[RKDinOKC]

You have tried bark collars I presume.

Was working on training my 1 yo Golden to talk (hello, I want out, etc). Actually encourage barking on command. Left her with a trainer for boarding for 2 weeks when I had to go out of town (rare). Don't know what she did but it has taken me over a year to get my Golden to bark/speak and she is still hesitant.

I've always found that when my dogs have had a bad behavior that training the behavior to be done on command stops the dog from doing it on it's own. For example when someone comes to my door, I train the dog to bark saying "Who is that" excitedly. Put my hand up and say hush until I give the command. Dog gets that I want it to bark when I say and doesn't otherwise. My brother thinks it is weird that when he comes to the door and I'm not home, the dog doesn't bark, but does when I am home. Brother doesn't realize I say "Who is that" before she starts barking when i am home.

Learn to train bad habits when in HS and read an animal training book by a guy that trained a lot of the animals used in Disney movies back then. His example was digging holes in the yard. My first Golden started digging and it worked very well. Also fun to have her help me dig when I was actually digging.