[Murdock]

Anyone have any good ideas for keeping their dog off the furniture?

My dog, which I have had for 5-6 years now, wont stop getting on the furniture at night and when I am away. I know he knows better because he is very very sneaky about it. He wont get up when we are home, and always gets down as soon as he hears anyone waking up in the morning, or coming home at night. I almost never catch him red-handed anymore, but the few times I do, he has the guilt written all over his face...

I have tried the spray that dogs are not supposed to like, which he didnt even seem to notice. I have tried blocking the couch with things to make it difficult to get up onto, but he pulls everything down off the couch and then jumps up, and I find all the stuff I piled on the couch laying on the floor in the morning...

So my question is, how do you keep a sneaky dog who knows better from getting on the couch?

 

[Snowdancer]

Murdock, I do senior dog rehabilitation so maybe I can give you a couple ideas.

The first thing I thought of was does your dog possibly have the beginnings of arthritis?? As dogs age, just like humans they can get arthritis-6-7 is usually when it starts. If he's hurting he may just be trying to find a soft spot to sleep. He knows the couch is a no-no so he's being sneaky-not for the sake of being bad but because he doesn't want to be punished.

Maybe you could try getting him a thick dog bed or even making him one. Some folks even buy those chaise lounge pads for dog beds. See if that might change his preferred place to sleep. I would suggest, as crazy as it sounds to lay on it before giving it to him. Part of his desire may be to be close to you and the couch probably has your scent. So if you get your scent on the new dog bed, he's more likely to accept it.

If you want to help him with any possible discomfort, try some Glucosamine/Chondroiton. There's a dog version(more expensive) but I give all of my old dogs the regular human capsules-per my vets suggestion. For a 50# dog two caps a day for bad arthritis or 1 cap for a dog who's just showing the beginning signs of it.

Hope this helps, those old dogs are very special.

Kathy

 

[Murdock]

I actually tried that as well.... I bought him a huge dog bed and laid it right next to the couch so he could lay on that instead... Nada. He wont even think about laying on it. I have tried coaxing him onto it, tried laying on it with him, giving him treats when he lays on it... Nothing. He just prefers the couch.

I do know he has a bad back. A while back he hurt himself pretty bad jumping off of a high bed, and the vet took some x-rays and noticed he has bone-spurs in his spine. He seems to always like to lay on something, even if it is just a pile of clothes or something, never just directly on the ground. This could be worth delving into a little further.

 

[Sarah J]

Has he ever been crate trained? My dog sleeps outside at night in his own dog house, but during the day he has his crate to sleep in. He was trained from the moment he entered our lives (at the ripe age of 18 months from a rescue). He'd never been trained before, but he learned quickly that that was HIS turf and that he wouldn't be bothered in there. He gets fed in his crate and we use it when we go camping and take him with us.

train your dog, with a nice soft pillow inside (my sister makes and sells them to size for crates if you are interested) to get himself comfortable in his crate. Continue negative reinforcing of him being on the couch, but praise him and feed him in the crate. Soon he will learn to go there on his own and you can shut the door and there he stays (unless he's houdini-dog like mine with the opposable tongue and can open the door itself when he chooses).

Just a thought.

Sarah

 

[Cabin Fever]

Place a bunch of mouse traps on the furniture. When the dog climbs up on the couch, he will trip the traps (which will make a snapping sound). The sound will scare the cr*p out of him, and eventually he'll stop it.

 

[Mutti]

We have a baby gate which we can put up at any doorway to block access. I do not like the dogs in the kitchen floating their hair around my cooking! When we go away the dogs are either out in our chain-link fenced yard safely locked in or in our tile-floored office...they all have their crates in there where they willingly retreat...often put themselves to bed at nite! They are on the furniture by invitation only --happy to be lying on our feet anyhow! It is possible to have nice furniture and pets,too. Two Corgis,an English setter and a cat are really too much for our small farmhouse...two's company,three's a crowd really does apply for the dogs but my daughter couldn't have her corgi at here apartment so we have her here; they really get along better let out two at a time. DEE

 

[chickflick]

Get a sheet!! Just cover the couch at night.. what's the harm?

 

[Nina]

A bunch of coat hangers.
On the couch, of course!

 

[mightybooboo]

A bunch of coat hangers.
On the couch, of course!

We treat ours like family,they lounge anywhere they like,BUT they do have to move when I say,because Im the Alpha Dog in this pack.They sleep on the bed(2 dogs and a cat) with us too.Cant imagine it any other way.
BooBoo

 

[Corgitails]

If you have an office supply store near you, you can buy the clear plastic matts that are maent to go under chairs so they won't leave marks in the carpet. The type I mean is smooth on one side and has little nubs (about 1/4" long and 1-3" apart) on the other. Get a piece of this, and put it nub-side-up onto the sofa. You may have to come up with a way to tie it down or otherwise attach it with a particularly smart dog. Most of them, though, will get on the couch, discover it's no longer quite so comfortable, and find another place to sleep....

You may need to close him out of that room and put him someplace (like a utility room) where his bed is the only obvious place to lay. Once he IS using it, it may be more tempting when it's in another spot.

Cait

 

[DW]

Our first dog was like this and we put newspapers on the couch at night. She didn't like it and quit sleeping on the couch. At the same time we made her a special bed and eventually we could quit with the newspapers.

 

[james dilley]

this might sound cruel but take you a squirt gun and fill it with a weak ammonia and if you catch himshoot him in the face once is all it takes ,but watch out for his eyes. i do not use this unless the strays try to bite that stops them and for dogs that love your garbage put ammonia in the bags and close them up ,works for raccoons too.

 

[MaKettle]

DrsFosterSmith.com offers scat mats. One sounds an alarm, one is plastic with the nubs facing upwards (like the office supply suggestion above), and one gives a mild electric shock. They also offer waterproof couch covers. I made doggie no's from grape boxes placed in the chairs and along the couch, which had to be removed whenever humans wanted the couch--made a handy place to store all the old magazines while weighing down the box so the dog couldn't shove it off. Come to think--plastic floor protecters that have those little nubs come in roll and can be purchased at places like K Mart and would be must less expensive than any of above (except the grape crates).

 

[SLADE]

My doggie can use the couch anytime. She's a little poodle and loves to give her dad kisses.

 

[jupiterflamom24]

Our dog is the ultimate couch potatoe, thats why we call her "Sofa-fie" (Sofie)Barb

 

[Ardie/WI]

Cabin Fever's suggestion is great, BUT the dog might get hurt. Try setting the mouse traps and putting newspaper over them. The snapping of the traps combined with the paper will produce enough noise that the dog might stay away.

Naughty doggie story:

We had a Yorkie that loved to sleep on our bed, which I didn't appreciate. When we'd leave the house, we'd put him in the kitchen where his bed was and put a baby gate up. One day, I came home to find an interesting dip between our pillows on the bed the the phone was knocked off the nightstand. We suspected that he would climb the gate, but we didn't have proof. One day DH actually caught him doing just that! He'd go and sleep on our bed until he'd hear us coming home and climb back into the kitchen to greet us like nothing was wrong. Terrible little animal....still miss him.

 

[Zuiko]

A sheet would work, but if its a bigger dog, an older blanket would hold up better. If thats where he feels confortable, why try to change it? Maybe if he was doing it while you had company but you said he only does it when your not around.

 

[Murdock]

These are some great ideas guys. I will have to give some of them a shot...


Also, I do cover the couch with blankets. The main problem is, is that he also likes to dig holes in the cool spots in the back yard, then after it gets too hot he comes inside and gets on the couch. I end up with the dirtiest blankets in the world on the couch (at least its not the couch eh?).

 

[chickflick]

this might sound cruel but take you a squirt gun and fill it with a weak ammonia and if you catch himshoot him in the face once is all it takes ,but watch out for his eyes. i do not use this unless the strays try to bite that stops them and for dogs that love your garbage put ammonia in the bags and close them up ,works for raccoons too.

OMG!!!!! A little lemon juice works just FINE!!!!!!! NO AMONIA!!! (Perhaps, you just meant an 'acid' ie. 'citric'!)

DO NOT EVER PUT AMONIA on a living creature!!!!!!!! :yeeha: Especially around the face. Too risky. :waa:

The basic solution James has suggested is one used by professional dog trainers and works well. Although it is LEMON JUICE and good for times when you are awake and vigilent.

 

[Guest]

Try tin foil (you may have to duck tape it down to the sheet). It supposedly makes enough noise to annoy the dog. This way you could cover or uncover the sofa without having to reposition anything everytime.