Help with my best friend :)

Question

cash   Hello!

     I rescued my handsome boy in 2009 and named him Cash (after Johnny Cash). As far as they knew, he was considered a black lab mix. I used to groom, and am pretty good at spotting breeds, and my best guess is that he is mixed with a wheaton terrier, due to his shaggy salt and pepper coat and high energy attitude. He has turned out to be the perfect dog, and perfect companion other than the fact that he is extremely hyper, no matter how much exercise I give him (we climb our local mountain together almost every morning), he never seems to relax. He has never shown any form of aggression. He loves to play, and is very friendly to everyone (pets, adults, children) that he meets, but has an incessant need to bark at any noises outside, cartoons on tv, etc. I did teach him as a puppy to sit, lay down, and speak... was this my doing by teaching him that trick? How can I make it stop? I once tried a bark collar, and after 2 minutes could not take it. He was terrified, kept trying to climb in my lap, and fearful of everything for days. I would NEVER use one again. He LOVES water, so a spray bottle would not work either, he would think I was playing. Do you have any suggestions? I would NEVER give this dog up, he has the biggest heart, I just wish he didnt have the biggest mouth! Thanks so much for your help!

Answer
Nobody knows everything and I was tempted to pass up your question for lack of a good answer.  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.

Another thing is to see what advice you find at www.apdt.com  They are in the forefront of the movement to positive methods.