Tips to Help Keep your Dog Off the Household Furniture

BY | August 03 | COMMENTS PUBLISHED BY

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Pet owners know that their dogs like to get snug and comfortable when they are resting. The temptation to snuggle right up on the couch is difficult to resist for most dogs. There is nothing wrong with letting your dog hang out on your favorite couch, but once he gets a taste of the good life, it can be an uphill struggle to keep him off it. Here are a few handy tips to help keep your dog off household furniture and teach him where to hang out instead:

Should you share?

It is entirely your decision to let your dog hang out with you on the couch. If you do not mind the extra fur and paw prints on the cushions, it is a great way to spend time with your furry friend. However, you need to make an exception if your dog thinks that he owns your couch. If he has ever snapped or growled at you to keep his spot, or loses his temper when you try to move him, it is time to put an end to his couch privileges. Take him to a professional trainer to address the issue of location guarding and if the training is successful, you can rethink letting him back on the couch.

Consistent enforcement

You need to ensure that everybody in the household agrees to the same policy. If your dog gets part time privileges from someone in the household, it will make it that much harder for him to understand the rules. The best course of action would be to keep him off the couch from the start, as it would get a lot harder to un-train him once he gets used to the behavior.

His own place

If you have decided to keep Fido off the couch, make sure you provide him with a viable alternative. Instead of going for a flat bed, get a doughnut bed with a bolster as it will give him something to lean on. Keep it close to where you usually hang out and

get more than one bed

so that your dog has his own base in all the primary living spaces. You can make the bed more enticing by placing a

toy

stuffed with

treats

on it. He will begin to understand that he gets delicious treats when he hangs out in his bed.

Management techniques

If your dog has a habit of jumping onto the couch as soon as you leave the house, make the furniture less enticing. You can place a baby gate on the top of the furniture, pull up all the cushions so that they are vertical, place an empty laundry basket on the cushion or stack books on the edge of your couch. You can also get a scat mat โ€“ these make a high pitched noise when your dog touches it.

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