Every dog owner knows the struggle that comes with keeping a hyperactive dog off the couch. When they get the ‘zoomies,’ dogs often leap and bound over your nice furniture without a care in the world. Restricting your dog from a particular area of the house might seem like a lot of trouble, but a dog-free couch definitely has perks; less time cleaning and repairing upholstery, more room for you and your family, and additional training for your pet. Do you want to start providing more structure to your dog’s life? This blog will help you teach them boundaries and off-limits areas, including furniture.
Tips For Keeping Your Dog Off Furniture
Preparation: Your dog will not react well to their training if it consists of intermittent yelling from certain members of the family. Before you begin, let’s review what to discuss with your family and what to purchase for your dog.
Keeping your dog off the couch has to be something that everyone in your family agrees is worth working towards. If you live alone, perfect! Your household is already in agreement. The issue arises when certain family members do not agree with this decision or are not as committed to the training. If your dog is allowed on the couch in some scenarios and not others, it will lead to confusion. Eventually, once the training sticks, lax family members will be less of a training detriment because your dog should already respect the boundaries set for them. Just make sure they aren’t picking up the pup and placing them on the furniture to play!
The only other preparation needed is a few items, depending on your needs. You should always provide alternative accommodations, such as a dog bed or mini pet couch, so your pet does not feel left out from family functions. They can still hang out, just not on the expensive furniture. Furthermore, if your furniture is in a common area of the house that your dog has permanent access to, you can consider purchasing gates or other similar materials that can restrict access. When you leave the house or leave the furniture unattended, adding these gates to the sides of the couches and chairs is an additional barrier to reinforce the training.
Training: Training your pup to stay off the couch is not as complicated as you think; it consists of strong verbal commands and positive reinforcement. Anytime your dog jumps on the sofa, clearly tell them to ‘get off,’ ‘off,’ ‘jump off,’ or any other command you want to use. If they do so successfully, show them some love, reward them with a treat, and playfully introduce them to their dog bed.
Not allowing your dog to dictate when they get a treat is essential. If you continually reward them or purposefully invite them onto the couch to teach this new command, they might get the wrong idea and jump on the couch in order to get a tasty treat. If you think your dog is trying to take advantage of your training, stay firm and continually command them off until they lose interest in the charade.
Teaching your dog to stay off the couch isn’t a decision to make on a whim. If properly trained, this is a behavior they can keep for life. If you need some professional help in reinforcing your dog’s good behaviors, call Gulf Coast K9 Dog Training today for training class schedules and options.
