"My dog climbs on the couch, what can I do?" We have heard this phrase many times, so don't be surprised if the your dog's relationship with the sofa is equal to or better than yours. Dogs love to be comfortable, just like you. We are going to help you with tips on how to keep the dog from getting on the sofa , because if your dog does not respect a space that is not his, it is usually a sign of poor training.
Who doesn't like to lie on the sofa? It is probably the most comfortable corner in the whole house (except, perhaps, for the bed). Well, if you love being on the couch, don't expect your dog to dislike it. Your sofa doesn't just smell like you, it's also a comfortable place , with a touch and hardness that dogs love.
However, as comfortable as it can be this place for your dog, do not forget that textile surfaces do our furry ones a disservice, since that is where mites proliferate, tiny beings that can cause allergies in your best friend.
Going a little deeper into the matter, we have to delve into the learned behavior of dogs . When a new pet comes home, we often let it explore the home and acclimatize. In his process of looking around practically every corner, he will almost certainly end up on the sofa or on the bed.
Maybe, moved by the emotion or tenderness of the moment, it has not occurred to you deter the dog , which means putting the first stone in the reinforcement of a behavior that can very easily become a habit.
The fact that the dog climbs on the sofa may not be bad in himself, as long as he understands that he has other exclusive places for him. The problem comes when the dog takes over the sofa and considers that place to be his . Dissuading him from this habit will require a high dose of patience and some knowledge about dog training, which we will try to reflect in the next section.
Tips to prevent the dog from climbing on the sofa or sleeping on it
We all know that the best way to train dogs is by using rewards to reinforce those behaviors that we want them to learn. With these prizes or snacks, we usually teach them what words or phrases mean, such as “sit down”, “give me the paw” or simply a “no”.
If your dog has a habit of climbing on the sofa, he has come the moment you teach him what the word "low" or "down" means. You will have to do this exercise on some step (not on the sofa itself) and also use a leash so that, based on jerks, your mission is successful.
You can do this training in two ways:
- Sit down and invite him to come up with you: tell him “come on”, let him come up (because he will eventually) and give him a snack. Then tell him "low". He may not understand it, so he says this word again as you help him down using the leash. As soon as he's down, give him another snack. Repeat this sequence as many times as necessary.
- When you tell him to “go up”, stop him by pulling on the leash: he will feel uncomfortable and will begin to associate “ go up” with a jerk. When you tell him to “go up” and he doesn't come up, give him a snack. Repeat the process several times, until you make sure he never comes up again.
Turn the sofa into an unpleasant place for him
As a support measure to prevent your dog from climbing on the sofa, you can try to turn the tables and make the sofa no longer such an attractive place for him
- Fill the sofa with objects that are clearly not inviting to sit down or whose removal is mandatory, such as folding chairs or boxes
- Cover all these objects with blankets, so that your dog doesn't see everything.
- Leave the rest of the doors of the house closed so that he doesn't have a place alternative to lie down on (for example, some bed or another sofa).
In this way, there will come a time when climbing on the sofa will no longer be associated with the old concept of comfort.
Give him a comfortable mattress
No less important is to provide your best friend with a place that is just for him, and that reproduces the properties of the bed or the sofa. We strongly recommend using the memory foam mattress balukaDREAM by baluka, as it has the same quality feel and hardness similar to that of a sofa. Given the choice, of course your dog will end up preferring his own mattress to having to go to your sofa.
The fact that your dog climbs on the sofa does not have to be something bad, since you can also train it to go up (and down) when you ask it, but always being you who is in charge and not him. Complementing these teachings with a comfortable mattress for him will only help a lot in his learning.
