Do You Want To Share The Couch With Your Dog? Basic Furniture Training

For some dog owners, true bliss consists of curling up next to their pet on the sofa. This scenario gives other owners the heebie jeebies, because they firmly believe the furniture is for people only. These are both reasonable attitudes to have, and as long as you train your dog responsibly you can either share your comfy space or preserve it as the domain of two-legged family members. Here are some points to consider before you set your "dogs on furniture" policy.

Consistency Is Key

You need to think carefully about whether or not you want your dogs on the furniture, because it's not a decision you can waffle on. There are very valid arguments on both sides of the issue, so you're perfectly entitled to come down either way. The one thing you can't do is make your dog understand that sometimes climbing on the furniture is okay and sometimes it's not. Once you make your decision, you have to stick with it and hold your pets to it.

Problematic Behavior To Watch Out For

Most people who want to keep their dogs off of couches, beds, and chairs are mainly concerned with cleanliness. This is a reasonable issue to take, as even dogs who spend most of their time indoors can put a lot of wear and tear on furniture. If you're comfortable with the increased wear and shedding issues, there's nothing wrong with letting your pooch up onto your furniture. The only time you want to take issue with this policy is if your dog gets greedy about sitting space. Aggressive dogs that consider the furniture "theirs" and refuse to share space with humans are a real problem. If you run into this situation, you'll probably want to re-establish order by breaking your pet of the habit of getting on the furniture.

Helpful Training Techniques

In order to train a dog to stay off the furniture, you need to focus on two basic commands. One is a simple "off" command - your dog should understand that he's not allowed to be on the furniture. To effectively train a dog to respond to this command, you need to provide an alternative. You also want your dog to respond to a command to "go to your place." Once you have the right tools in place, you can use ordinary positive reinforcement techniques to teach your dog that staying off the furniture is good behavior. In certain cases, crating your dog when you're out of the home may be necessary.