Dogs on Furniture

I wanted to see how many people out there allows their dog on their furniture. We don't allow it in our house. I never have allowed it and my dog learned from early on in her puppy years, that this behavior was not allowed. She is allowed on the bed, just not the couch, or recliner or anything like that. There is something about that gross dog smell in a couch that makes me not even want to sit on some people's couches. At least, if you are going to allow your dog on your couch, put a blanket down first. Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

I'm immune to the dog smell. I've been around it so much all my life that I can't smell it any more unless I've been away for a considerable amount of time.

My previous dog (a Lab) was not allowed on the furniture. She was too big to be up on couches. She was allowed on my bed until bedtime. It was pretty easy to teach her the difference.

It was different with Misha. Small, jumpy dogs tend to like to be up high at least from what I've experienced. My brother's Mini Pinschers, for instance, like to be on the back of the couch or on a book shelf, like cats. They haven't set boundaries for their dogs. If you aren't paying attention, they'll be on the kitchen table. That is where I draw the line. Animals do not belong where there is food.

When I lived with my Dad (before he passed away), Misha was allowed on the couches, recliner, and my bed. Never the kitchen furniture.

When my Dad died and my Mom and I moved in together, Misha had to learn new rules. She was not allowed on the furniture. She is a lap dog though and wants to sit with you. What we taught her was that she could be up if she is on a lap. She understands "on my lap" very well.

Also, I bought her a dog bed tent that I found on Ebay for about $6. I put that on my bed during the day time. That's her hideout. She sleeps in there off and on during the day. She has her own bed for night time though. I don't like sharing my bed with a dog.

 

He is, but he doesn't do it too often. He'll occasionally sleep on the couch while we're gone or in an old bunk bed that we don't use any more. He wouldn't normally get up on a bed we're currently using, though, and he doesn't seem interested in any other furniture.

 

Our dogs are usually allowed on the furniture. But it is common for our dogs to lay down on the floor instead on the couch as we do not encourage them to "like" being on the couch.

 

Our dogs are allowed on the furniture. My Australian Shepherd, however, seems to have real qualms about getting onto the couch. He won't get on the couch until absolutely nobody is around to see him. If he does get on the couch late in the night and you are nearby (say half asleep on the other couch), he'll sneak onto it and then look away ashamed. If you make eye contact with him, he will crawl off of the couch.

It is the strangest thing!

No one in our family has ever told the dogs that they couldn't be on the couch, so I'm not sure why he acts this way. Even if you are sitting on the couch and pat beside of you and call to him, he will not jump onto the couch next to you but will simply bury his face into your lap and lick your hand.

Any theories as to why he does this?

 

Theories? Here's one.

It may be related to the King of the Castle game which many dogs play. Perhaps your dog thinks that getting on the couch is to be the King of the Castle, which is a position it may not think that it deserves. That may account for the embarrassment at being caught red-handed.

 

My boys are allowed but usually opt for other resting or sitting areas. Gizzy on his over sized pillow close to the tv (if not on a lap) and Giz usually on someone's feet (if not on a lap, also). Both however not only sleep on the bed, feel they own it. Sometimes I have to remind them, who actually owns it.

 

How do you remind them? With just a look or a smack? Candy sometimes get the idea that it's her duty to guard my bed when I am not sleeping on it. She does that by lying on my bed. When she sees me coming to bed, she will get off the bed and take up her usual station under the bed.

 

My Coon Hound/Beagle mix is allowed on the sofa. She is just over a year. Would you say that it's detrimental to her training to allow her on the couch? My mom spoils her more than her own grandchildren (and that says something).

 

In general, Homer doesn't care whether he is allowed on furniture or not - he sleeps wherever he wants and if somebody tried to move him, he would bite and fight. He is very small so he likes to lie as high as possible because it makes him feel bigger. I once found him on a table . I don't want him to sleep on my bed so door to my room are always closed.

 

I dont understand the feeling of dogs sitting on the highest position. My dog is literally like a monkey... he climbs on everything and likes heights.. On the highest level of the staircase, on top of the balcony, and one time we found him literally on top of the car. I dont know how he climbed there. My dad was super pissed because his car was damaged by pup's claws and he had to pay a fortune to repaint or do whatever to get it fixed!!!!!!

 

I think Homer is not laying up on some place high up because of any superiority complex. I think he's just being safe. Like you said, he's small. Small dogs on the floor are very likely to be stepped on.

 

My dog is not small though! He's moderately big... still he likes sitting high up.... i do think it's due to some superiority complex!

 

Have you ever watched dogs playing outside? They have a game called King of the Castle. One dog will lay claim to a high spot and the others will try to dislodge him from his perch. Fortunately I don't have this problem with Candy. She simply terrified of heights. If I want her to behave, like when I am sweeping the floor, I just put her on the table and she will stay put there until I take her down.

 

But how can he feel safe when he is lying so high? I always worry that he will fall down.
And he sometimes sleeps on the floor - on our soft rug to be more specific - and he bites people who are passing by

 

Lying on a rug? That reminds me of one black cat I had. Totally black. And totally in love with my doormat which also happens to be black. So you can imagine what happens on a black night.

 

Our dogs were allowed wherever they wanted to go pretty much. One of them slept in the bed with people. The other one never really did that but that was her own choice rather than ours. The one who slept in the bed sometimes went to sleep on the sofa but most of the time she stuck with the bed. It was probably more comfortable for her with all of the pillows and blankets.

 

We don't allow our dog on most of the furniture. We have however ssigned certain pieces to her. There is a long bamboo bench that she sits on when she wants to stare out the front window and another chair she prefers to sit on when she looks out the side window. It was a struggle at fisrt to train her not to jump on the beds and the chocolate brown sofa in the living room but all is well now.

 

We allow our dog on the furniture. Our only rule is that i fa human is occupying said piece of furniture, he needs to be 'invited' to come up and join them. That keeps him from jumping up on a guests lap. He doesn't always wait to be invited up by us, but he does pretty well with the rule for strangers.