Anti Barking Device

Before you buy expensive equipment to help you train your dog to stop barking let me introduce one of the cheapest and best training aids you'll find on the market. It's the amazing anti barking device and it will cost you no more than a few pennies.
 
 
Ahem, yes you're right, it does look like the cardboard tube from the inside of a roll of kitchen towel and that's because that's exactly what it is. I discovered this new training aid accidentally when I made a silly noise down the end of the tube. Sasha was amazed so I did it again and then I had her full attention for about ten minutes. She couldn't stop looking. This had to be put to good use so the next day, when Little Miss Gobby started barking, I used the tube to make a silly noise. Sasha stopped immediately. She gave me a dirty look but she didn't start barking again so I gave her a treat and peace was restored. The cardboard tube is actually performing the same task as any tool that's used to interrupt unwanted behaviour. Sasha seems quite happy with the training and after only a one or two goes with the tube she's looking for her treat as soon as she stops barking. This is good news as she appears to be associating the cessation of barking with a treat and that's exactly what I wanted. If she'd simply crawled away looking scared I would have stopped using it.
 
When it doesn't work
As with all training aids there are going to be times when it doesn't work. One of these is when the postman is knocking at the door. I find it acceptable for my dogs to alert me to visitors but I do expect them to stop barking when I go to answer the door. The tube actually failed to do this as Jamie (pictured left in the photo) is so used to my silliness that he takes no notice of the thing whatsoever. Luckily he's only a barker when Sasha joins in.
 
Update
It's important to keep up the training and if you have been using the method above you'll probably find that eventually the dogs get used to you being silly with a cardboard tube and accept it as normal.  Don't worry.  The anti bark training is based on the idea of interrupting the barking with a strange noise so if the tube starts to fail you need to find something equally as distracting.  You can use anything you have to hand including your own voice.  Amongst other things I've found that singing, "Eeyore," in a funny voice stops the dogs in their tracks and also just banging a couple of notebooks together works well.  The dogs get praise and titbit when they stop barking. They're doing very well considering the huge number of things they have to bark at locally... horses, postmen, other dogs, men in white coats........ooh er.