting and looking behind us, where we have been, rather than looking in the direction of travel, which cracks me up a lot
) When I ask her a yes/no question, her answer is mostly something physical...she'll move her body in some way, where my GSD would always answer vocally. I'll be curious to see how this changes over time, if at all.
So, how do your dogs communicate with you? And, are DS less vocal in general than GSDs?
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With 180+ rescue GSDs thru here over all those years, plus my own, I would have to say that the GSDs are more vocal. Some will just incessantly bark and for no good reason. 
Heck they have nearly an acre to run and play with lots to do so it is not like they are confined and yearning to get out. Plus they have a lot of activities at my farm to keep them busy when they go out with me. I have one male who has extreme OCD and will get obsessed about one thing or another and just bark at it over and over and over with that nonstop monotonous bark. It could be a bug in his bowl or a bird in the sky or even a cloud. Now, he will work all day long, never stop if you have him on a search, and he is very very possessive particularly over PVC items. He is probably the best of any so far as working ability that I have had here. Yeh, needless to say he is at my farm most of the time and my in-town neighbors really appreciate that. 
My DS and DS/Mal X are not very vocal, unnecessarily. That I like. What I dont like about these two as opposed to the GSDs is the pacing, the nonstop canter over and over and over in their section of the yard (remember 1 acre with loads of fun stuff to do). But no, these two have worn paths down over one foot deep in the area they so designated as their own. Needless to say, to keep weight on these two, they must be crated or in the house for long periods of time because they just literally burn too many calories. So, yes the GSD, IMHO, seems to be the most vocal. 
Judith Van Neerland Dutch Shepherds 
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Gwen squeaks moans, grumbles barks snickers, woofs and screeches like a banshee. I am so happy that as she has gotten older she has developed a teeny tiny bit of bass to her voice because otherwise it is ear plugging drag your fingernails across a chalk board high pitched arf! The only thing I have not heard her do is howl.. ... I love her though, she definitely has my husband trained to the bark. 
