Dog barking

Question
QUESTION: Hello! We have a 7 month old male Black Lab that has been neutered.He seems to be barking alot!?! He will bark to get my attention or will be focusing at something on a counter top and just bark at it? He does not have to go out, hungry or need "extra" excersize. I do not want to invest in a "bark" collar... This has just started recently. Please advise, Glen

ANSWER: Not all questions have good answers.  If he was recently neutered, it may improve as his hormones settle.  Otherwise, I can only suggest obedience training and exercise.  

The above are fundamental techniques I suggest for almost all behavior problems and should help with barking too. The truth is, Labs usually don't bark that much and I don't have methods of controlling barking that I have been successful using. It isn't even in the manual for them. The manual does have a suggested reading list. One I have read is The Other End of the Leash by Patrica McConnell.

She suggests the first step is not to yell at the dog. After all, usually if one dog starts to bark, any others around will to. So yell at your dog when it barks and it is happy to have you bark with it. Quietly tell it enough and walk over to it with a treat, doesn't need to be very big. Let him know you have it and use it to lure him away from what he is barking at if anything, and praise him as he shifts his attention to the treat and away from barking. Once away from where he was barking, give him the treat.

Unlike much of my other advice, this is not something I have tried and found works. It does come from a reliable source and I would trust it more than something I found on a website I know little about. I just hope she isn't smart enough to figure out if she barks, she gets a treat plus your attention.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your advice! Let me run this one by you... How can I get Cooper (our 7 month old Male lab) to follow my wife as a "pack leader"? I am firm with commands that I use with him, I don't think he respects my wife?? For example after we let him out, I will let him in and say "sit" or simply raise my hand and he will sit down immediately.When my wife will let him in I would say he's about 50%? Or if I leave for work in the am, as soon as I walk out the door he will jump up on the loveseat! It has gotten to a point we had to buy a shock collar that she will put on him as she gets ready for work! We have been thru obedience (6wks @Petsmart) and am going to take him back to the breeder (Cooper is a pointing lab by breed) and get "more" obedience training when he reaches about a year... They do Bird training as well... I guess they want alot of the "puppy" out of them? In short... I want my wife to be confident and happy with him not FRUSTRATED!! Any advice?? Glen

Answer
Does she feed him?  The keeper of the kibble is a powerful figure.  Most Labs are very food motivated.  she scoops the food into the pan, but doesn't put it down until he sits.  If his butt comes off thefloor on the way down, it goes back up.  If it takes 5-10 minutes the first night, he will learn.