barking aussie

Question
I have a 4 year old spayed aussie who barks continuously.  She barks in the house all the time for no apparent reason.  We have tried shock collars, clickers, water bottles, newspapers, everything that we could think of that wouldn't hurt her.  We have her father and he is wonderful.  Is it lack of exercise, training?  Help.

Answer
Hi Andrea,
Your dog could be barking for a number of reasons:
1. Her genes - Aussies are bred for herding and GUARDING. So some of them will "alert" to the smallest noises, even ones that we don't hear, or that are "harmless".
2. Her genes (again) - some lines are "barkier" than others.  I don't know, but I've been told that dogs with Twin Oaks lines often use their voices when they work.  My dog works silently, but often barks during chase games or while playing frisbee (She's more Pincie Creek, Hardins, and Slash V lines).
3. She's reactive, stressed, or bored.  Aussies are "busy" dogs, usually with high prey drive, intensity, and a work ethic.  She could be bored, as you suggested, or looking for ways to self-gratify or get your attention.  Obedience, agility, frisbee, freestyle and flyball are all great ways to have her "work" if you don't have cattle...
4. You may have accidentally reinforced her for barking.  If she barks, then you "bark" by saying "quiet", "shut up", "stop it", or even by giving her eye contact, you may accidentally have played right in to her hand.  Better to ignore barking, wait for it to stop a few moments, then reward the dog with a "good girl" or a tidbit when she is being quiet (and, associate the word "quiet" with that reward.)
5. Aussies are often one trial learners.  If she got reinforced for barking, even once, she may assume that you want her to bark, or that you are fine with it;-)
6. Best way I know to teach an Aussie to be quiet is to teach the dog to "speak", then teach "quiet".  I use clicker training to do it.  Here's an article that explains the concept:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1125
I hope this helps.  BTW, I have found that collars often don't work for Aussies, and I don't like e-collars, which are never a good idea for reactive, aggressive, or fearful dogs anyway.