Dogs and Couches

[Hrhpd]

double post

 

[Elle23]

Havanese - small, non shedding- couch ok
Aussie/Lab mix - 50 lbs, sheds, comfy dog bed - no couch

That is breedist!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

*

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

I don't have a dog at the moment, but have never and would never let a dog on the furniture. It's hard enough keeping the couch clean with kids and I don't want to worry about the kids letting the dog in, forgetting to wipe his paws and then we end up with poop or whatever else on the furniture. We also prefer big dogs and have limited couch space.

The following are issues that will be more prevalent among certain breeds or even just particular dogs, but also reasons why I prefer them on the floor. My mom's dog is allowed on her furniture and no matter how much she vacuums it, the dog hair is everywhere and triggers my allergies into a frenzy. My brother had the same breed but didn't allow it on the couch and my allergies weren't triggered. Mom's dog has also puked on her bed more times than I can count- a couple of which occured while she was sleeping. I think I'll pass.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

We let the dog sit on the couch, I never really gave it much thought.

 

[jle323]

I love snuggling with my dog on the couch. But I have a small, nonshedding dog. I might feel differently if I had a different breed.

 

[Eeyore daily]

I used to let my dogs on my couch until we got a new one that I wanted to stay nice. They’re allowed on the bed though. Dog hair all over me doesn’t bother me and everyone in my family has dogs that they all spoil so that’s not an issue.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

So far he is still a floor puppy. Lol. I’m not too concerned about him trying to be alpha. He was temperament tested and was shown not to have alpha tendencies and has been consistent with that assessment. He’s also figured out on his own that children are more fragile than adults and is much more gentle and patient with them. But I’m fully aware that he is a dog and will be a big dog and can never be fully trusted.

 

[luvsJack]

What breed do you have?

Different breeds have different levels of submission. Never go into any dog with the attitude that all dogs can be treated the same. I can guarantee you that our dogs challenge the alpha position constantly. If we allowed them to think they were higher up in the pack, we would have very dangerous dogs.

Some breeds are more submissive, even individual dogs within a breed can need different approaches. It is naive to say it is all bullcrap. That is just asking for stitches one day. And I had 35 in my face due to an "alpha" dog when I went to visit her puppies for a potential dog. Best thing that ever happened to me as it made me realize what dogs are capable of. I had met the mother numerous times before and she was a sweetheart.

The secret is being the alpha but, like you say, that doesn’t always mean the same for every dog. Ds has a blue pit. She is allowed on the furniture, in the bed, etc. but she knows her place. She is very well trained and minds any and all commands. But she also loves to cuddle. When I visit she immediately will lay across my lap for pets and scratches. If dgd comes over to sit in my lap the dog either moves over or gets down, no hesitation.

Dd has a German Shepard who is allowed on the furniture but also knows her place. It takes one word and she is down and on her bed.

In your own experience, different animals are different with their offspring. Whether a cat, dog or whatever, with some they welcome the attention to their little ones, others not so much.

 

[maxiesmom]

I've had a German Shepherd, a Coonhound, 2 Labs, and a Beagle. The G S definitely needed the most structure. But she, as all my does, was allowed on the furniture. Having them stay on the floor is not the only way to teach them who is in charge.

 

[laughinplace199]

This is a very timely question as we are getting a puppy in a couple of weeks. My youngest child is 12 and both of his older siblings will be away at school in the fall, so we thought it was the right time for a "puppy brother" so to speak.

Our family room has a couch and two love seats. The furniture is in great shape and at first I was thinking that the dog wouldn't be allowed on it. But then I was thinking that there's nothing DS would love more than to snuggle on the couch with the dog when he's watching TV or something, so now I'm unsure. This may be a stupid question, but I was wondering can you train a dog that he's allowed on one certain couch but not the others? I was thinking we could cover one love seat with a big sheet or blanket and let him only sit on that one (this dog won't shed but I'd want to contain the dog smell, drool, etc).

 

[WorldWacky]

This is a very timely question as we are getting a puppy in a couple of weeks. My youngest child is 12 and both of his older siblings will be away at school in the fall, so we thought it was the right time for a "puppy brother" so to speak.

Our family room has a couch and two love seats. The furniture is in great shape and at first I was thinking that the dog wouldn't be allowed on it. But then I was thinking that there's nothing DS would love more than to snuggle on the couch with the dog when he's watching TV or something, so now I'm unsure. This may be a stupid question, but I was wondering can you train a dog that he's allowed on one certain couch but not the others? I was thinking we could cover one love seat with a big sheet or blanket and let him only sit on that one (this dog won't shed but I'd want to contain the dog smell, drool, etc).

Yes you can train your dog to use one piece of furniture and not another. We do not allow our dog on our couch. She’s a shedder. She sheds so badly that I can’t go one day without vacuuming. And that’s year round. Not just when she’s “losing her winter coat.” She’s a mixed breed golden retriever/hound. Her fur is long, soft and fluffy and if I wanted to start a pillow stuffing business, I could make millions. When we got a new couch I did NOT want to deal with the fur all over it. But when she was a puppy DH allowed her on out bed. She’s way too big to be in the bed with us now and again...the fur! But when I would come home from work I’d see her in my bed if I forgot to close the door. The compromise is everyday, when I make my bed, I cover it with and extra sheet that she can lay on. The fur stays on that and it’s temoved before I use the bed. She waits for the sheet to go in before she’ll hop up.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think some of what's being discussed here is the difference between a stable, and an unstable, dog. From what I see around, there are a lot of unstable dogs out there now. I'm not sure people always even realize it OR know how to deal with it. In some cases, they even encourage it!

I had an encounter with someone like this recently. Two dogs, completely unstable, let off-leash at a dog park and immediately started attacking a young dog. Not only did the owner do nothing to stop it, she reinforced (rewarded) the behavior by patting them when they came back to her! I was stunned!! Furthermore, the owner of the dog who was attacked said it was "Ok". Wth?? Attacked dog, less than a year old, was cowering in the corner with its tail between its legs! Not ok!! That dog was clearly traumatized. (It happened several times.)

The trend seems to be people carrying dogs around with them or bringing them everywhere (I've seen quite a few in shopping carts in retail stores lately which were not service dogs) and treating them inappropriately, reinforcing bad behaviors (whether inadvertent or not) and letting their dogs run the show.

This is my opinion. I get where pp's are coming from when they're talking about how dogs see the world and that they elevate themselves when they're allowed on the sofa. But it's not the whole story. First, you need to have a stable dog, because an unstable dog can be dangerous in any circumstance - and you never know when it will happen. People also need to realize that when dogs are afraid they should NOT be patting them, they should just be leading the way to show the dog that there is nothing to be afraid OF. Act happy, encourage the dog to keep going, etc. But DON'T CODDLE. I know a dog who can't ride in the car because, as a puppy, he was coddled every time he showed fear when he got in the car, instead of just acting like all was ok. The lengths the family has to go to to get him to ride in the car is unbelievable. Do your dogs a favor and don't coddle them.

A stable dog who is INVITED on the sofa understands that if the person wants the dog off, the dog gets off, no problem. An unstable dog, otoh, may bite if you try to get them off the sofa. In fact, my last bite was from one of these unstable dogs. A friend had brought him over and he went up on my sofa. I non-chalantly went to take him off by the collar, which was a natural move for me (as he was NOT invited to go up on there), and he bit me. Turns out he was wearing a shock collar, and he had sensitivity of the neck. My hand was sore, but I felt so sorry for this dog. His people had made him unstable. He was less than a year old. Eventually he was euthanized. And I lost a friendship over it. Somewhere they had gotten very bad advice.

After owning many dogs, I will no longer own an unstable dog. I think people need to be careful about this. There is a big movement right now with dog rescue. Dogs come from some horrific circumstances, but also some circumstances where they may have been rewarded for bad behaviors in their previous lives, or a lot of other unknowns. Not only are they in peoples' homes, they're out among us. I don't like a lot of what I see, not only in how dogs are treated, but even how they're played with (rough, with bite encouragement). It's discouraging. Just as our world has changed in a lot of ways, so has dog ownership, as well. I'm not exactly sure how we got here. Dogs shouldn't be teased or encouraged to bite, EVER. Ideally you spend time with them to develop an actual relationship that is respectful (both ways) and fun. That takes time. A dog can be temperament tested and do well, but if it's not continued, problems can develop.

So yes, I agree with a pp that a dog on the sofa or bed is not the whole story. There are many ways that people show leadership with their dogs. The biggest one is just being there for ongoing interactions day to day where the owner directs the dog on how to act (and how not to act) until a mutually respectful bond develops and life is happy and predictable between you both (or all, if it's a family).

Good Owners, Great Dogs is a book that every dog owner should read.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

One more thought - if you get a rescue dog who's had a rough background, try not to feel sorry for him. Of course you will, but don't let it overshadow the most important thing, which is that he now has to be treated like a regular dog, with regular rules and a lifestyle that helps him become normalized. The best give you give him is adopting him, but the second biggest one is to help him understand how a normal dog acts, and don't reward him for bad behavior because you feel sorry for him. Also, make sure, if the dog has had a really hard time, that it's something that you can realistically take on.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I know a dog who can't ride in the car because, as a puppy, he was coddled every time he showed fear when he got in the car, instead of just acting like all was ok. The lengths the family has to go to to get him to ride in the car is unbelievable. Do your dogs a favor and don't coddle them.

My in-laws dog would get car sick and to the point of throwing up. There wasn't coddling going on there it was he was physically ill in a car. So I could understand if he was not wanting to go in the car.

My cat hates being confined so his carrier he has major issues with despite our best efforts. I suspect the times we've had him in the car to go to the vet he's not felt the best being in the car and being confined (for safety reasons) in the carrier only serves to make it worse. If our vet still does the service I may consider trying to do the house call visit if it's just for a normal checkup. Stressing him out unncessarily makes me uneasy. Last time he was at the vet they had to put him under to check him out he was that agitated. When he's at home he's not like that. I've known dogs who are like that too when it comes to vet places especially. Growing up two out of the 3 old english sheepdogs we had hated the vet's office. Getting in the car wasn't the biggest issue it was when we arrived at the vet's office getting them out of the car was the struggle. Tell 'em you're going to a park and it was a completely different demeanor lol.

I'm sure people do coddle their pets but I don't assume that everytime a pet exhibits fear, apprehension, or extreme reluctance to get into a car that it's due to coddling them.

I non-chalantly went to take him off by the collar, which was a natural move for me (as he was NOT invited to go up on there), and he bit me.

I'm very careful about taking control of other people's pets. I know how to handle my cat others don't necessarily. I always defer to the owner and let them take the control on action and if it's something like jumping up on me when I don't want that I will tell the owner that and let them direct the pet on what not to do. Now there are times where they may say "oh can you.." and that's fine especially when they tell me "oh if you do this they'll stop" kind of talk.

Sorry about the bite (and about the dog being put down)

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My in-laws dog would get car sick and to the point of throwing up. There wasn't coddling going on there it was he was physically ill in a car. So I could understand if he was not wanting to go in the car.

My cat hates being confined so his carrier he has major issues with despite our best efforts. I suspect the times we've had him in the car to go to the vet he's not felt the best being in the car and being confined (for safety reasons) in the carrier only serves to make it worse. If our vet still does the service I may consider trying to do the house call visit if it's just for a normal checkup. Stressing him out unncessarily makes me uneasy. Last time he was at the vet they had to put him under to check him out he was that agitated. When he's at home he's not like that. I've known dogs who are like that too when it comes to vet places especially. Growing up two out of the 3 old english sheepdogs we had hated the vet's office. Getting in the car wasn't the biggest issue it was when we arrived at the vet's office getting them out of the car was the struggle. Tell 'em you're going to a park and it was a completely different demeanor lol.

I'm sure people do coddle their pets but I don't assume that everytime a pet exhibits fear, apprehension, or extreme reluctance to get into a car that it's due to coddling them.

I'm very careful about taking control of other people's pets. I know how to handle my cat others don't necessarily. I always defer to the owner and let them take the control on action and if it's something like jumping up on me when I don't want that I will tell the owner that and let them direct the pet on what not to do. Now there are times where they may say "oh can you.." and that's fine especially when they tell me "oh if you do this they'll stop" kind of talk.

Sorry about the bite (and about the dog being put down)

I never said I assumed that all dogs who don't like riding in cars were coddled. I used one example of someone I know who DID coddle their dog as a puppy and whose dog did go on to develop a pronounced aversion to riding in cars. Sitting there coddling a puppy like a baby, soothing fears that are unfounded, will serve to INCREASE whatever behaviors are present at that time. That is the point I was trying to get across. Naturally, there are some pets who simply don't do well in cars, just like with people. But I am trying to say that the TREND I'm seeing is reinforcing bad behaviors, inadvertently, or not. People don't always understand dog behavior, and some of the information that's out there is not good. Patting and cooing dogs that just attacked another dog will send the message to them that what they just did was ok, and will increase that behavior next time. Not dogs I want around my dog, nor something I want to witness. Bad owner, bad dogs.

As for taking a puppy off my sofa, as I said, it was a natural move, and not aggressive at all. We were standing in front of the sofa talking and dog jumped up - I just reached to take it down, as owner didn't correct it. I liken it to having a pool and having young visiting children over. Child goes near pool, an adult has to direct them away. It was that type of situation. Normally I do not correct other peoples' dogs (unless it's coming after mine or something like that). I am, however, responsible for what happens in my house and I had two young kids home at the time. It being its first time over and it being a puppy, I wasn't expecting an unstable dog wearing a shock collar (which I didn't even realize he had on at the time)! I would never let my dog go over someone's house and just jump up on the sofa. If my dog is invited somewhere I make sure he's on his best behavior.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I never said I assumed that all dogs who don't like riding in cars were coddled. I used one example of someone I know who DID coddle their dog as a puppy and whose dog did go on to develop a pronounced aversion to riding in cars. Sitting there coddling a puppy like a baby, soothing fears that are unfounded, will serve to INCREASE whatever behaviors are present at that time. That is the point I was trying to get across.

You didn't give any context to what you were talking about. To you it may be coddling to others it may be because of certain reasons such that I mentioned. I guess what I'm saying is if you're speaking about a very very specific friend and their very very specific dog understandable. That wasn't clear, to me that is, so if you were applying it to generalities that's why I said what I said.

As for taking a puppy off my sofa, as I said, it was a natural move, and not aggressive at all.

I never said you were aggressive in your way of getting the dog off your sofa. I have no doubt it was a natural movement but natural movements (well what we consider natural to us specifically) don't always elicit the same response to all pets.

I said I leave that stuff to the owner. If you remove that the dog eventually was put down and use it as a general comment it's possible the way you raised your arm, the position on the collar you had your hand, your body language, even your voice (if you spoke out loud), etc etc all could have been the wrong way to handle that particular dog. That's why I said I leave it to the owner. I have to tell my mom the way she talks to my cat actually puts him on edge rather than soothes him, my cat doesn't appreciate people coming up to him, he'd much rather you allow him to come to you, smell you and your belongings (especially purses), understand that because he has claws he may swat at you if you come on a certain way and sometimes people think all cats would just love to be picked up and petted with. I don't go to people's homes and assume the cats there would appreciate that from me. Apply that to dogs if you will too because I've seen the same behavior play out. And they can still be well behaved pets but have issues with certain approaches and/or their owner has trained them to respond to specific things to deter behavior.

 

[luvsJack]

why did the dog have on a shock collar when visiting someone? And how did it irritate the dog’s neck?

Sounds like owners that didn’t know what they were doing with the dog or the collar.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You didn't give any context to what you were talking about. To you it may be coddling to others it may be because of certain reasons such that I mentioned. I guess what I'm saying is if you're speaking about a very very specific friend and their very very specific dog understandable. That wasn't clear, to me that is, so if you were applying it to generalities that's why I said what I said.

I never said you were aggressive in your way of getting the dog off your sofa. I have no doubt it was a natural movement but natural movements (well what we consider natural to us specifically) don't always elicit the same response to all pets.

I said I leave that stuff to the owner. If you remove that the dog eventually was put down and use it as a general comment it's possible the way you raised your arm, the position on the collar you had your hand, your body language, even your voice (if you spoke out loud), etc etc all could have been the wrong way to handle that particular dog. That's why I said I leave it to the owner. I have to tell my mom the way she talks to my cat actually puts him on edge rather than soothes him, my cat doesn't appreciate people coming up to him, he'd much rather you allow him to come to you, smell you and your belongings (especially purses), understand that because he has claws he may swat at you if you come on a certain way and sometimes people think all cats would just love to be picked up and petted with. I don't go to people's homes and assume the cats there would appreciate that from me. Apply that to dogs if you will too because I've seen the same behavior play out. And they can still be well behaved pets but have issues with certain approaches and/or their owner has trained them to respond to specific things to deter behavior.

Disagree, but done going round and round.

why did the dog have on a shock collar when visiting someone? And how did it irritate the dog’s neck?

Sounds like owners that didn’t know what they were doing with the dog or the collar.

There is no reason for a shock collar to be on a puppy. None.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Disagree, but done going round and round.

Fair enough I guess.