This Is Going To Be Fun

[Livi]

After three years of allowing the dog on the lounge, and noticing that the other night half the family was in the bedroom and half in the loungeroom both watching the same show on TV because there isn't enough room for us all to get comfy on the lounge I have decided that it is time to put some dog beds inside for them to use and retrain them.

Shouldn't be too hard for the pup, but the big sook of a Dobermann is going to be a challenge

I've spoken to my OH and said if we are going to do this it has to be a 150% effort, I'm not wasting my time and causing confusion to the dog if he is going to give in and let him up "sometimes"

Today I have put an upside down coffee table and three upside down dining chairs on the lounge seats so they can't get up..I don't sit on the lounge during the day.

I'm encouraging them to lay on the mats and praising.

Any other tips appreciated.

If I had the space I'd get another lounge for the dogs :D but this house is simply too small (unless we biff the dining table and all eat Japanese style on the floor )

Oh and don't yell at me for allowing him on the lounge in the first place (well you can if you like, I do deserve it)

I very clearly remember the day he arrived and hubby snuggling on the couch with the cute little puppy, and I said "You do realise if you let him up now he will want to be up when he is a 35kg adult !!!" I also told him that when he was grown the kids would also be bigger and might actually prefer the lounge to the floor which funnily enough they preferred as toddlers/preschoolers :D Can you picture it ? Kids lying on the floor dog/s up on the lounge (I did cook better meals for the kids than the dog/s though :p and the dogs don't get anything from the Ice Cream van !!!)

I am only embarking on this mission now because I feel there are times when the dog needs to be off (so we can all use it) and it is unfair on him at the moment because he honestly has no idea where to lie down if there is no room on the lounge for him..he paces around looking confused and gets in your face being annoying and we are trying to relax while telling him to "drop". OH will then get cranky, I tell OH off because the dog doesn't know what he is doing wrong.......it is ridiculous !!!!

[Livi]

Oh poop I meant to put this in the Training forum..is there someone I can ask to move it ??

Sorry !!!

[MonElite]

Any other tips appreciated.

Tip 1 - pack his toys and his bowl, place the dog in the car, drive to my place, release in my yard, drive away :D :D

Tip 2 - does Jones know the word off? I think he does..

so its only a prob when you guys want to sit on the lounge but you would compromise him sitting there when the family isnt?

he honestly has no idea where to lie down if there is no room on the lounge for him..he paces around looking confused

why dont you place some dog bedding on top of the lounge and ask him to lie down on it, than with time move the bedding onto the floor, so he will recognise the bedding as his bed not the lounge.

Good luck if that doesnt work there is room on a sofa at my place

is there someone I can ask to move it ??

PM Troy he will move it for you

Edited September 6, 2006 by myszka

[Livi]

Yes it is only an issue when we want to use it, putting some bedding on the lounge is a great idea !!!

[sidoney]

I'd also recommend a thorough clean and deodorising for the lounge. My lot use smell as well as shape and location to recognise doggy things. Plus dogs are very location specific. Could you deodorise the lounges and rearrange the room a bit, putting a dog smelling doggy bed where the lounge is? It might help, at least in the transition phase.

[jaybeece]

1. teach "Off!"

2. be prepared to see Very Sad Face a lot

EDIT: and I guess 3. praise for sitting in the right spot :D The hardest part about this is going to be seeing the sad slink back onto the bed accompanied by the sad brown eyes and the sad stare while they think sad thoughts about being moved to an inferior dog bed.

Edited September 6, 2006 by jaybeece

[shoemonster]

We are going through this now, but more for a leadership thing

We used "down"

We have 2 beanbags on the floor that they lie on now, and 4 weeks later 90% of the time they won't get up

Gawd the sad faces are hard to deal with though!!!

Edited September 6, 2006 by shoemonster

[kymbo]

Have fun, Sunny :D

I compramised. I have a sheet on one lounge chair only, and Frodo and murphy are only allowed up when I am on it, and frodo then perches on my shoulder like a parrot :D and murphy is on the footrest bit between my feet. It is our special time as such. Neither try to lie there when I am not tho, as they have their 'day' beds as such, and if I don't want them on me when I sit on my chair, I use 'down' , they throw the sulky looks x 2, and then go to their day beds HHH.

The bedding moved from the lounge to the floor sounds like a good idea

[Livi]

Hmmm well I left the stuff on the lounge to stop him getting up today, I just don't have the heart to have to tell him 50 times "Off" only to have him back ON every time I turn my back LOL

Rotten sook wont come inside now, he is doing the sulk outside in his kennel :D

He comes in, looks around forlornly and goes back out.

The kitten has claimed the bed I put on the floor for him

I couldn't trust mine with bean bags :D wish I could, would make me feel a lot better about booting him off HIS lounge

[flycow]

This is hilarious! both the sulking and cat bed.

[wheres my rock]

we cheated we set up the puppy pen with beds in it and they go there now i can leave the gate open and they stay on their beds without being told hehe

[Australdi]

Rotten sook wont come inside now, he is doing the sulk outside in his kennel

He comes in, looks around forlornly and goes back out.

Typical Bloody dobermann!!!!!DON"T BE FOOLED!!! these guys are masters at that woebegone "miss doneby" look!!!!If you want a definition of "sook"...look up Dobermann!!!! Carefull! they will wrap you around their dew claws (if they've still got them) if they're able!!!!...this is a dog who knows every human weakness...and will exploit it to it's fullest! ;)

YOU are ALPHA! and YOU get to say where they sit!...yeah I know..dobes like to cuddle up & have a pillow & a comfy couch....& they will use every ounce of intelligence and influence they have (which is considerable) to get you to swallow this hook line & sinker!

lets face it...would you rather be on the couch cuddled up to your pack leader...or banished to a mat on the floor...I ask you.

and yes..they do have the most adorable "sookie" eyes when they want something.

The funny thing is, although Dobes need to be included as a part of the family for optimal socialisation, they also respond well to strong Alpha direction.....but being the intelligent (and sly) dogs they are..if Alpha shows the slightest hesitation.....they will run a mile with it!...if you think of them like ADD kids....you'll be on the right track Be firm! be insistant! and don't fall for that forlorn look they give you! (damn it's a killer! ;)) YOU ARE ALPHA!!!!!! DONT FORGET IT!!!!

..cause if you do...hehehhe..so will they hehehhee

Aus

[MonElite]

Karen ;) just go an buy a new sofa, there is no way you will stick to this I know you and I know Jones and he is like his father in that respect.

this is histerical, not even a day went pass

But hey honey, keep it up, all my motivation with you if you need it, otherwise look above

When we got Divani OH said - OK we will start right with this one, she wont be allowed on the sofa........

2 hours later he is flat on the sofa baby on top of him

I - Chris - what are you doing????

C - she is not on the sofa, she is on top of ME

Next day - Chris why is the dog only half on top of you and half on the sofa?

C - oh she just slipped a bit why do you always spoil things, dont you understand she has to bond to us? We are bonding here

so I went onto the other sofa and boned with Rex ;)

Where do you now find Divani now most of the time when she is resting?

On the sofa but I have to say the other day wne she was absolutly dead tired she just went to her crate and collapsed there, she knows that sofa requires the "off" option where the crate doesnt have this.

[Livi]

Ohhh how true Aus !!!!

How do you think we got in this position in the first place ;)

He is a good boy and I really didn't see it as a problem him sitting up with us (when there is space), but the fact that he doesn't know how to lie down anywhere else is a bit pathetic

I think the best course of action is total banishment from the lounge until he accepts that it is OK to lay down on a bed on the floor.

I will then probably be back to ask if it is OK for him to come up for a cuddle when I say so ;)

[Livi]

I know myszka, this is traumatic for me

I have thought a long time about this before trying to do anything !!!

Maybe we should move to a place we can fit another special "dog lounge" in

[MonElite]

I will then probably be back to ask if it is OK for him to come up for a cuddle when I say so

yes it will be ok, but dont forget our dogs have bodies that are a perfect mould that fits the corner of the sofa, where the head rests on the armrest of the sofa. The doberman was bred with that in mind, Im sure ;)

[Livi]

I don't care about the furniture, it is leather, I clean and condition it..whats a few paw marks between friends ??

I just don't have enough seats anymore hahaha

[MonElite]

Maybe we should move to a place we can fit another special "dog lounge" in

Im sure this will be far less traumatic for you

[Australdi]

we had the same problem when Daim's was alive...we'd have the other "kids" over to visit (a lab x rottie & a collie x something) and 2 dobermanns who were fighting for prime position next to mum on the sofa ....getting another couch seemed like a good proposition, cause heaven help if anyone came to visit! ;)

Zillah prefers my spot next to the coffee table...but understands now that if I want the couch then "move" means MOVE! and he sulks up "his" end then ...or moves just enough to let me in & cuddles up

..and yes, sofa armrests are exactly the right height for a dobe pillow!

Daim's, when we used to live in Melb, and was sunning himself in the back yard, would move a log of wood (just the right size of course) into the sunny spot & use that as a pillow! He would also rotate between chairs and couches & beanbags as his bed depending on ...actually I have no idea what was going thru his head! ....but ALWAYS....5 mins after I had gone upstairs to bed...I'd hear him coming up the stairs (even if he'd been in a dead sleep when I left!!) ...and "plop" right across my legs on the futon!

...which leads me to the next question....even with a queen size quilt/bed...how come they hog it all & you wake up with one tiny corner to yourself!!???

Zillah is now going thru that "phase" hahhaha(lifelong in a dobe) where he wants to come to bed with us...if the bedroom door is open & my BF isn't quick enough...guess who assumes the position! ..and then sooks at the door when he's kicked off!

....first thing in the morning...when BF gets up to have his shower....I have a furry companion curled up next to me. & this morning when I got up...he jumped straight into MY spot & curled up there!!!! This dog is working it out way too quickly!!

of course me being the typical dobe mum...says...awww poor thing...(he was a rescue dog) he was always chained up outside, spent over a month in a cage at the RSPCA....it's good that he has a comfy home now....

you'd think that this being my 3rd dobe I would have learned by now! ;) ; but no! I'm still a sucker for those big eyes and the pouting eyebrows!

hehehe

Aus

[Livi]

Australdi by 8pm last night I was considering printing out about 20 copies of your first post in this thread and sticking them up all over the house

If I had a video camera it would have been so funny....he would get up, told "off" then jump on the other lounge..told "off" repeat until I get him to "drop" on the mat..and praise.

At one point he just stood there with his head on the lounge cushion...of course my camera battery chose that exact moment to DIE..but it is on charge so hopefully some photo opportunities tonight.

He ended up settling well on the floor, I layed on the lounge and when he wasn't sticking his nose under my arm for attention would give him a pat.

He is outside sulking again today ;)

Well he can come in if he likes, two nice comfy spots on the floor for him to choose between...I've even given him a cushion for a pillow ;)