hi thanks for your help. he is definetly barking for attention because he is so spoilt, he loves being out of his pen and barks only when i put him back in i have tried to ignore him it didnt work i left him for over 3 hours and longer and he just barked and barked. he only gets bone about once every 2-3 months and this is the first he growled at me when i tried to take it from him... the car thing is just a love of the car,, he has no bother getting in or out he adores the car... i am just so worried. my other lab never barks unless someone is about. could you also advise me on how i stop them running towards and barking at strangers...

Hi guest - why not join as you seem to have several issues that need dealing with, and admin might not like you posting several posts in the visitors forum?  Besides which, as you've found out, you can't respond to a post here, you have to start another thread.........
The thing with ignoring, that I admit, I often forget to tell owners, is thatif the dog has already learnt that a behaviour gets the results he wants eventually, then, a bit like the owner of an old car - if it doesn't work the first time, they keep trying to get the result they want (in your dogs case attention - any type of attention, even getting yelled at!, in the case of the car owner - the car starts, eventually.......) Now consider the owner of a newer car - he will try a lot fewer times, because he's learnt that his car always starts first time ;)  When a creature repeats an action over and over and gets a reward eventually, it takes them longer to realise they aren't going to get that reward, so may well try even harder :( This is called an 'extinction burst' and is a recognised psychological phenomenon.

Whilst you're ignoring the barking make sure you don't even look directly at him, or even talk about him, but DO make sure you praise and reward the brief moments of silence, then, as these increase (and you may see your dog start to realise WHY he is being praised) then only reward the longer silences, and maye introduce a cue word, such as 'quiet' or a hand signal -I hold my hand up, palm vertical and towards the dog (dogs find handsignals easier to understand than verbal commands)

With bones, because he's getting them so rarely, they are VERY special to him, it's possible if he had them more frequently they woulnd't be so gaurded.  Alternatively, only give them to him when he can have a good long chomp on it, and remove it only when he leaves it (maybe get another member of the family to entice him away, so you can bin it.....)

With the car thing - is there anything he loves more than the car?  Food?  Why not offer him a really tasty food treat and at the same time take hold of his lead to encourage him........  I'd still be concerned there may be a physical reason behind his behaviour and would like to have it ruled out by a vet if he was my dog - especially with a breed like a Lab, which are known for joint problems.  Are there any other circumstances where he might perform a similar movement to getting out of the car, and does it with no problems - jumping off a low wall for example........

Please join :)