Unfortuantely (as I've learned from other Pyr people), barking is part of the package. Bo is a very hyper-sensitive Pyr and she barks at a mouse fart. We've worked with her on learning how to "settle" or to "leave it", and sometimes she just needs to know that I've seen whatever it is that she's barking at (this morning it was our cracked-out neighbors kids tormenting her from the street). Anyway, I think that shock collars are useful if they're used with the right dog & with thorough traning. Bo is pain/fear aggressive, so using a painful training tool would only serve to reinforce the behavior. Citronella collars work well and are very humane, although the heavy mane issue presents a problem. I currently use a squirt bottle filled with water (although Bitter Apple Spray has worked well in the past)and I squirt her with it whenever I want her to stop. Now all I have to do is hold up the bottle & she stops. I've found that when she's barking a lot at something, she doesn't hear me calling her off, so I need to break that heightened state of arousal by distracting her with another stimulus. One other technique (although more labor intensive) I learned from a Patricia McConnell seminar I went to recently. When she is barking at/fixating on something, stand next to herwith a yummy treat and say "look!" and hold the treat up by your eyes. When she stops & looks at you, treat her. Keep doing this so that she associates "look!" with "I better stop what I'm doing and look at mom becuase I'm about to get something delicious!".
Have patience & also learn to accept that there are some things that you cannot change, but that behavior can be shaped to a certain extent.
Jenn
