Maltese barking issues

Question
Hi,  I have a year old Maltese,  MIA and she is great.  She happens to be my second dog.  Her sister Bella is two years old, yorkie poo.  Bella was amazing to train,  she goes outside to go to the bathroom and really is a saint.  Mia on the other hand has been very difficult to train outside,  she not goes on the pad and that seems to work for her.  Another major issue with Mia is she is continously barking.  I am fine with the protective barking which Bella and Mia do,  but the no reason barking is getting out of control.  She will just look at me and start barking.  I am continually either ignoring her or giving her the command that she knows best, SIT and then reinforcing that with a pat on the head,  but if she is distracted forget it,  she is barking once again.  At this point I am uncertain what to do.  She barks so much that Bella just looks at her,  because there is no reason for the barking.  
If you can help me I would really appreciate it.  THank you in advance.

Answer
Sounds like she needs more exercise, Irene. Do you walk them at all? Do you play with them out in the yard? Do they have toys and things to occupy them in the house? As the old saying goes, 'A tired dog is a good dog,' and it's so true!

Is she always barking at you, or does she just go around the house barking? If she's barking at you, then it's a way of getting your attention, and that is just annoying. One thing you can do is to put a mixture of 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 water in a small spray bottle and set it to 'stream.' When she starts the nuisance barking for no reason, tell her to hush and squirt her several times as quickly as you can right in the face/mouth. Don't worry, the vinegar solution will NOT hurt her, even if it gets in her eyes, but most dogs hate the smell of vinegar, and that's why it is a good deterrent. If you want to try using just water first, there's nothing wrong with that, but many dogs enjoy being squirted with water. Try not to let her see where it's coming from, because she may soon figure out that she can only get away with the barking when you do not have the bottle in your hand!