Am i the only one?

[lula]

Am i the only dog owner i know who hates apart from the most exceptional circumstances (dieing basically) my dogs on the living room furniture/ sofas?

Everyone i know seems to let their dog happily jump up and take up the whole sofa the family sit on leaving a trail of muddy paws and hair everywhere behind them.

i give darcy (my mutt) a comfortable snuggly bed in a warm part of the living room but she likes to sleep at my feet in the evening so i'll put an old cushion down for her beside me so im happy im providing her with her own comfortable places to sleep, but if i give her an inch she'll be up on the sofa as soon as my back's turned! its a constant fight and its driving me mad atm as she makes such a mess

Before bed i have to pile stools and books and god knows what, on top of the sofas to stop her climbing up in the night and she KNOWS she's not allowed to do it as she'll quietly sneak off when she hears me coming downstairs and pretends to be asleep in her bed - just leaving a warm patch! (i give her the run of the downstairs at night tho she's not allowed up)

what really does it for me though is the thought of my dog sleeping in my bed with me as a lot of doggy people i know do.
Do some of you actually like your duvet smelling of dog, breathing in hair and dried mud and taking up all the room in the bed?

i take it im in a minority here do you sleep with your dog on your bed at night and if so WHY?!

 

[CorvusCorax]

I allow my dog on my bed but not overnight and not on clean sheets or if the OH is over (only when I'm coming up to washing day ).
Plus he is a heavy breather and I'd be awake all night
He is allowed on the sofa but only at my bidding and I put a fleece down over it as he has splattered mud on it in the past. Mostly he prefers to lie at my feet as it is getting a bit of a squeeze for both of us at the same time but off means off and he will get put on the ground for as long as it takes!
The important thing is to establish a word for 'that's OK' and 'no, not on your nelly' so the dog can distinguish, they are not mind readers.

In fairness it's not that she knows that she is not allowed, she just knows she will get shouted at if she is found on the sofa. She is not an evil genius trying to get one over on you or 'take an inch' she has just been taught to get off the sofa when *you* are around and get on it when you are not.
Was she *ever* allowed up? That can be a problem in that letting a dog do something and then not letting them do that, suddenly, because YOU know what you want to do, and they don't understand why.

Try upside down chairs, clothes horses, the most knobbly things you can find as a barricade.
Try a few nights or mornings of sneaking up on her and repeating the command.
Try incentivising her own bed. Leave her a treat in there to find, lots of praise when she lies there.
And lots of repetition, if you have to remove her from the sofa ten times, place her in her own bed and praise, every hour for a week, then do it

 

[classicalfan]

I'll probably get hate mail for this but ours aren't allowed in the house.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Horses for courses! This is the first one I have kept in and he is still out during the day, all ours have been outdoorsy before. The big dog does not like being inside, he has a coat like a bear, he overheats really quickly.

 

[Dobiegirl]

My Dogs are allowed on the settees which have throws/blankets on purely because they are big dogs and I cant be doing with big dog beds everywhere.

They are not allowed on the bed as they take up too much room and that is my space. I do allow them to sleep in my bedroom next to the radiator sometimes but I do get disturbed sleep as Darcy will clean Diesels ears very noisily at 2am

Pip is sometimes taken to bed with my daughter and her oh and dosnt move all night, when they go on holiday I will not be offering her the same comfort.

 

[lula]

In fairness it's not that she knows that she is not allowed, she just knows she will get shouted at if she is found on the sofa. She is not an evil genius trying to get one over on you or 'take an inch' she has just been taught to get off the sofa when *you* are around and get on it when you are not.
Was she *ever* allowed up? That can be a problem in that letting a dog do something and then not letting them do that, suddenly, because YOU know what you want to do, and they don't understand why.

Try upside down chairs, clothes horses, the most knobbly things you can find as a barricade.
Try a few nights or mornings of sneaking up on her and repeating the command.
Try incentivising her own bed. Leave her a treat in there to find, lots of praise when she lies there.
And lots of repetition, if you have to remove her from the sofa ten times, place her in her own bed and praise, every hour for a week, then do it

haha, yes i know she's not really 'trying to get one over on me' as such CC its just she KNOWS she's not allowed to do it as if i come home and she's been on the sofa while ive been out i'll get the guilty 'ive been a bad girl mum' look and in her previous home who'd had her from 9months old she was never allowed to either. At the breeder who had her from 0-9mths its possible she was, i just dont know.
Yes! Im trying to kinds of inventive ideas for knobbly things to keep her off in the night. Unfortunately i cant lock her out of the living room at night as whole downstairs is open plan ..or i would. My sofas are white. Stoopid colour for a dog owner eh!!

 

[Montyforever]

Nope your not alone
My dog has our old sofa (and i mean old!!) in the corner of the living room and that is his bed! Hes not allowed on the other sofa or the beds and he respects that and is happy enough with his boundaries!
To be honest i wouldnt want to share my bed/sofa with a greyhound

 

[Dobiegirl]

Classicalfan our farm collies always slept outside in a warm out-house, my Dobes have thin coats and are not meant to be kept outside.

 

[lula]

I'll probably get hate mail for this but ours aren't allowed in the house.

haha! yes you just might! But if thats what they're used to and have always had then i cant see the problem with that at all as long as they're genuinely happy and look well.

my indoor pampered pooch and im sure a lot of the other posters mutts, would probably be found frozen to the doormat the first morning as they're not acclimatised for outdoor conditions 24/7.

 

[CorvusCorax]

All our suites and most of our carpets have had really crazy, eye-watering patterns, hmmm, maybe there was a reason
There is 'guilt' as we feel it and there is a dog expecting to be shouted at or some sort of reprimand, I am not sure dogs feel guilt but we have had that convo on here a few times and very few people agree with me

 

[Cop-Pop]

Yellow Dog can sleep on his bed or the floor - he seems happy with this. Hairy bed = yuck!

 

[HeatherAnn]

Right now we don't have a permanent bed for Top Dog as we have a shed flatpacked in the kitchen, so we let him on the couch. It doesn't disturb anyone in the house, but when we have guests he stays on the floor. Luckily he only has minimal shedding and he gets a good clean when he gets back from the park. I wouldn't let him in my bed but my mum sleeps on the couch of a week night because she's a snorer and it keeps postman dad awake, so he doesn't really get lonely at night

 

[BillyBob-Sleigh]

nope my dog is not allowed on any furniture - if he wants somewhere cosy to sleep he has his own bed, other than that he lays on my feet in the evening. He's also not allowed upstairs and def not in the bed!

 

[Pendlehog]

I let mine on the sofa, he knows "up" and "off" and will move whenever I ask. My sofas are ancient and have throws over them. I dont let him on the bed really, and would never let him sleep on it, but if others want to sleep with their dogs its none of my business.
I would say most dog owners do let them on the sofa tbh.

 

[SplashofSoy]

Henry is allowed on the sofa (throws in place and washed regularly), not allowed upstairs or on/in bed with me. My dog is my companion/pet so is an inside dog and its nice to have him laid next to me on the sofa of an evening but my bed is my own most definately. He knows on and off so is relagated to to the floor when i have guests.

 

[Boulty]

Our Cavi has never technically been allowed on the furniture but she did used to sneak on when nobody was looking and I have to say when me & my brother were younger (we've had her since I was 9) we didn't really used to discourage her. As we now have a suite that's higher up off the floor and her back legs are rather dodgy now she can't actually get on anymore so has to be content with her very cosy bed or laying peoples feet! My Nan spoils her rotten when she has her during family holidays and puts a throw on her sofa so she can go on there (she also now sleeps with her on her bed...). She's never been allowed to sleep in anyone's bed at night at home (apart from one Xmas eve when I wanted her in mine for some reason I can't remember!) but I did used to take her up to my room on weekend mornings if she was scratching on the kitchen door and I wanted more sleep (I know we should have ignored her but she could do this for 2/3 hours solid if she desired so it was decided this was preferable to her waking the entire house up!) and so naturally she sometimes ended up on my bed. When I do get totally my own dog in the future (ie after I've finished my degree and depending on my working hours!) they will not be allowed on the sofa without my say so and definitely not in the bed!

 

[Ealana]

ours are not allowed on sofas or chairs at all. She knows that she's not allowed and does not go up - with my grans dg comes and jumps up on it she pulls him off so she knows what she is to do! lol she is occasionally allowed on beds but only at our discretion - if we tell her to come up or tell her to get off she does and only waits to be told she is allowed up on the bed such well trained puppy - it does my head in if dogs are on the chairs - bringing them up to our level destroys the pack hierarchy !! they need to know where they're place is - she has her bed in the kitchen or she can be on the floor.

 

[domane]

Nope, black lab Ruby has a snuggly bed on the floor and is not allowed on the furniture or the bed. She comes up to our bedroom on weekends whilst we have a cup of tea in bed but other than that she never goes upstairs either.

Mind you.... it's not a two-way thing... this is my OH last Saturday evening after being dragged round Your Horse Live with me all day! (yes, he was snoring in Ruby's bed with her!)

 

[lula]

All our suites and most of our carpets have had really crazy, eye-watering patterns, hmmm, maybe there was a reason
There is 'guilt' as we feel it and there is a dog expecting to be shouted at or some sort of reprimand, I am not sure dogs feel guilt but we have had that convo on here a few times and very few people agree with me

ok, CC im genuinely interested to hear what you think about this being an experienced dog person.
if my dog .. or hypothetically any dog, but i'll talk about mine here as i know her is taking part in a behaviour that she knows she mustnt do such as getting on the sofa, she will not do it in my presence but will try to do behind my back and knows she will be punished for doing it (well shouted at and perhaps a rap on the rump with a rolled up newspaper) why does she persist?

is it defiance, disobedience, ? I can only think that it is since. It feels sly. 'I'll try to get away with it if i can' since i 100% know that she understands this is not allowed. im only talking about a behavior such a climbing on the sofa here as i cant see any primal instinct compelling her to do so and disobey me- she has a more than comfy bed and can lie in numerous other places.

Obviously i can use aversion methods to stop her so it isnt a huge issue but its frustrating when i feel it is me/my training to blame that i cant make her obey me on this. Or am i wrong to expect her to?

i dont think she feels guilt for doing it as such though, I think animals can worry about the consequences their actions might have on them immediately after doing something wrong but i think that's as far as it goes, i would tend to agree with you that dogs dont feel guilt, at least not to the level humans understand it.

 

[Broodle]

I'm with you on this one OP. My dogs are not, under any circumstances, allowed on the furniture and they're not allowed to go upstairs so no dogs in beds either. I'm not the most houseproud woman in the world (just ask my OH ) but I draw the line at having muddy paw prints and hairs over my sofas, or smelly hairy carpets in my bedrooms. Plus, my dogs are big and my sofas small

A genuine question for those whose dogs are allowed on sofas, upstairs, in beds etc: what do you do if you take your dogs to someone elses house who doesn't tolerate such things? My friend had a small dog who would always immediately climb onto any empty patch of sofa/lap, and I would have found it very stressful having her in my home! I'm sure most of you have dogs that are well-trained enough to obey commands to get off sofas etc, but is it possible to train a dog that it's ok to lie on the sofas at home but not ok anywhere else? Random musings really, feel free to ignore!

 

[Toffee44]

You mean mean mummys not letting dogs on the sofa!!!


We started with all intention of not going on but its handy when you can chuck the dog off and have a warm seat They are not allowed on the bed (well sometimes on washing day, normally a sunday and we all have a lie in, but only Teal comes up on the bed, thats not happened for a long time). They don't go upstairs unless called.

Just to make you boil just a little.

 

[Broodle]

For me it is simple - I wouldnt take them Not that I would have friends like that, but if I did then the dogs would not come with me.

I am stuck with having my lot on the furniture because I cannot shut them 'out' of the living area when I am at work (joys of living in a mobile home) but personally I dont mind - similarly I would never say that someone who DOES mind is wrong

Lol - thanks for your reply!

I think I've been lucky with my dogs as they get the run of the whole downstairs when I'm out and never ever go on sofas or venture upstairs (I know cos they would leave a hairy evidence trail behind them ). I'm going to regret posting this, but my youngest dog has only ever gone upstairs once... she interrupted some *ahem* activity in the bedroom and has never tried since Do you think she is traumatised?!

 

[aintgotnohay]

my dogs have a single garage conversion all to themselves atttached to my house.they can come up stairs if they r clean and have therir own sofa and they do sleep on my bed some nights.

 

[Naryafluffy]

In fairness it's not that she knows that she is not allowed, she just knows she will get shouted at if she is found on the sofa. She is not an evil genius trying to get one over on you or 'take an inch' she has just been taught to get off the sofa when *you* are around and get on it when you are not.

I've just got 'The Culture Clash' and read a few pages this morning and this is what is talked about at the beginning, we've not had a dog in our house since i was a kid and I remember the dog getting into trouble for going up when we weren't in and the way it's been explained now makes a lot of sense to me.
My friends dogs that I train don't get in the house, they stay in the utility room, i can guess which one would be straight up on the sofa if she was allowed in.
My other friends ridgeback has never been allowed on the sofa and just doesn't try (although leave a Sky remote control out and it's a goner), he teears up papers and whilst has never been given into trouble for it still looks guilty.
My other friends ridgeback is hilarious when you find a chewed shoe or similar she's like donkey out of Shrek, jumping up and down on the spot, big grin in place basically shouting 'Pick me, Pick me'!!!!

 

[Tammytoo]

We have NEVER allowed our dogs on beds, sofas or any furniture. They are welcome to go anywhere in the house as long as they stay on the floor. They have nice squashy dog beds in the kitchen where they sleep at night and a doggy rug in front of the fire if they feel like being sociable in the evenings. I love my dogs, past and present, but they are dogs not people!

 

[MiCsarah]

1 of my dogs isn't allowed on the sofa (she pees if she gets nervous and looks so uncomfortable when she was allowed on that I never offered again) other dog is allowed on one sofa and has his very own grandad chair. Puppy can do the same. I had all intentions of not letting any dogs on sofas but once I lost my old girl who had the run of the house that I actually really missed cuddling upto something on the sofa

 

[islander]

My various dogs sleep downstairs on the sofa or in their dog-beds. The two pugs usually end up together with the Jack Russell, and the lurcher takes over the armchair, though he is not supposed to.
Pugs are a bit fed-up as they are no longer allowed to sleep on the bed since I moved in with my fiance!

 

[paisley]

Mine is allowed on the sofa and bed- its a damn cold house, either that or turn the heating on!

However- there are throws on the sofa, with 'dog side' and 'people side', they are boil washed every week, house is hoovered every day. Dog has his blanket on the bed, ditto the boil washing of that once a week. He is pretty much non-shedding hair wise and is generally mud free, being mostly whippet mud and wet appalls him!

If he comes with me to a friends house who does not let dogs on the furniture, he stays on the floor with no fuss. He does not have access to my bedroom if I'm not there and has never tried to climb on the bed without permission. If he was very furry or constantly grubby I'm sure I would be equally anti-sofa surfing

 

[Apercrumbie]

No you're not alone. We paid good money for our sofas so don't want smelly dogs all over them! Also their hair gets everywhere as it is. They're not even allowed upstairs let alone on the beds.
However despite the fact that our two have NEVER been allowed on the sofas, occasionally I'll walk into the sitting room and there will be a very guilty looking English Setter curled up where we usually sit.

 

[CorvusCorax]

ok, CC im genuinely interested to hear what you think about this being an experienced dog person.
if my dog .. or hypothetically any dog, but i'll talk about mine here as i know her is taking part in a behaviour that she knows she mustnt do such as getting on the sofa, she will not do it in my presence but will try to do behind my back and knows she will be punished for doing it (well shouted at and perhaps a rap on the rump with a rolled up newspaper) why does she persist?

is it defiance, disobedience, ? I can only think that it is since. It feels sly. 'I'll try to get away with it if i can' since i 100% know that she understands this is not allowed. im only talking about a behavior such a climbing on the sofa here as i cant see any primal instinct compelling her to do so and disobey me- she has a more than comfy bed and can lie in numerous other places.

Obviously i can use aversion methods to stop her so it isnt a huge issue but its frustrating when i feel it is me/my training to blame that i cant make her obey me on this. Or am i wrong to expect her to?

i dont think she feels guilt for doing it as such though, I think animals can worry about the consequences their actions might have on them immediately after doing something wrong but i think that's as far as it goes, i would tend to agree with you that dogs dont feel guilt, at least not to the level humans understand it.

Naryafluffy has pointed you in the right direction with the Culture Clash, it's explained very well in that book.
Aversives may not work for your dog or you may not be doing it properly if it is not working for you or her and the book can suggest some good alternatives.
So you're in the room, she doesn't lie on the sofa, you're not and she does and when she is discovered she gets a smack on the bum and verbal.
The rest of the time when she is lying there, she does not, so the pleasure and length of time she is on the sofa outweighs the grief she gets.

Also I am not sure about the pack hierarchy thing mentioned by a another poster. I know a lot of truly dominant dogs, with even more dominant owners who sleep on the bed or on the sofa and live and mix well in the pack.