Is it ok to let dogs bark as other dogs pass the house, or farm vehicles pass? Should this behaviour be discouraged?  We live in a very remote place and so it is good to know if there is something 'up' - however, some of the time it can be a nightmare, every time a farm vehicle passes or a walker/cyclist passes. 
How do you reduce the barking behaviour?  This is something i'm very interested in as we are taking on a new pup (already have a leonberger 5yrs old, whoi s a bit woofy, but not agressive atall, would never attack a stranger coming into her territory), and we don't want the pup to learn the barking ideally!!

How would you guys recommend going about this?

Thank you!

It's what dogs do, bark -and when you live in a remote place, they do tend to bark MORE as anyone going past is a rare occurence compared to if you live in a built up area. Certainly my dogs bark a lot more where we live now. They bark at each passing car, any pheasants, they bark at the cows when they are first let out in the spring (later they stop as they get used to seeing hem) etc. I don't mind as it isn't disturbing any neighbours and they stop as soon as whatever it was has passed. Personally I wouldn't want them not to bark as they can't know if the person walking past is a burglar or just a hiker -but not everyone will feel the same of course. :)

Allthough we live in town the back of my house is at the very end of a service road that leads nowhere except to my back entrance and some garages that belong to neigbours. We have no road to the front and just a green area to the side so are quite secluded. The girlies bark at people who are out the back..if they don't know them They recognise the sound of everyones cars and the people who get out of them but if someone new walks past or someone has a stranger in the car (They get out behind my house) they know and they bark!!! I am happy with that and they don't bark consistantly. If someone is very close to my side fence (7ft tall) they will bark but the kids play ball out there and folk walk their dogs all the time and they ignore them.
However...baby Chablis is a teriible barker  :(  she barks for attention.."I want feeding..Give me some...take me out!!" I am having a real job stopping her if I tell her quiet she has to have the last yip, no matter how surepticiously I make tracks to the car to take them out both she and her Mother know??? and we have a mad barking play fighting gallop round the yard and that I have never been able to stop!! When she starts indoors now I have taken to just quietly catching her collar and leading her to another room and shutting the door on her and telling her "quiet"...we await in antisipation to see if this ruse works!!
Aileen

As Marianne says they can bark more in remote areas, as passers by are a novelty.  I couldn't stop my barker but I do like to discourage him from continued barking - I really don't need to know they are coming at 200 yards away and 200 yards past.  A few times is quite enough for me to get the message!!  I will go and get him if he's outside or call him to me if inside.  I opt for a big 'thank you' then 'now go and do something else'.  Enough is also a word we use.

When I know that something exciting is coming I might put him out the back so he can't shout out the front window..  Our regular postman is quite accurate with timings, as is the school walk.  When I know we'll have a recurring problem, cows using the fields nearby or tractors on the silage run I might do a bit of concentrated work with him on the lead in the front garden with me.

Your best option though is to enrol your pup in a good training course and work on general obedience and good manners.  If you can get a prompt and reliable recall you'll always be able to call the pup away from distractions.  Also you'll probably do a lot of work side by side with other dogs which is great socialisation.  My youngest isn't really a barker (he's a gundog) but has learnt a little from the older one (a terrier type mongrel).  Perhaps your new dog won't care so much either.  Fingers crossed :)

I have a couple of barkers, and a couple that would normally be quiet but will join in if I'm not there to stop them ;-) Having said that, they don't bark at my neighbours cars going up the street, unless they change the vehicle :-) I live in the country, with only 8 houses in the row. Oh and a couple of fields at the end of the row, so we don't get many visitors up our street. It's encouraging to hear them bark as I feel it's their job to let me know if someone is around. They have to stop as soon as I insist they do though.