When you yell at your barking dog, the dog thinks that you're barking right along with it. The whispering is a great idea. Also, if you can train your dog to bark on command, you can also train him/her to be quiet on command. We tried this with our yap happy mixed terrier and it worked! It didn't take long for her to learn to 'speak' and to be 'quiet'. Of course there had to be treats involved!
