Start off on the right paw
Dogs need training to help teach them appropriate boundaries. So the sooner you start, the easier your life is going to be, as you can instill boundaries in them at a young age. Consistency around any ‘no dogs on the furniture’ policy is crucial, so if you live in a multi-human household, you’ll want to make sure everyone is on the same page – or they could be undoing any work youve done.
It can be tempting when you first bring home a new dog, especially if they’re a puppy, to let them curl up beside you for comfort, but it’s best to start to keep them off from the beginning if you intend to keep it that way for their entire life. If you make it clear from day one that the couch and all other furniture is off limits, your dog won’t know any different.
How Can I Stop My Dog From Getting On My Couch When I Leave?
The answer to this question is not an easy or straightforward one, but I will attempt to help guide you to some great solutions that will work for most big dogs.
Before I give you my top 5 tips or methods for keeping dogs off furniture (beds, couches, chairs, etc), I want to expand on the comment I made above about understanding your dog’s WHY.
Let me give you an example to illustrate how better understanding your dog’s motivation can lead you to the best solution.
Say you have a Great Dane who you rescued from an abusive situation. She is understandably shy and nervous in new situations and runs if she hears loud sounds. With her, I might consider home-based exercise, walks at times with fewer noises, and feeding out of a plastic versus metal bowl to avoid the loud clanging sound. These are small ways in which I would modify her environment to make it less scary.
All of these modifications come from observing her behavior and understanding the why behind them.
With that said, as I go through these 5 tips for keeping dogs off your furniture I will share when I would or would not use each one.
I am hopeful this analysis will lead you to a slobber-free sofa very soon!
Be sure to watch BOTH of the videos linked below as they illustrate nearly all of these tips.
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How to keep dogs off the couch and furniture
If you and your pooch have a tight bond, its likely that they wan tto be wherever you are. And thats a great thing – it means you have a great relationship! However, if you want to keep your dog off of the furniture, it might seem taxing if they have a tendency to be your second shadow. Perhaps theyve jumped up on the couch before youve gotten a chance to even lower yourself onto it, or they just get up there when youre relaxing and are caught off-guard.
There’s nothing wrong with letting your pooch share the couch with you if that’s what you want, but if you’d rather they didn’t have access to the furniture, there are plenty of ways that you can lovingly help teach them their place.
How To Keep Your Dog Off The Furniture
Has your pooch started hanging out on the couch way too much? Do you often come home to find your dog lounging on your couch or armchair? If yes, and you aren’t happy about it,what can you do?
Why do dogs like to lay on the couch? Because it’s comfortable! Studies claim that over 80% of dogs love the couch, especially when their favorite human is sitting on it!
Dogs love to be with us and like to sit with us on our furniture. Often times, they like to be on the couch even if we aren’t there. Sometimes, you don’t necessarily want them on the furniture. Maybe you just got a new sofa and want to keep it dog-hair free. Many pet-owners complain that their dogs take up residence on their big, comfortable couch, and end up covering it with dog hair. Not only is the hair difficult to clean, but it also might smell. Now to be fair, this isn’t your dog’s fault. For those who don’t mind their dogs sharing their furniture with them, this isn’t a problem. But for those who do, it’s best to learn what you can do to keep him off the furniture.
Before we go further, let us first stop to think about why your dog seems to love the couch so much in the first place. Many people claim that they do it to show their dominance in the house. Whoa, back up! Your adorable fur puppy isn’t trying to prove anything to you. Instead, it’s highly possible that the soft couch is way more comfortable than the floor, and in the case of cold areas, the couch is simply warmer than the cold, hard flooring. If you haven’t objected to it before this, your dog has assumed that it is okay with you, and made a habit out of it. If you’re the one who invited him up on the couch for a cuddle (sigh!), well, who can blame him? The point is, your dog prefers the couch only because it is more comfortable than the area where you want him to be sitting/sleeping.