dogs and couch

I have two dogs that love to sleep on the couch, they have been allowed in the past on our older couch and love seat to sleep there at times but now we have new furniture and I want them to learn to STAY off.
the dogs are 6 years old so time to learn a new trick for old dogs and undo a behavior that used to be allowed some.

I have put news papers on the furniture and that works some but they have learned to pull off some and make room to get up there, I have been sternly saying no and being consistant but they just wait for us to go to bed and they sneak up there and when they hear us coming down the hall they jump off and act inocent,lol.
Any good tips or help?

 

WWC,

I totally understand your concern and wish to keep them off the couch. Been There, Doing That! We recently got a second hand, but immaculate leather sofa and loveseat and our pets have always been allowed up on our furniture.

Now we are trying to decide between not at all, or allowing them up, but protecting the furniture when we are not there to watch them.

We have "sofa savers" on them right now, and it does a good job overall. But I am still thinking that we should not allow them on there at all. So I am looking into getting a couple of "Scat Mats". I have had a lot of folks who have had excellent luck with the mats, and we at present are having good luck with the sofa savers.

Below are links to the product types I am referring to:

The Sofa Saver:
X-Large Sofa Saver : Cabela's

The Scat Mat:
Cabela's -- Scat Mat

Both types of products work well, depending upon which way you decide to go. I suggest really thinking about it and then doing some shopping around, or, if you decide to go with the sofa savers, and know someone who sews (I made ours), there are patterns you can purchase to make your own.

Hope this helps, do keep us posted!

 

thank you for the help. I'll look into those.
They have very soft and fluffy beds on the floor but it's never enough for them,lol.

 

well i found some carpet savers at a hardware store that have "nubbies" on the bottom for deep carpet and i bought two pieces one shorter piece for the love seat and one longer for the couch, I put them nubbie side up and the dogs don't get up there now. after a few days one found that she could bump a cusion ( pillow ) down on top and then relax on the cusion , so now i have to move cushions more out of way.

This is becoming a war and it is a pain to keep putting down the matt on the couches each night.
I'm not sure it will even work, they are like prisoners just waiting for the guard to leave the door ajar,lol.

 

WWC,

You might try tying them on? I am not sure if it would work or not, but it's worth a try.

 

well a month has gone by and the war is still on, if i forget one time to put the plastic covers on the couches they take advantage of it and jump up on them.

I put the pillows away from them and this is becoming a hassel for me now .

I feel like this is a losing battle for me.

 

WWC,

Sorry to hear it is still a battle for you. I failed to ask at first, but are your dogs crate trained? Or do you have a way to block them in a specific room? We put our dogs in the kitchen, and keep them in there when we are not home, by use of a child gate. It takes some time to get them used to it, either crate training or confining them to a specific room, but it might be the way to win the battle if you are not having luck with the alternatives.

I have all of my dogs crate trained from almost birth, or at least the moment they enter our house, I don't take no for an answer when it comes to that. I also have my small dogs pad trained, so we don't have to worry about accidents.

I am not sure what else to suggest, other than the scat mat may be worth the cost. Either that or a good heavy blanket, tucked under the cushions, when you are not sitting on the furniture.

 

they are not crate trained and roam freely around the house.
not sure how long this power struggle will lst before the figure out they are not allowed to get up there and give up, seems like right now they just wait for a opening,lol.

 

WWC,

Hmmm, ok, well along with "training" them not to get on the couch, depending upon the style of cushions on the couch, hopefully I explain this clearly enough so you can try this:

Take the cushions off, lay a blanket over the back of the couch, with one end in the area the cushions sit in. Put the cushions back on, on top of the part of the blanket that is in their spot. Then fold the blanket around the cushions and tuck it in. It is sort of like making a bed, you actually want to wrap the cushions in the blanket. While not keeping the dogs off the sofa, it will at least protect it from hair and paws.

I will keep thinking but, so far what I have suggested are things that have worked for me, and others...

Do not give up though...and do keep us posted.

 

thanks, i'm trying to teach them to not get on at any time instead of allowing them on there sometimes, they will never figure out they are allowed when the blanket is on and this is already a pain and to make a bed of sorts for them is way too much trouble ,lol.

i'll keep trying and give updates maybe they are about to give in and give up,lol.

 

well 7 months into this and still they get up there the first chance they get EVERYTIME.
i put news papers on the furniture and that stops them sometimes and then other times they simple wipe them off and lie down. with the plastic on they stay off most of the time but also slide it off enough to get on.
I don't think they are gonna break this habit and give up yet,lol.

 

Well I was hoping...but, I suppose dogs can be a stubborn as some folks.