13 Year Old Chocolate Lab Constantly Barking

Question
Hi, we have a 13 year old, unneutered male chocolate lab. He has bad hip dysplasia which I know is very common, but lately he has been barking non-stop at nothing. It uses a lot of energy and causes him to breath hard. He usually stops when you pet him but not always. We can't figure out why he is barking, this just started a few months ago. At first I thought it was hearing or trouble getting up, but now I'm not sure. Any idea why he is barking and how to get him to stop?

Answer
When an older dog has a change in behavior, often it has a physical cause.  I would start with a good check up at the vet.  Ask about neutering him too.  It should help the barking and may reduce the chances of cancer.  

Having a good pack structure reduces such problems. The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you learning to be top dog, not the dog learning it gets a treat if it sits. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

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 he isn't smart enough to figure out if he barks, he gets a treat plus your attention.