How to Keep Dogs off Furniture

Any pet owner looking to learn how to keep dogs off furniture will find themselves wondering exactly why the dog wants to go on it in the first place. Some people say that dogs want to sit on furniture so they can claim higher rank. There are also some people who hold the view that pets insist laying or sitting on the furniture to make sure they can always see you and stay with you easily, as you are also a significant member for them. In reality, however, most puppy experts agree that dogs simply want to be comfortable and probably find the couch much nicer than the boring floor. Because of this, one of the first steps to getting a dog to stay off the furniture is to offer an enticing alternative, like a dog bed.

Protect the Furniture

Before starting the process of training a dog to stay off furniture, it helps to ensure that the couch (or other items) will be protected even if the dog does climb on. Scratches, rips, and stains are the most common culprits, so it helps to simply cover the couch with anything on hand. Especially if the furniture in question is expensive, it should be covered with anything from a plastic cover to a blanket or even a bed sheet. It is even possible to find products at pet stores to keep pets off furniture.

It can also help to protect the furniture by adding double-sided tape on areas your pet may claw at the furniture, such as the back or arms. For a better deterrent, try putting aluminum foil on the pup's favorite spots to sit as it will be disturbing to the pet and he may look for another place to sit instead.

To keep clumps of fur on the couch to a minimum while the dog is still being trained, try vacuuming them up. Although this method means emptying the vacuum bag fairly frequently, it is also very effective.

Create Areas for the Pets

As mentioned earlier, one of the best methods of how to keep dogs off furniture is to create an area for them to hang out. To designate the area as the "dog area", try putting a soft kennel there as well as a cushion or blanket. Adding a few toys to the area will make it seem even more appealing. If a dog loves the couch because of its soft cushions, then buying a soft dog bed could be an excellent alternative so he won't feel sad when he isn't allowed to relax on the couch.

Train Your Dog

The main idea behind how to keep dogs off furniture has to do with the preferred training method according to pet experts. They generally agree that instead of punishing bad or unwanted behavior, it is more effective to reward wanted or good behavior. This means that instead of yanking on a metal collar and saying "off," it is better to offer rewards via a "positive" training method. For this training method to be successful, it requires patience and some knowledge. It relies mostly on non-verbal communications with the occasional verbal addition or hand signal.

Here listed the detailed instruction:

1. The very first step of this process is to teach the dog that any time when he does a good job, he will get some sort of signal (a mechanical clicker, tongue click, finger snap, etc.). To teach this, the signal for positive behavior will be accompanied by a food reward (such as treat, diced chicken, or hotdog). Quickly, the dog will start to associate the food reward with the symbol and try to figure out how to get this reward.

2. In addition, the pet owner should add in a verbal clue that tells the dog he will get a reward if he offers the positive behavior. Later on, the dog should be able to keep this feeling of reward even with plain kibble. At this point, the dog will find the process of earning the reward enough fun to keep trying, but there should always be occasional food rewards to keep the response strong.

3. After the dog associates the clicker or signal with food and good behavior, the next time the dog goes on the couch, produce the signal and food. Tempt the dog to leave the couch with the food and right when he leaves the couch, offer the reward signal. Follow this method two to three times. Afterwards, try teaching the dog the commands of "up" (going on the couch) so he can go back "off" and be rewarded.

4. Next, start throwing in the word "off" and/or a hand signal right before the dog leaves the couch to get him to link this behavior even more.

5. In cases when the goal is to get the dog to go to a dog bed, reward every step along the way. Always be sure that when training a dog to stay off the furniture, he has an alternative spot to lay and be comfortable. In the end, the dog should only go on furniture rarely (due to seeing a better resting spot) and always get off quickly if told to in cases when he does climb up.