Up until about a week ago, we really haven't had any issues with Wyatt barking. Occasionally, Wyatt would bark a single bark at his toys when we played fetch with him. Now that he's hit the 4 month mark, he's got this new-found independence and willfulness and is happy to let us know when he wants attention. My boyfriend and I have been using the NILIF method when he barks at us in his ex-pen (he really starts to bark when we're eating something in front of him). We just leave the room until he stops and praise him once he's completely quiet with a, "Good Boy, Quiet!" At night, we can't just let him bark and ignore him because we live in an apartment and I refuse to bother the neighbors. So at night we calmly ask him to go into his crate, and put a blanket over it until he's quiet. We don't angrily put him in, we just lure him in and he complies. Once he simmers down in his crate, we let him out. So far that has been working very well. However, this afternoon (as my lunch break was ending) I exited our apartment he started barking incessantly. So, I waited and once I realized he wasn't going to relent I went back inside and had him go into his crate. I put a blanket over it and he got quiet immediately. Fortunately, I'm an apartment manager and live where I work so I can check on him during the workday and also rectify the barking immediately should any tenants complain.

One important factor that could be contributing to his barking is due to the fact that we haven't been able to take him for walks until today, as a result of us living in a high-risk area for Parvo. Now that his vaccinations have taken effect, he's already gone on two thirty minute walks today. Mind you, we've been exercising him with tons of running and play inside the apartment. I've also had regular play dates with my mom's dog and my boss's dog. 

We've put his crate inside his ex pen so he can go in and out as he pleases when we're gone and still be safely confined...but something tells me that isn't going to cut it anymore. He's old enough to hold his bladder for up to five hours, and he's never alone for more than three hours a day. Should I just keep him crated, sans ex pen now? Or, as we continue to have more outdoor adventures will this barking cease as he matures? Other suggestions?