whining dog

Question
My husband and I have two dogs.  One dog is great, and the other is very vocal.  She is two years old and a lab/German shorthair mix.  We got her when she was 7 weeks old.  She is very smart and a very affectionate dog, but she whines a lot!  When we go somewhere or have company she will not be quiet.  She also whines and barks in her kennel when we get home and it takes her about 20 minutes to calm down even after we have let her out.  We have tried telling her no and ignoring her, but it has not gotten better since we got her.  We even tried spraying her mouth with lemon juice when she whined, per instructions of a trainer.  None of it works!  The only time she is truly happy is when she is either laying on the couch, or we are petting her.  We are expecting a baby in August and I don't want to have to worry about our dog waking up our baby because she is not getting what she wants when she wants it!  Any advice would be great!  Thanks.

Answer
Some dogs are more vocal than others.  You may need to giving her stronger leadership.  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 being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm  See their page on children too.  

If you are well established as top dog, holding your had palm towards har and saying ''Quiet!'' in a firm, but not loud voice should stop her.  Maintain eye contact.  Stare her down.