With one of my female labs we had I used a spray bottle with water (and I didn't think I was being mean to her or I NEVER would have used this method) and when she would bark I would say "no bark" and give her a quick squirt of water by her face. This soloved the problem and after a few times all I had to do was grab for the spray bottle I didn't even need to use it. She never lost her love of being sprayed by the water hose either! This might not be the best solution for all dogs esp. if they have fear issues. This is just what worked for me.