Training Dogs Not To Get On Furniture

[KatLek]

we just got a 4+ months old pup.

she loves to get on the couch, to play with her toys, play with other dogs, or basically just lie down.

I usually let them (2 whippys and a grey) into the house after I have come home from work. The whippys start to chase each other upstairs and then leap onto the couch to have some play. All these while, I am still downstairs, closing the gate to the garden. (those whippys are too fast for me!! )

so by the time I am upstairs, they are already on the couch.

I tried to chase them off the couch once I am upstairs. But they would try to get up again and again (esp the puppy).

Personally, I don't mind them on the couch, so long as they are invited. however, we often have guests and it is just plain rude to have dogs flying onto their lap while they are sitting on the couch.

I have searched in the training forum about issue of keeping the dogs off the couch. Someone suggested to have a mat for them to go to and train them to lie down on the mat instead.

I suppose there is some leadership issue here as well and we are working on it.

My questions are :

1. How do I train them not to get on the couch? If it is to teach them to go on their mat, how do I go about doing that?

2. Can we train them to only get onto the couch when they are invited or will that confuse them? If we can train them to only get up on invitation, how do I do that?

Thanks!!

[Kavik]

I have found giving them an alternative place to go (like a mat) is a good way to teach them not to get on furniture unless invited.

The way I did it was to have a mat somewhere in the same room as the couch, and use a treat to lure the dog onto the mat, using your command (I use 'Place' but you can use what you like) and give the treat when they are on the mat. I get them to drop on their mats for this. Do this when they are not on the couch at first. And then when they are on the couch, I use the command 'Off' for getting off the couch, then 'Place' to go to their mat (you will have to show them where the mat is at first). Make their mats a good place to be, give them pats there and treats.

My dogs will now go to their mats on their own without being told.

Kaos knows he is only allowed on the couch if I am on there (he likes to keep me company when I read ) and won't get on if there is nobody on the couch. He does still occasionally deer leap onto the couch if I am on it though - working on that!

[Tonymc]

Katlek,its always best to not allow a Pup to right from the word go to do something you do not want,rather than to have to make a change and combat entrenched or partially entrenched behaviour.

Katlek, its probably much simpler if your after a change in behaviour to simplfy things and set up the scene where the Lounge is out of bounds totally.Having the Lounge as ok sometimes and not ok at other times could due to possible Human inconsistency,be confusing to the Dogs.

As you have Three Dogs any course of retraining would need to be carried out with each Dog.training a dog to go to a Mat or place is fine but not the total answer.Training a Dog to go to a Mat or place has taught them to go to a Mat or Place but has not lessened the Attraction to the Lounge.so it would work in one way.While you were there you could give the command for the Dogs to go to their place and they would,but when you were not there they would be on the Lounge again.I do not know but maybe that is ok to you?

Dogs live in the moment and will repeat a behaviour if it feels good to them.So the basis of keeping the Dogs off the Lounge is to create a negative association with the lounge itself.Some People will stand near the object and roar,growl,tell the Dog off and so on and the Dog will keep off.But as soon as the Person leaves or moves away the Dog will go back to the object because in that example the negative to the Dog was the Owner not the Object.So the Owner leaves and the negative is gone so the Dog gets back on the Object.

There are others ways then what I will suggest and this is only one option.This option will take effort,timing and consistency.Also the layout of your House will play a part as to how easy this option is to carry out.

This would need to be carried out with each Dog as well.I would collar the Dog and then clip a long Rope or lead on.What we are wanting to do here is to let the dog have most of the length of the rope and we move to a position where we are basically out of sight to the Dog.We watch the Dog and as soon as he makes contact with the Lounge,we issue a correction on the rope.Timing is esential as the dog must make physical contact with the lounge and then immeditately recieve a correction as that way he forms a negative directly to the Lounge. Tony

[KatLek]

Katlek,its always best to not allow a Pup to right from the word go to do something you do not want,rather than to have to make a change and combat entrenched or partially entrenched behaviour.

Katlek, its probably much simpler if your after a change in behaviour to simplfy things and set up the scene where the Lounge is out of bounds totally.Having the Lounge as ok sometimes and not ok at other times could due to possible Human inconsistency,be confusing to the Dogs.

As you have Three Dogs any course of retraining would need to be carried out with each Dog.training a dog to go to a Mat or place is fine but not the total answer.Training a Dog to go to a Mat or place has taught them to go to a Mat or Place but has not lessened the Attraction to the Lounge.so it would work in one way.While you were there you could give the command for the Dogs to go to their place and they would,but when you were not there they would be on the Lounge again.I do not know but maybe that is ok to you?

Dogs live in the moment and will repeat a behaviour if it feels good to them.So the basis of keeping the Dogs off the Lounge is to create a negative association with the lounge itself.Some People will stand near the object and roar,growl,tell the Dog off and so on and the Dog will keep off.But as soon as the Person leaves or moves away the Dog will go back to the object because in that example the negative to the Dog was the Owner not the Object.So the Owner leaves and the negative is gone so the Dog gets back on the Object.

There are others ways then what I will suggest and this is only one option.This option will take effort,timing and consistency.Also the layout of your House will play a part as to how easy this option is to carry out.

This would need to be carried out with each Dog as well.I would collar the Dog and then clip a long Rope or lead on.What we are wanting to do here is to let the dog have most of the length of the rope and we move to a position where we are basically out of sight to the Dog.We watch the Dog and as soon as he makes contact with the Lounge,we issue a correction on the rope.Timing is esential as the dog must make physical contact with the lounge and then immeditately recieve a correction as that way he forms a negative directly to the Lounge. Tony

Thanks Tony.

If I hide somewhere (still able to see what they are doing) and makes a really loud noise when they make physical contact with the lounge, does that work the same as with the rope?

[MonElite]

I usually let them (2 whippys and a grey) into the house after I have come home from work. The whippys start to chase each other upstairs and then leap onto the couch to have some play. All these while, I am still downstairs, closing the gate to the garden. (those whippys are too fast for me!! )

In addition to what everyone already said, why not teach them not to go upstairs. Call them to you ask them to heel and walk in the house with them.

[Tonymc]

Katlek, please keep in mind that another poster may have a better option for your situation than mine.

As to whether a Noise would do the Trick?There is only one way to find out and that is to try the Noise and then note the Dogs reaction.if the dog moves away from the lounge then its working.Timing is still esential though to create the negative association with the Lounge. Tony

[KatLek]

I usually let them (2 whippys and a grey) into the house after I have come home from work. The whippys start to chase each other upstairs and then leap onto the couch to have some play. All these while, I am still downstairs, closing the gate to the garden. (those whippys are too fast for me!! )

In addition to what everyone already said, why not teach them not to go upstairs. Call them to you ask them to heel and walk in the house with them.

yes, I am in the process of getting that "problem" fixed. The little puppy just runs upstairs everytime she goes past the doors. Must be the toys upstairs.

I will try taking some of the toys and putting them downstairs and attracting her to play downstairs before I am ready to bring them upstairs.

right now, calling her does not make her stop her tracks and come back to me.

[SueM]

Might be an idea to put a lead on her and teach her to walk behind you when you let her in the house, she needs to learn some obedience before she will come when you call her etc She was good here but I dont have 2 stories.

[persephone]

Can you get one of those barriers to use in doorways or at the foot of stairs? That way , at least you could catch up!

[KatLek]

Can you get one of those barriers to use in doorways or at the foot of stairs? That way , at least you could catch up!

yup. definitely looking at that option.

[KatLek]

Might be an idea to put a lead on her and teach her to walk behind you when you let her in the house, she needs to learn some obedience before she will come when you call her etc She was good here but I dont have 2 stories.

yes definitely going to try that.

She has learnt to sit and stay at the other side of the gate before coming into the house.

but will put the lead on her to make sure she understands following my lead instead of running off on her own.

she is generally a good pup, just getting cheekier...

[Staranais]

I haven't read this whole thread, so sorry if I'm repeating suggestions.

But my advice to you would be:

a) don't ever let your dogs ever get on the couch. That means, don't let them ever be round the couches unsupervised. If you have to walk them into the lounge on leashes so you can keep up with them, or close the lounge door until you are right there to let them in, then do that. If they get to have the fun of jumping on the couches when you're not around, they're never going to learn that they're not allowed on the couches.

b) provide them each with an attractive, comfortable beds or crates in the lounge, and reinforce them with praise, attention, petting and/or a tossed food treat whenever they get on them.

c) if your dogs do get on the couch, immediately growl "uh-uh", pick the dog up of the couch and unceremoniously dump it on its bed instead. Then reward the dog for being on its bed, as in step b).

d) if you've done this for weeks and it's not working, then when the dog jumps on the sofa, growl "uh-uh" and march the dog to time out in a boring place for 5 min.

i.e, make jumping on the sofa difficult and unrewarding, and make sitting on their own beds easy and rewarding.

In my experience it's way easier to teach the dog that they're never allowed on the couch, than to teach them that they're sometimes allowed on the couch. My staffy isn't allowed on the sofa at my house, so he's given up on trying, and he never attempts to get on them (even if we're not in the room). Whereas at my parents house he's allowed up on the sofa by invitation only, so during the evening he's always sitting there by the sofa begging to get up, and will still very occassionally jump up without an invite.

[Poodle wrangler]

Leash to come inside, while you work on the "no lounge" training.

Sort out leadership, and until that's sorted, no couch/ lounge for now. Not good for growing bones to be jumping up and down on them, either.

I've never had to train a dog to come "up" on the lounge with me :rolleyes:. Call them, pat lounge and say, "up". It's rewarding because it's comfy and they get pats, so it's a no-brainer.