[Liamfm]

Hi, Willie Nelson is a lovable dog, about 2 years old, and LOVES the couch.

We have a chair for him in his room - an old satalite chair - but I'd rather not have him on the livingroom furniture.

Can anyone tell me the best way to get him to stay off the couch?

Also (and this probably makes it harder) - there is a chair in the room with a slipcover. I don't mind if he goes to that chair, and even invite him up sometimes, but the couch and loveseat should be off limits.

If I have to give up the lap dog on the chair in order to train him I will.

Thanks, let me know what works best. This is our first basset and they have a mind of their own.

 

[BubbaLeroy]

You can try this!! :lol:

Actually we did this to keep Bubba (ATB) off the couches when he hurt two discs in his back.
Pretty funny, since we sat inside the fence, and he roamed outside. He was baby gated from
the other rooms in the house. The vet told us Bassets and jumping on furniture make for $$$
in her practice treating the bad backs.

I hope you get some good ideas. We never could keep Bubba off the furniture, since he
was allowed jump on furniture where we got him from as a 8 month old. Bogie was never
allowed on the furniture, an out side kennel dog until we got him at 10 months, and he is
content with his bed on the floor.

 

[Elvismom]

I don't have this problem since my dogs are welcome on my furniture.

However, people who want to keep their dogs off furniture swear by the plastic stuff you put down on carpets for office chairs that has the pointy things sticking up on one side. Put it on the furniture that you don't want them on with the pointy side up and they'll get the message.

 

[faysie]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm sorry ... I know you asked a serious question. I will tell you what I had to do an I will try not to laugh.

Our living room looked similar to the photo with the fence around the sofa. When I first started training mine to have free run of the house ...but NOT the furniture ...I had to stand the cushions upright, we put "stuff" on the areas where there was surface to lay. Anything to make it uncomfortable. That's what worked for us EVENTUALLY. Unfortunately they don't know one chair from another so we did it room by room. We managed to train ours to have their own two chairs in another room and those are the ONLY pieces of furniture they are allowed on. But they are in a different room. Their little minds couldn't wrap around the concept of having those two chairs in the common area so we moved them out entirely and it somehow worked.

It was not easy and I can't say I didn't come home MANY times to find little white hairs on the living room furniture. I just made a huge production of it and eventually it stopped. It can be done but you have to be basically as stubborn as they are. I know I must have seemed like a fool as I stood there shouting and pointing at the offending cushion ...but it worked. They knew they had done wrong and started to slink away.

It can be done ...

:lol:

 

[Terry]

When we adopted Moe we tried in vain to keep him off the loveseat. After a while we gave up, allowing him the loveseat. Next he set out to conquer the couch with the same stubborn determination that he used to get the loveseat. Eventually that too became Moe's. But when he set his greedy sights on my husband's lazyboy my husband dug in his heels and refused to give in... for a time. One night Moe sat in front of my husband (who was comfortably seated in HIS chair) and whined, moaned, groaned, and sighed. Then he seemingly gave up and went to the door and scratched to go out. My husband got up to open the door for him and Moe turned, practicaly FLEW past him, and jumped up in the chair! :blink: Then he curled up and pretended to be instantly asleep. <_< Outwitted by a Dog! We gave in and now we sit wherever Moe isn't sitting. Of course, it was never really a big issue for us because our furniture was several years old when we got Moe. I want new furniture but my husband knows that we probably couldn't (and I WOULDN'T ) keep Moe off it so he says no new stuff till Moe passes on. (sad face for the idea of Moe leaving us, not about waiting for new furniture)

My friend has a new leather couch (a necessity after one of her young Bassets chewed a HUGE hole in the old couch) and now she has THREE young Bassets. She uses a "Scat-mat". It's a mat that covers the couch and has an battery-powered alarm in it that goes off if the dog jumps on it. It works for her...

 

[Daisy'sLady]

This is a problem i would have no clue of how to fix. We like to sit with our hounds ( they're just so warm and cozy ) Sooo... instead we chose to minimize the dog hair damage and bought a leather loveseat and sofa... waaay easier to keep clean.

 

[Dean]

small mouse traps===if you want to be kind , put several pieces of newapaper over them

 

[2hounds]

With my childhood dogs my parents set mouse traps. As the dogs got older the rules eased up and if they could jump up, they were allowed up. As for my 2 we just make a big deal when we find evidence of someone being on the couch and they both run off and hide. When we're not looking I'm sure they get up there though. As a matter of fact each afternoon when I get home from work I let them out and then come on the computer. When I let them back in they run the usual Basset 500, during which I can hear one of them (or perhaps they take turns) jump up on the couch and quickly down as part of their run. Friday night when we had some friends over I caught Gibbs in action. He ran down from the other end of the hall, up one side of the couch, down the other, around the coffee table, and back down the hall. I don't have the time or determination to keep the couch 100% dog free. I just know they do not get on it with me in the same room at least, and fuss at them when I find the evidence.

~Heather

 

[Liamfm]

Wow, thanks so much for everyone's replies! Some good ideas and some good stories as well. You're all right about them being so warm and cuddly - I enjoy that aspect of the Basset as well.

I'll try the newspaper with the mouse traps sometime and see if that works. I know Willie checked out a trap we had set (for a mouse, not a dog) when we moved in to our new home. It only took once for him to realize he shouldn't play with mouse traps. I never thought to put them on the furniture though! Great idea!


Thanks,
Liam

 

[Rubydoo]

When Ruby was a puppy she pulled a muscle getting off the couch and we decided she should be on the floor after that.

So....we gave her two nice fluffy beds, and every time she was getting near the couch, we told her NO! We laid down the kitchen chairs in front of the couch and she was scared of them and it only took a day. We only had minimal furniture then so it was easy.

We had to tell her NO! alot but finally by evening it took.

Now if we go traveling and stay in a hotel, and put her on the bed, she's stressed out and uncomfortable. She's much rather be on her fluffy beds (floor).

Janice and little Ruby

 

[FredMom]

I tried to get Fred off of the loveseat. I tried the Doggie Off Spray and everything, but it did NOT work. I've just let him have it and I keep it clean by shampooing the upholsery about one a month or so. I just call it Fred's loveseat. He is a lounge hound for sho!

 

[Mikey T]

Hi, Willie Nelson is a lovable dog, about 2 years old, and LOVES the couch.
Can anyone tell me the best way to get him to stay off the couch?

Also (and this probably makes it harder) - there is a chair in the room with a slipcover. I don't mind if he goes to that chair, and even invite him up sometimes, but the couch and loveseat should be off limits.

If I have to give up the lap dog on the chair in order to train him I will.[/b]

If you don't want dog on the furniture it is best and easiest for the human to learn the rule no dogs on any furniture at any time. bed, chair, couch, table. whatever. THe reason is not because the dog can't learn but rather human enevitably introduce so many exceptions that their is no rules but rather arbitrary assertions than no dog could ever learn.

Second it is much easier to train a dog that has never been allowed on the furniture in the first place. Once a dog has learned to get on furniture it is much harder to retrain

1. first step is prevention the dog must not be allowed to get on the furniture when you are not around to prevent it. keep him out of the room. boobytrap the furniture with somthing like a scat mat

2. Keep in mind the number one reason a dog get up on the furniture is to be with you. If you don't meet the dogs need for personnal attention it will seek it out. So you will need to spend time on the floor with your dog a lot of time.

3. the other reason the dog get on furniture is quite frankly it is generally more comfortable than it crummy mat sitting in the corner of the room. Make sure the dog has a comfortable bedding that is in reasonable close proximity to you when you are on the furniture


Fwie in the end most people find it easier to deal with the pet hair and smell from the dog being allowed on the furniture than the rigor one must go through to train them not to get on the furniture in the first place, especially once the dog has learned the joy and comfort of being on the furniture.