Attention Grabbers!

"I want attention and I want it now!!" This is Dakota at this very minute. How do I know she wants attention? Well, she is standing behind me, jumping in place, barking under her breath, and every once in a while stops doing all that so that she can paw at the large water bottle used for our spare change. Okay, so it is my fault that I taught her to paw at what she wants but that was only supposed to be for the back door when she has to go relieve herself and her toy chest when she wants me to bring it down for her to get another toy. It was not meant to hassle or annoy the hell out of me or my husband. And yet, Dakota has mastered it that she no longer thinks of it as annoying us but rather as a fine art.

What do I do? Ignore her - plain and simple. You see, Labs will do anything for attention - good or bad. So, if you want them to get out of a bad habit, it is better to ignore the bad habits or behavior and reward the good. As long as I don't make eye contact or turn around in my chair, Dakota has not won. She doesn't care if I turn around and yell at her - as long as I pay attention to her. Needless to say, the girl is losing the battle... Unfortunately, my ears are losing their hearing at the same time from all the noise she is making.... *laugh*