Dogs and Couches

[Klayfish]

Crate training is different than leaving the dog in the crate all day long while you are at work.

Most often people describe leaving their pet inside the crate while they are away at work for long periods of time. That is what other people most often find the issue. Not that you have crate trained your pet so they are more comfortable with traveling, or for the times when there's storms out and they can find the crate as a comfort zone, etc.

Definitely understand. As we've seen in this thread, different people handle it different ways. For us, the puppies simply can't be left to their own devices, lest we come home to a house that's literally had the walls chewed...LOL. Yes, they have countless chew toys, but c'mon...human property is much more fun to chew... Until they settle down with the chewing, we have chosen to use the crate. They really do seem to enjoy it and without question is their safe haven. When the FedEx truck comes into our driveway, our female puppy goes scampering into her cage...while her tail is wagging a mile a minute.

Believe me, while I don't see them as "family members" and see them as "pets", they are treated like kings and queens around here. It's funny, every Friday night when DW and I have our cheat meal, we also bake a full bag of french fries. When we're done eating and getting ready to go up to bed, we have the kids come down and throw the fries to them. Of course, they've learned the pattern...as soon as we turn off the TV, they all come running and salivating. Two of the three are really good at catching thrown french fries. The third, not so much, they hit him square between the eyes. LOL.

 

[tzolkin]

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, they can understand the difference.

Our current dog is allowed on one large armchair at any time and I have had no issue with her attempting to get on other furniture. It's a chair no one in the family sits in and we use it as an elevated dog bed where she can look out the window or curl up. Even so, about 90% of the time she sleeps on the floor behind the chair instead of on it.

She is allowed on the couches only when invited. I have never once seen her get on the couch otherwise (and have seen no evidence of her doing so when we are not at home). We have a few light blankets that I wash often and this has been an easy way for her to understand the concept. She knows if you sit down with a blanket she will wait to be invited to hop up to cuddle. No blanket and the thought doesn't even seem to enter her mind that she could possibly get on the couch.

 

[laughinplace199]

Yes, they can understand the difference.

Our current dog is allowed on one large armchair at any time and I have had no issue with her attempting to get on other furniture. It's a chair no one in the family sits in and we use it as an elevated dog bed where she can look out the window or curl up. Even so, about 90% of the time she sleeps on the floor behind the chair instead of on it.

She is allowed on the couches only when invited. I have never once seen her get on the couch otherwise (and have seen no evidence of her doing so when we are not at home). We have a few light blankets that I wash often and this has been an easy way for her to understand the concept. She knows if you sit down with a blanket she will wait to be invited to hop up to cuddle. No blanket and the thought doesn't even seem to enter her mind that she could possibly get on the couch.

Thank you!

 

[mickeyfan9194]

Our dogs are family, but are not allowed on the furniture. Our previous dogs were allowed on the furniture, and between them and the kids, the furniture wore out quicker and got dirtier. Now that the kids are gone from home, we have nicer furniture and the dogs can sleep on the floor. They are German Shepherds so I know for a fact they aren't on the couch when we're not home, because they shed EVERYWHERE.