Spoo puppy on furniture

2137 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by AgilityIG, Nov 29, 2009

Underpants Gnome

Discussion Starter · Nov 28, 2009

Aaargh! My sister visited over the holiday and let my 3 month old puppy jump up on the furniture and onto people's lap. She is gone now but he seems to think it is okay to jump on the furniture now. Three times today he jumped up and settled in for a long winter's nap. When I see him about to jump up, I say Unh Uhn, and he doesn't jump up. But when he is already up, I can't get him off. I tried urging him off by the collar and he won't move. The only thing that works is to pick him up and set him on the floor. I am really trying to be a firm Mom and it's worked with everything but this. I use the spray bottle as a last resort and it got him to stop chewing the furniture.

Would really appreciate it if someone can advise on the best way to approach this. Most of you seem to have such well-behaved dogs!

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plumcrazy

· #2 · Nov 29, 2009

My dogs are VERY well behaved... but then again, they are allowed on ALL the furniture in my house, so I won't be much help..

I've seen an episode of The Dog Whisperer where the owners could not get the dog to move off the bed, but Cesar stepped up and motioned for the dog to get down and the dog couldn't get off the bed fast enough! His explanation was "pack-leader ENERGY" and the owner didn't have the right or enough energy but Cesar made it look effortless.

Good luck!

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AgilityIG

· #3 · Nov 29, 2009

I love Susan Garrett's "It's Yer Choice" - it's mostly related to impulse control, but I have used it with other things. Vinnie used to hump Robin (my Whippet) quite a bit. When he would do this, I didn't say anything, just calmly picked him up and put him in a crate for a few minutes. No punishment, no warning, no anger. Just a time out type of thing. You could try the same thing. If he gets on the furniture, he goes in a crate for a few minutes - set a timer or something. They learn pretty quickly that the action results in a time out in the crate. Not a huge deal.

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Olie

· #4 · Nov 29, 2009

A lot of people might not approve but I allow the dogs on the couch

hwell:

But I can understand why some do not, Coco has a sensitive belly and when he has thrown up he goes to the couch for some reason ugh! But I have leather it wipes up easy.

So I would suggest just be more firm and take control of the space and when you do it make it a 15 minute training session a day and in a few days I bet you have he's back to the way you trained him in no time. Good luck

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Birdie

· #5 · Nov 29, 2009

Idk, I'm like Plumcrazy, I let my dog on all the furniture he can fit on

If I didn't want him on the furniture, though, I would continue with saying "eh eh" before or after he jumped up on the furniture. I would say that in a firm voice and then move him from the furniture. Like Plumcrazy said, be very confident, firm, and assertive. Make sure he understands that you aren't playing around. If you say "eh eh" then you have to follow through every time. If you have to pick him up like you are now, do it until he understands that you say "off"/whatever you want to say, you want him to get off the couch. If he gets off the couch when you tell him, you could maybe give him a treat and "good boy".

Also, do you have a dog bed for him? Getting him a soft bed just for himself could encourage him to leave the furniture for you guys and the bed for him.

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spoospirit

· #6 · Nov 29, 2009

Birdie said:
Idk, I'm like Plumcrazy, I let my dog on all the furniture he can fit on

If I didn't want him on the furniture, though, I would continue with saying "eh eh" before or after he jumped up on the furniture. I would say that in a firm voice and then move him from the furniture. Like Plumcrazy said, be very confident, firm, and assertive. Make sure he understands that you aren't playing around. If you say "eh eh" then you have to follow through every time. If you have to pick him up like you are now, do it until he understands that you say "off"/whatever you want to say, you want him to get off the couch. If he gets off the couch when you tell him, you could maybe give him a treat and "good boy".

Also, do you have a dog bed for him? Getting him a soft bed just for himself could encourage him to leave the furniture for you guys and the bed for him.

Ditto! I allow the poodles to get on the furniture and in my bed because they don't smell or shed. Mine do have soft beds on the floor and actually spend more time on those than jumping up for a nap on the couch.

If it was something I did not want done, I would follow the advice above.

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Underpants Gnome

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 29, 2009

Thanks for all of the great advice. I needed to hear the "be firm". I know he does not respect me as much as he does my husband and I need to change that now. Puppy and I just returned from a great walk and I feel empowered. No pulling at the leash and he sat everytime I stopped walking!! Amazing how it works if I stay relaxed and just expect him to do what I tell him to do.

I completely understand about letting them on the furniture (my cats are allowed anywhere they want, except the kitchen counter), but we decided that we probably would not want a 70 lb poodle jumping into our laps or sleeping on the funiture. So as much as I love cuddlying him, I'm sticking with off the furniture. Right now all of our training is based on how we want a huge dog to behave. Well trained dogs are such a pleasure to be around.

He is crate trained and goes right in when I say "crate", but I thought that I wasn't supposed to use the crate as punishment. So it's okay to use it for a short time-out?

As far as a dog bed, he is actually happy to lay on the floor next to the couch. I did have a dog bed but after he peed in it three times, I decided not to keep it around. The crate has a nice soft pad.

Again, thanks for the advice and support. Puppy training is a full time job!

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plumcrazy

· #8 · Nov 29, 2009

Underpants Gnome said:
but we decided that we probably would not want a 70 lb poodle jumping into our laps or sleeping on the funiture.

Welll... I don't know about THAT... Like my daughter says, "The best lap-dog is the one who takes up your whole lap!"

I think the biggest thing to remember with using the crate for a time out is not to make it a negative experience. You REALLY don't want your puppy to dread the crate. If your attitude is one of justice, calm and assertive (no anger, frustration, etc.), that will be very important. If an angry person makes a dog go into their crate, the dog will sense the anger and it will be a negative for him. If a calm person does the same thing, the dog will not feel those negative emotions coming from the person and the crate won't become the centerpoint of something bad...

Good luck with your re-training (and maybe you want to re-think the whole 70 pound dog in your lap, thing!!) Look how many of us do it!

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AgilityIG

· #9 · Nov 29, 2009

Underpants Gnome said:
He is crate trained and goes right in when I say "crate", but I thought that I wasn't supposed to use the crate as punishment. So it's okay to use it for a short time-out?

Like Plumcrazy said - a time out is fine - since he is fine in his crate and you have built up value (good things) for being in the crate, it is not "punishment", it is just a time out. Simple as that.

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