I'm wondering what I am doing wrong? My dog whines & squeaks all of the time If she's tired-If she's hungry-If she need to go for a walk-If I go out of sight (even just out of the room!-If she's in the car when it's moving or stationary-If she can't get a treat when she wants it! It's just for attention & it's her way of communicating with me BUT it drives me mad! I wonder if I should just ignore her-- but this is very hard to do as she is such a Sweetheart! Any suggestions as to what I should do? Thanks Fiona.

Hi Fiona,

You don't say how old your dog is or how long you have had her but I think you may have answered your own question anyway :P

>It's just for attention & it's her way of communicating with me BUT it drives me mad! I wonder if I should just ignore her<

The trouble is if she's getting what she's after, i.e. a response from you, then she will naturally keep doing it ;)  Even negative responses can be seen as a big bonus to the dedicated demanding dog - they don't speak our language but I reckon they must think all us big softy owners (and I include myself in that description) speak theirs because we respond to every squeak, yap, howl or rip roaring bark they throw at us :rolleyes:

Very persuasive little critters aren't they however it's us owners who need trained to *always ignore* all their undesirable behaviour, *never forget to reward* the good behaviour and *be absolutely consistent* with those rules!  Of course everyone in the household has to be trained to comply - and sometimes that's the hardest part of all.....

Good luck, be warned however that you may need to be VERY patient if you've been dancing attendance on her for quite a while :D  Regards, Teri