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Hi all - I'm just curious - how many of you let your dogs on the furniture? What do you think are the pros and cons of doing so?
Couch - yes or no?
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I've done both. My previous dog was too big to be on the couch, so I trained him not to. (well, considering all the dog hair on the couch, I trained him not to when we were there to see.) My current dog is half the size, so he has his own spot on the couch.
If you're going to allow a dog on the couch, 2 things: 1) either get a leather/pleather couch or put a blanket over it to catch the hair, and 2) teach an "off" command. Dogs can get a bit snappy about being grabbed by the collar and forced off furniture, so have the command trained or use food to lure him off until you get that trained. (My mother in law just throws a treat across the room to get Kabota to move. She doesn't seem to get that commands work.)
If you're going to allow a dog on the couch, 2 things: 1) either get a leather/pleather couch or put a blanket over it to catch the hair, and 2) teach an "off" command. Dogs can get a bit snappy about being grabbed by the collar and forced off furniture, so have the command trained or use food to lure him off until you get that trained. (My mother in law just throws a treat across the room to get Kabota to move. She doesn't seem to get that commands work.)
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Big dogs ... not allowed. Their toe nails have a tendency to be like a heavy duty garden rake IME. (even when trimmed) Little dogs ... depends as to how they behave. If they don't chew or dig for a comfy spot and are minimal shedders ... I allow them. I do however train all dogs the "Off" command. 
Heavens ... I have one who enjoys nothing more than sitting on top of the back of all the chairs!
Heavens ... I have one who enjoys nothing more than sitting on top of the back of all the chairs!
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Our dogs are allowed on the sofa and our bed. We had the cat first and he always gets on the furniture. When we got Colby she wanted to be up there, too and Ace followed suit. We don't have covers or blankets. We just vacuum the sofa once a week. Colby is very good about getting off when I tell her to. Ace has never gotten snappy, but he totally goes "dead weight" and leans into me whenever I tell him he needs to get off (usually because I'm annoyed that he is trying to lay on me) and I'll just push him off...lol
Ah, the quality sucks, but here's a picture of them. Both in their favorite spots:
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Ah, the quality sucks, but here's a picture of them. Both in their favorite spots:
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mine are allowed on the furniture and bed....it gets vacuumed off when i vacuum the rest of the house.....training them to get "off" was simple, training the SO? not so well....conversation something like this SO "Dog, get down." (dog looks at him, already "down") "I said, get down!" (dog looks at him) me: "Dog, off!" (dog gets off)....SO: "Why didn't they do it when i told them?" "B/c it's "off" not "down"....they were already down" SO: "Stupid dog!" yeah, ok....and he STILL don't get it!!!!
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Hmm okay - thanks for all the input. Bonnie was allowed on furniture in her previous home(when her previous owner lived by herself she said bonnie used to sleep with her in bed). So Bonnie thinks its okay at our house. Mind you - she already has managed to chew a couple cushions and if my daughter spilled some of her snacks - she gets ont he couch and "Digs" there...LOL So Im a bit nervous about that. But - she knows shes not allowed...but Id love to snuggle up with her one day and watch tv or something...I currently sit on the floor next to her and she will kinda lean back on me and get her belly rubs and kisses. Shes not a big lapdog though - she has her independent times..where she will take her bone into our living room (with no family around) and chew by herself there. We do keep an eye on her though...as she has peed in the area in the beginning
My parents always allowed their dogs on the sofas so when Hamish came to live with us it was a given that he'd be allowed on the furniture, however we did put a throw over because he likes to do a bit of digging from time to time (no damage, just getting comfy). These days he seems to prefer his basket - not sure if it's because he needs a bit of help to get up, but if he shows any interest I always lift him on.
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Gypsy is not allowed on the couch.
It wouldn't bother me all that much, but the folks prefer to have the couches free of scratches and dog hair. It's also nice that when I bring Gypsy to relatives' and the BF's houses, she doesn't jump on their furniture. It would be frowned upon there.
It wouldn't bother me all that much, but the folks prefer to have the couches free of scratches and dog hair. It's also nice that when I bring Gypsy to relatives' and the BF's houses, she doesn't jump on their furniture. It would be frowned upon there.
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mine go to work w/ me and have never tried to get on the furniture there.....they seemed to know from the start that it was off limits there (even tho as wee bairns i would put them up there next to me...up to about 3 mo)
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Hitch is allowed on everything. The only exception is that on the leather couch and chair he has to sit on a towel which is always on the couch and chair. He is reallly good about only sitting on the towel on the leather furniture.
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Lady & Buddy are allowed on the couch & Sometimes allowed in the bed. They only get on when we say "up" & they get down when we say "Off couch".
~Erica~
~Erica~
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He's allowed.
As long as he gets off when cued, and waits for invitation to get on.
If he does that - no problem. He's allowed in chairs, couches, bed, my lap, whatever.
Of course, when Wally fell off the bed once, I laughed so hard. He tried to play it off so bad. "What, I meant to do that. Really."
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Since our cats have already done their damage to the furniture, we don't stop the dog from getting on things. We keep her nails filed down and she has shorter hair than the cats. It was funny one time when she thought she could jump up on the back of the couch as easily as her Persian cat buddy. Her expression was like "That's not as easy as it looks!"
One furniture problem we've had with her is using her little "seam ripper" teeth to extract stuffing from pillows and couch cushions. It's worked to get her some cheap dollar store stuffed pillows and toys that are hers and that she can rip up while training "leave it" for the furniture and pillows.
One furniture problem we've had with her is using her little "seam ripper" teeth to extract stuffing from pillows and couch cushions. It's worked to get her some cheap dollar store stuffed pillows and toys that are hers and that she can rip up while training "leave it" for the furniture and pillows.
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My little dogs are pretty well non-shedding so they are allowed on the couch and bed but Susie has to sleep on the floor or her bed as she sheds so bad. I even went out and bought a new vacuum to vacuum up her hair so she could lie on the carpet.
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Thats what I'm worried about mostly- cuz she likes sucking out the stuffing - she doesnt eat the stuffing but she pulls it all out.
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Small nonshedding dogs (as long as they're clean): yes on the couch, no on the bed
Large hairballs: NO, no, and no! Our late lab (RIP Chipper!) never was allowed on the couch; too big and too hairy! He had a very comfy memory foam bed on the floor, though!
Large hairballs: NO, no, and no! Our late lab (RIP Chipper!) never was allowed on the couch; too big and too hairy! He had a very comfy memory foam bed on the floor, though!
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5,932 Posts
I was married with kids before I finally got my first dog. They are allowed anywhere they want to go. We got leather furniture FOR the dogs.
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Both my small dogs have access to the bed and couch. Their favorite spots are on top of the back of the couch... I guess because they're small and it's so high.
Coco doesn't shed so no hair. Lucky theoretically sheds, but she actually doesn't seem to all that much. My couch is dark colored so stains don't show, and so far it's been sturdy enough to survive any digging or biting attempts. The biggest issue is just the thought of tracking dirt onto the couch that I can't see. So the couch gets vaccuumed, and at times, cleaned.
As for the bed... well, I wash my bed spread once a week so there's no real issues there. The biggest issue is Lucky wanting to sleep right on top of my chest.
Coco doesn't shed so no hair. Lucky theoretically sheds, but she actually doesn't seem to all that much. My couch is dark colored so stains don't show, and so far it's been sturdy enough to survive any digging or biting attempts. The biggest issue is just the thought of tracking dirt onto the couch that I can't see. So the couch gets vaccuumed, and at times, cleaned.
As for the bed... well, I wash my bed spread once a week so there's no real issues there. The biggest issue is Lucky wanting to sleep right on top of my chest.
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