Whines and wants to be held

Peyton does the same thing. If I'm up on the cough she used to whine at me to sit with her on the floor or try to jump up. I initally made the mistake of getting down on the floor with her all the time and she would sleep on me. So for a bit she would not relax without me. Then I realized my mistake one day and when she whined, I didn't pay any attention to her. When she stopped then I would pet her while I was still sitting on the couch/chair. Now, she sits next to my leg or lays on my foot while I'm reading or something or she'll lay down in the room I'm in. It actually only took a couple of days for her to catch on and now we're fine.

Okay, I'm now certain that our deceased cock a poo was reincarnated as your Lucy... the similarities are uncanny. 

First, she has alot of energy, and she needs to burn it off.  Long walks, throwing the ball in the yard, games in the house, etc.  We used to take our cock a poo, Spike, to the beach for a swim, she loved the water.  At the time our girl was a puppy, our children were 1 and 3 years old and even they couldn't wear her out.  She was truly indefatigable. 

Once the energy is burned off, she needs to learn that YOU dictate play time, not her.  But, it's impossible for her to learn that if she has got so much pent up energy she can't contain herself.  When she's had alot of exercise, but still comes to you for attention/play, gently tell her down.  Learning a "long down" in obedience training would help here. 

After she's been down for at first a very short time, like 1 minute, sit on the floor with her and give her some play time.  This way you have dictated when she can engage you.  As time goes by, she will learn to wait for you to play with her. 

As for thinking she doesn't need anything, she just wants to be held---remember she thinks you are the absolute greatest thing in the world right now and needs your love and affection.  Puppies are very demanding. 

i think being held is very important to a dogs health and well being. 

i think being held is very important to a dogs health and well being.

Very true, but it must be initiated by you, not him/her.

i disagree i see nothing wrong with it being mutual and i really doubt theres anyone on here who never ever responds to their dog when it comes up to them.

I see nothing wrong with holding a dog either, jaye, but it is a matter of personal preference whether someone wants a dog up on furniture or not.  Also, some dogs do get rather pushy and insistent, and if you are a human that needs personal space, it can be irritating.
IMHO, it would have been better for someone like the OP to have chosen a less "pack driven" dog LOL, and one that is more aloof in its habits, but this is the dog she has.
Ignoring a behavior is one of the best ways to extinguish that behavior, but you must be absolutely consistent (no talk, no eye contact, nothing), because anything less actually acts to *reinforce* the behavior.
If the dog jumps up on the furniture to get your attention, you can try getting up and just going into the bathroom for two minutes (close the door).  Soon she will learn that jumping on the furniture for pats is *not* how to get them. 
Invite her for pats in the place you want her to be, and reward her there.  Dogs gravitate to the place where the rewards are issued.

i agree about the personal preference thing and i wasnt trying to insinuate the OP is "wrong".  just stating a different point of view in the matter.  i personally cannot understand where the OP is coming from just as she probably cant understand how i could let my dogs sleep with me and cuddle with me on my couch.  just two difference points of view.  the main reason i got my dogs was to cuddle with them while i watch tv hehe.  i dont react every time they want attention because sometimes im busy doing other things but if im just sitting there......  i see no harm in accepting their innitiation of affection/ playtime.

Anne is absolutely right.  It's not a matter of withholding love and attention from your dog, it's simply a matter of controlling the situation.  Nothing makes my boomarang foster, Tyler, happier than to get as close to me on the couch as he can....as if he's trying to crawl into my skin.  And when it interfers with MY ability to move or to use the laptop, then I get up and leave.  No scolding, cuz he didn't do anything to really scold for, he's just trying to be close....but I have a right to a smidgen of personal space too and he's gotten to where *most* of the time, he'll leave a couple inches between us.  And that's when he'll get my hand on his head or back, and sometimes I'll even move my leg over so it's against him.  Then its MY choice.  It's a subtle difference, but HUGE to someone who doesn't like to be crowded.

yes but we arent talking about if you re busy doing something like using a laptop.  we re talking about if you re just sitting there watching tv.  i like to have the dogs in my lap at moments like that.  but sorry for taking it off topic davidryan, you were looking for answers on how to fix your problem and i had to stick my opinion in there .  i agree with the ignoring thing.  if you even say no or push the dog away or anything, its getting the attention its seeking and will continue the behavior.  but as you already know, if it was me, id let it crawl up in my lap

Jaye if I'm sitting I'm never doing nothing!  So I use the laptop frequently when I am sitting.  That's part of who I am.  And, the best advise is to just ignore the behavior that you don't like and to reward the behavior that you DO like.  And, as Anne said, sometime that requires that YOU get up and leave.  No scolding, no pushing away, just complete and total ignoring of the behavior that you DON'T like and don't want.  The pup will get the message pretty quickly that this behavior is not going to "earn" him the attention that he wants.

yes but we are talking about when davidryan is sitting in his chair watching tv.  thats doing nothing
 
edit: im sorry, all he said is sitting in his big comfy chair in the living room.  i guess i assumed the tv part.  thats usually what people do in big comfy chairs in the living room but i guess he could be doing something else

But even if he's sitting there picking his nose and he doesn't want the dog in his lap, that's his RIGHT to not want the dog in his lap.  Just because you or I might enjoy a snuggly dog, doesn't mean that everyone DOES.  And even I draw the line at giving up ALLL of my personal space....and that's when I discourage the behavior by ignoring, or getting up and leaving.

it wasnt my intention to argue over it. ive already said i agree that this is a problem for david and i also agreed  with the suggestions on how to fix it. i was simply bringing in a different point of view because i think differing views can be interesting. apparently this wasnt the place for it. im truly sorry if i offended anyone.

I think where we are getting bogged down is that some dogs, when they initiate play or affection with the human, get so pushy that the human can't say no.  These dogs nudge, whine, bark & persist until, well until they piss the human off.  So, for people who aren't ok with that, it's best to adopt a position of the human initiating all contact.
The only thing that bugs me is when the humans give mixed messages that virtually insure that the dog cannot be successful in meeting their requirements.  (Like, ok doggy, Tuesday it's ok to be on my lap when you ask, but Sunday I've decided that you can't be, and I'm really going to seem irritated at you.)