We ve had our German shepherd/collie pup for 6 and a half months now, and she has recently began barking (with a wagging tail!) at my husband if, for instance he is just sitting down, not playing with her, watching TV, etc. 
The barking is extreamely loud and we have tried ignoring it, but she just does not stop..we are running out of patience so have tried putting her behind a baby gate and saying "time out"..when she is let back out....she barks at us again! 
What is she trying to say? Is she unhappy?
It is becoming a real annoyance!  I mean we ve tried to ignore it for quite a long period of time....but its very difficult!
Also we have tried to get up an walk away from her when she barks but she follows, jumping up and nipping at our legs, bums....anything she can get hold of!!!!
Please give us any advice! Also has anyone else had this type of problem? and does a muzzle work?
Please note though, that other than this....she is an absolute loving bundle of joy!!

It sounds as though she's bored and wants to play! Her genetic background is a working one - these breeds are very active and need a huge amount of mental stimulation. What training are you doing with her?

Thanks for your reply..we have regular play sessions with our pup, and she is walked (that is a good run, with a ball, and stick throwing, approx half and hour to 45 mins) twice daily! We ve been successfully teaching her to sit, roll over, stay, various other commands..but we cannot (well, especially my husband) seem to have a bit rest! For instance, just as im writing this, my husbands returned from a 45 min run/walk with her and he is now sitting down to which she has began barking at him and bringing him a toy!  Does this sound like a demanding pup to you?  Obviously this is something we want to address now rather than when shes a rather large adult dog!  Any advice?

You'll probably find that brain-work tires her more than physical exercise. A good thing to teach her is "settle down" where she lies waiting in her bed or by your feet. There are many other things to teach her to use her mind rather than her body - scent discrimination, find-the-treat (similar to 'find-the-lady'!) - I'm sure others will be along to suggest other things you and she could do to tire her.
:)

i agree with jeangenie, collies need alot of mental stimulation. It wont matter if u walk her for 5 hours a day she will still have energy,  Try teaching her to find things, maybe teach her the names of all her toys and try sending her to find each individual toy. Have one of u hide somewhere in the house and teach her to find the other person.  Get her puzzle toys like activity balls.

Constantly teach ur pup new things and the mental stimulation will tire her out.

she shouldnt be allowed to demand attention, have u tried getting a spray bottle or water pistol and spraying her everytime she barks?  dont look at her when u do it or anything, jus spray when she barks and she will soon learn to stop. As long as u dont make it into a game.  Its even better if she cant see u doing it so she doesnt know where its coming from

hope that helps x

Does spraying with water pistol  work, Buffy is starting to find her feet and bark when she hears noises, and at people she wants to meet and a PRT bark goes right through you, not to mention upset the neighbours who currently think she is still quite sweet!  I really dont want a yappy dog! Trainer has said to look at her then look away in disgust and ignore her, this worked for a few days and now it doesn't work. I am also going to be allowed to take her to work at my new job, (if I get it) but only if she behaves and isn't noisy, so have a month-six weeks to get this under control. As I need a job I can take her with me as she gets SA! Currently not working so have all day with her working on it. many thanks

Be careful with the water spray, it can be too strong for some dogs, and others just love it..........

Any other suggestions on what to do with a barking puppy? Have puppy class tomorrow so going to ask again what she suggests, she has been great so far getting us through SA... we are on to week three of her sleeping downstairs and 25min on her own! yippee.... just making herself heard now with barking... though makes a change from howling!!!

Sorry Emma for hyjacking your post..... colliemad suggested to me on here to teach your dog to find things to help tire them out mentally.... I have taught Buffy to find her cow and her star toys... shes not great yet but it keeps her occupied while i'm busy send her off to find things! even if shes not sure what shes looking for!! Oh and a kong stuffed with cheesy mash ( i make my mash with goats milk and goats cheddar as I can't have cows milk and she get icky tummy on cows cheese -much milder) and bits of sausage or chicken lasts for hours!!! cheese sticks to kong takes ages to lick out but comes out quick enough not to get cross with!

A relatively simple sounding solution is to make barking on command rewarding, so, in theory, the barking NOT on command fades away.........  It can also help to teach a 'quiet' command.

how do i do that ? -  she never barks when she plays even if shes very excited - its just things she hears.

i dont know what kind of a diet your dog is on but our dog is on a raw diet and giving him a meaty bone entertains him all morning, and seems to help keep him calm as he is exhausted from playing with it!

Thanks for all your replies to my doggy problem.
We ll try the spray idea as the ignoring her does not seem to be having the desired effect!  Also the finding the toy game sounds fun for her.  How do you teach a dog to find a toy?  Do you hold the toy in mind, say what it is then hide it?  Sorry I just want to get it right....dont want to confuse the poor thing! 
Oh....and dont worry Jeanie your not hijacking my space at all.  Good to know thers plenty of others with barky dogs too. Hope you get sorted soon but afraid i have no tips for you at the moment.

My one boston use to yap at everything and well sometimes still does, and he gets the rest going. I just drill him on his obedience everytime he acts up, I also use the word shut and if that doesn't work I drill him on obedience, sit, down, heel, down-stay, heal-sit ect, then I leave him. He has realized that barking for attention is not going to work... He does it again I drill him again..

When they freak out at the mailman, or someone at the door I praise them for it then I tell them shut, I have found telling them down before I answer or see to the door has helped alot. LOl I have 5 of them going :)