Are you clicker training her? Karen Pryor's website (
www.clickertra ining.com) has an article for shelters about creating a "no bark" zone...while not exactly your situation, the principle of click & treat for the desired behavior will help.
Also helpful are her "Click-a-trick" cards that come with the beginning clicker kit - there is one on "Shh/Speak".
Assuming you've already taught your dog that "click = treat = YES!! That's what I wanted you to do!!".......
.......when she barks click & treat, as she's swallowing the treat & is quiet, say "shh" & make the "shh" gesture....wai
t for the barking to start again & repeat until she's learned that "shh" = click & treat.......th
en start to say "Speak" & click the next bark (even if it's a little yip or whine).....follow with the "shh" & click/treat.....you are teaching her 2 different cues! As she learns what you want, you'll be able to ask for the bark, and to get her to quiet her barking.
I've got 5 pyrs in various stages of learning this right now.....I had to modify the procedure a bit, because I'm not always close enough to them to click & treat.....so..
..since Frosty is the worst at barking & setting off all the others (particularly Pete & Lucy), I've been concentrating on those 3. When Frosty started barking I'd click & toss a treat at her - she'd stop barking to go & get the treat & I'd say "shh"......I did the same for Pete & Lucy. (I keep a clicker in my pocket pretty much all the time when I'm at home - makes it easy to mark their behavior right when it's happening.)
When it started working inside, I took it outside - I'd go out with them & watch them play (always fun to do) & when Frosty would go in to "guardian" mode & start barking, I'd click & toss a treat.....they love to get treats, and now any time the clicker goes off, they all come running to see if they'll get a treat - making it even easier to teach "shh", because now they are standing close enough to see the "shh" gesture & hear the "shh" sound I make with it & get a click & treat for being quiet.
I haven't decided if I'm going to teach the "speak" part of this - they bark enough as it is!
It's a slow process for me - with 5 of them and my crazy work schedule that keeps me from training every day - but it IS WORKING!!! I'm sure it would go much faster if I had more time to devote to it.
Most of all - keep the training sessions brief & fun with lots of praise for "getting it"!
Good luck!
-lauriew