Keep off the furniture?

[doggonner]

I adopted Buddy about 3 weeks ago. He's approx. 2 years (according to vet). He's very obedient and I haven't had any problems with him until now....

Buddy is free to all areas of my home. However, I don't want him on the furniture. I got him his own dog bed which he does use but when he thinks I'm not around, I find him sleeping on the couch. The few times I've caught him, I say a firm no! and then "down" but he won't budge. He just rolls over and acts really loveable like "but I'm so cute, don't be mad!" He won't get down unless I give him a gentle prodding by collar to get down. Now this is occuring more often and no matter how firmly I am, it continues. I put him in a "down" "stay" in the corner of another room immediately after removing him from the couch (drastic measures . Getting him into the corner is difficult as well. He acts like dead weight, rolls over on his back, gets really nervous and starts peeing and I have to pull him to the corner. So how do I correct this behavior? Making him go in the corner is the most progressive discipline I've done and yet he continues to do this and now it's occuring even more often. It seems the more I discipline the behavior, the more often it's occuring.

BTW, it's definately not for lack of attention. I spend loads of time with Buddy and he is also very active (lots of walks, running, etc.)

Please help! ANY comments are appreciated. (I'm new at this).

[CarolineS]

Buddy was probably allowed on the furniture where he lived before and doesn't understand the problem now.

From what you've described, I would say your dog is probably timid by nature. When you yell at him to down and he rolls over, he's not saying "look at me, I'm so cute". He is saying "please don't kill me!" That is also why he is dead weight, lying on his back, and peeing. These are signs dogs give to each other to indicate that they are lower in rank and submissive. The alpha dog recognizes these signs and leaves the more submissive one alone. You haven't left him alone and so by the time you get him to the corner, he is so very terrified, he has no idea what he has done! When you approach a timid dog this way, he will freeze up on you and nothing will get through.

A better solution would be to choose a different command than "down" (because to him it only means "lie down"). Perhaps use "off" instead. With a dog of this nature, you have to be very quiet and calm, never yell or use physical punishment. Try luring him off the couch with a dog cookie. Give the command as you lure him off, praise when he does it and reward him with the cookie.

You probably think he shouldn't be "rewarded" for doing something bad. He has no idea he's done something bad, so you're not rewarding him. He thinks he's being rewarded for getting off the couch, which is exactly right. With a timid dog, praise, food and quiet handling is the only way to go.

[This message has been edited by CarolineS (edited September 03, 1999).]

[DonnaJo]

Good advice Caroline,

When I first read this I thought OH MY GOD what is this person doing the dog is absoultly terrified. Can't even imagine the poor life it must have had so far. So I had to wait till I calmed down anough to be able to reply,

This dog does not need "time out" and "dragging" it needs you to understand why it is displaying this behavior. As Caroline suggested use the word "off" and lure with treats, it will take you time and patience as obviously this dog was allowed on furniture before.

[doggonner]

Caroline,

Thanks for your reply. That does make sense to me. I will try that. I must say that it broke my heart to do as I detailed above. Everything else I have done with him (training) has been based on rewarding the positive behavior and has been working just great for me.

I'm so curious about Buddy's background and have no information about him at all. I was wondering if you think he behaves that way (timid, frightened, etc.) because he came from an abusive home? I wish he could talk!

Thanks again.

[Mom of Sophie]

Buddy probably wants to be on the sofa because it smells like you.

I use "off" for my dogs when I want them to move. But for me, the big issue was deciding whether or not I actually wanted them to be "off" the furniture all the time.

I used to enforce "off," years ago. But one day I had an epiphany, and I asked myself, "Why are you doing this? Bedding washes. Sofa cushions can be cleaned off. Why are you so hell bent on sticking to this rule?"

And the answer was, "It's not my rule. It's my parents' rule." I decided that my dogs were a part of my family and that since the rest of the family gets to be on the sofa, and on the bed, and on the chairs, my dogs should be allowed there too. If you're worried about odor, you could put a blanket over the sofa or the chair and remove it when guests come. Or you could take the attitude that I did - I don't bother with covering my furniture - I just live with the dog smell, and if others can't I don't care if they visit me.

When I need more space, they get off when I tell them to. But most of the time when I'm on the sofa, I have a doberman/boxer lying behind my knees. At night, my husband and I sleep (on a bigger bed we had to buy) with a doberman/boxer and a rottie. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Carol Burke]

I used to have one dog that was on my sofa the minute my back was turned, I finally gave in and allowed them all on the sofa until the day I could not sit on the sofa because four Rottweilers were there and wouldn't move. So, I took a tennis racket and put it on one end of the couch, then I spread magazines on the rest of the couch. That ended the couch problem. They don't even attempt to get on the couch.

[CarolineS]

doggoner,

It is possible he came from an abusive home and figures he's going to get belted when he hears an angry voice. He may well just be of a timid nature and his previous owners got rid of him because they wanted a "big, bad Rottie with an attitude".

Either way, you need to treat him calmly, praise a lot, reward a lot, and use positive motivation for him to come to trust you. There are some excellent books out there that will help you train your dog in a positive manner. Some authors to look for are Karen Pryor, Jean Donaldson and Ian Dunbar. They all approach training from the dog's perspective and help you to learn to reinforce positive behaviors.

Anything else that comes up, no matter how silly or small it may seem, if it worries you, don't hesitate to post here. There are lots of really experienced people here who will give you good advice.

[doggonner]

Thanks for the comments everyone, I truly appreciate them. I'm wondering where the icon is for the person slapping their hand off their forehead? Because that's me, right now as I think through exactly what I did before I had posted my original post. When Buddy was on the couch, I'd say "down". Well, down to him means lie down even though I was meaning down from the furniture. Then, I'd say, "out". I usually say "out?" when I go to the back door to see if he wants to go out in the back yard. Certainly, this was a lesson to me as well to pay extreme attention to what I am saying.

Next time, I will try what Caroline suggested but he hasn't done it again yet, so I haven't had the chance. But thanks again everyone.

[AngelBunny]

A friend placed those wood baby gates on the sofas he didn't want his dog to use as beds. They were removed when guests came.

We go for the dogs are allowed on the sofa approach--after all, both sleep in the bed with us, so it's foolish to say they can't snooze on the sofas. (Our older dog even has her own chair--it's downstairs in the TV room & was bought new along w/ the sofa!)

We spent $700 to have the sofa in the living room reupholstered. The dogs can sleep on it whenever they want. I do have a nice blanket on the sofa that gets washed every other week. This blanket is removed when company stops by.

Both dogs know the "off" command because one thing we don't allow is for them to be on the sofas or bed, chewing a bone or other treat.

[rottix2]

I have dog beds everywhere it seems, but KD just likes the couch better, so I decided to allow both dogs onto it. I bought an inexpensive comforter which I normally leave thrown over the couch. When the comforter starts looking grubby, into the wash it goes. When non-doggy company shows up, I just fold it up and have a relatively clean piece of furniture for the guests to use. I did however also teach the dogs the "off" command, because if I want to lie on the sofa to read or relax, unfortunately (in their minds)they will have to move.

[Jen]

Here are a couple tricks you can try if you choose to not have a couch potato. Take tin foil and unroll it across the couch. Tuck it in on either side between the cushions so it doesn't fall off. Some dogs don't like the sound or the feel when they try to lay on it. You can also mousetrap the couch. Take a couple mousetraps, set them on the couch and cover them carefully with a layer of newspaper. The paper covering will protect the dog from getting hit with the trap, plus when he tries to jump up on the couch the traps will go off hitting the newspaper making a terrible noise. The intent is not to hurt the dog (If you cover the traps properly, they will never touch the dog), but to make the dog think the couch "attacked him." Faced with the decision of a comfy dog bed vs. a noisy couch. He will pick the doggy bed.

[phatt_beats]

my last dog never went on furniture by his own decision .. guess he felt he was too big (shepherd/wolf X) but my rottie does .. so why deny him a comfy place to sleep .. he doesn't sleep in my bed and he knows the off command when i want the couch so all i do is cover the furniture with blankets which are easy enough to wash .. for some strange reason since using the blanket approach he doesn't get up on the furniture unless there is a blanket there .. )