Do you let your dog on the couch?

[Dookus]

When I first got my bulldog pup, I thought I'd let him on the couch cuz I like the company.... but it quickly became clear that he couldn't settle himself on the couch, and when he chewed up a cushion, the rule changed - on the floor, Tucker!

Well, he's growing up and yesterday I took a little nap while my played xbox. When I came back out, there was the bf with Tucker curled up beside him on the couch. He said the dog was being SUCH a pest that he let him up, and he had behaved really well while he was up there.

So... Is it time to let him up? Or should I continue enforcing the four-on-the-floor rule. What do YOU do with your dog?

[RebelOne]

1. My doggie is not allowed on the couch, but she has

her own big comfy pillow on the floor.

[redsoxliberal]

2. she's allowed on 2 of 5

[kitchen girl]

3. When I got my dog...

I was adamant that he not be allowed on the couch or the bed. I stuck with that for about two months...until he was able to jump up by himself. After that, it seemed a little unfair that the cats could go anywhere they wanted, but the dog couldn't. I solved the dilemma by training him to get on and off furniture on command.

[Dookus]

4. yes

the cats seem to cause the problem. He's fine on the floor 'til he sees a cat up on the couch, then he REALLY wants to come up, too.

[footinmouth]

5. I had to choose "other"

We kept our dog off the couch for about 5 years. She showed no interest in it anyways. Then for the next 10 years she just started jumping up and nobody stopped her. She's old now and has lost her jumping skills, so she's back on the floor. So my answer is "no", "yes", "can't do it anymore".

[Lilli]

6. A couch is a couch...your pooch is family :)

[fudge stripe cookays]

10. Hee hee! I like this answer!

Fargo's claws have ripped holes into the beautiful chintz-like fabric mine was covered with (don't worry, it was looking ragged before then anyway). I was going to have it recovered, but we need to save money right now.

But I love him so much, and I love it when he comes up and puts his big ole goofy head in my lap, then rolls over for a belly rub and wiggle around demanding more when I stop. Then he starts sneezing because he can't stay upside down for very long. He's so funny.

So I'm thinking of getting a slipcover made. I can make the pattern, but I'll have to have someone else sew it for me. I'm thinking a heavy vanilla colored canvas-type material this time!

FSC

[Lilli]

14. that's a great idea!

a wash and wear couch is a great solution :)

[fudge stripe cookays]

18. I'd buy one,

but this couch is HUGE. An antique that's 9 feet long or so with a curved back and wraparound arms. I couldn't find anything big enough or even close to fitting right.

:D
FSC

[auburngrad82]

7. We have two that never climb up, two that love to sit with us and

one holy terror that does everything except climb the walls.

The two biggest ones just don't really care to climb up on the sofa but they love to sleep in the bed with us.

The two smaller ones love snuggles so they like to sit with us on the sofa and love on us and let us love on them.

The fifth is a one year old Australian Cattle Dog with Attention Deficit Disorder, or something similar. She's an absolute pain in the ass. We have finally broken her of pulling things off the kitchen counter and also of pulling clothes out of the basket and eating them. Of course we've only had her a few weeks. Little steps with her...

[MidwestMomma]

8. My dog is a total couch potato

With my 2 cats, sometimes there's not room for me on the couch!

[Longhorn]

9. "Other" for me is

they're not ALLOWED on the couch but they get on it when I'm gone. I used to lay tin foil on the couches and chairs and that would keep them off but it tended to keep US off, too! ;)

[luckypunch]

11. My dog isn't allowed on the couch,

but she doesn't know she isn't, and I don't have the heart to tell her.

[Lilli]

15. LMAO

:)

[flvegan]

12. Ha! Am I allowed on the couch?

I run a rescue here, and we socialize all the animals. That includes time on the couch to get used to positive human interaction (most of our animals are abused). Even when not in rescue mode, my Great Dane takes up most of the sofa.

[UNIXcock]

13. Yeah. I'm afraid I'm already spoiling my two new pups by ...

... even letting them play on the bed

[Lilli]

16. Is that puppies for dummies?

:)
sweet pic!

[UNIXcock]

25. Yup, puppy dummy here

... :hi:

[Dookus]

17. ok

all you soft-hearted puppy-lovers have convinced me. Tucker spent the evening next to me on the couch. When he started misbehaving (pawing me or mouthing me, or licking the cushions), I made him go down. He seemed to learn that if he sat quietly next to me, he'd get lots of ear-scratches and belly-rubs.

So yeah, he's a couch-dog now.

[Lilli]

21. awww...kewl!

Glad he's picking up the rules quick :)

[Philostopher]

19. Not only the sofa ...

Max is on my lap right now. He just gassed me (joy).

He's pretty good, though. He doesn't sleep on the sofa all the time -- in fact, his favorite places in the house are his crate, up in the front room, and under our bed. He's only allowed on the bed when invited, since one of our cats gets 'the goo' over him occasionally (she gets stress-related cystitis), so he's in the crate at night, and any time during the day we're gone for more than an hour. I only work part time or we'd never have gotten a dog -- I don't like for him to have to be in the crate so much, but the cats were here first, and he doesn't seem to mind. He even gets in the crate when we are home and sleeps.

[Willy Lee]

20. I'm lucky if my dogs will allow ME on the couch!! eom

[Mallifica]

23. me too

my dog will stand and whine if there is no room for him on the couch. He gets horribly offended at having to get off and make room for people.

[SiouxJ]

22. How can you not

she looks so comfy!

Yup, both of mine have adopted the couches, beds, etc. There are few if any places where they aren't allowed. Tasha even tries to come in the shower with me. She loves water ;-) .

[davekriss]

43. I had a lab that used to do that...

Harry loved the water and would jump in the showers with us. He was a runner, though, and got loose and hit by a car in 2002. Harry and Gracie got out one night and only Gracie returned (which was strange as Gracie never ran alone). We still have Gracie, a lab/terrier mix, and Gracie graciously accepted a new sister in 2002, Jenny, a wiemeraner. Both have there fixed territory on our oversized couches.

[LiberalManiacfromOC]

24. Yes, I sleep with him too.

And he snores louder than those unbelievably obese people

[dogonarug]

26. I have lost all control!

here's one on the couch...

and another on the bed...

Just waitin for them to conspire and lock me outta the house!

[Texasgal]

27. Both of my boston's

Sleep with us in our bed! I know...pathetic...

[ipaint]

29. I've got two bostons, too!

And they sleep with us. My husband can't believe he lets them. It is pretty pathetic.

[Dover]

28. My dog has his own "furniture" and he loves it.

I got one of those thick foam rectangular doggie beds (about 8 inches thick and 3 X 4 feet)that has a zippered slip-cover (great for removal for washing) with both a plain material side and a tufted material side. He loves having his own space and it's really comfortable. The cats like it too and will curl up with him when he's in the mood to allow them on it. It's also great for trips because he always has a place in any room where he knows to go. I think new environments can be a little stressful and/or disorienting for pets so a familiar 'place' is a good thing, imo.

But he's not allowed on the couch...mainly because he's usually too dirty after digging in the mud or rolling in poop. The cats, on the other hand, sleep wherever they want...

[LibertyLover]

30. Dogs on the couch

I have two retired racing greyhounds and two whippets (a Siberian Husky as well) and there is no way on the Gods' green earth, aside from turning it over, that you can keep a sight hound off of a couch.

Whippet - old English for blanket using dog.

[Jasper 91]

31. I have three luchers, and they are all allowed on the couches.

They are spoilt rotten and do exactly as they please. There is no training them and I have put it down to their small brain size. But what they lack in skills, they more than make up for with all the joy and laughter they give me. I love 'em to bits.

[LibertyLover]

32. Sighthounds and couches

LOL - training a sighthound? Perish forbide. I have managed to train them to come on command, but usually have to include the magic word "treat" somewhere in the come command. My greyhound bitch loves to lick you to demonstrate her affection - nothing like being slobbered on in the middle of the night when she takes it into her head to let you know she cares. But I love them dearly.

[Jasper 91]

33. Don't they have the sweetest temperament?

Sassy, the oldest is ten. She is mother to Daisy and Jasper, both eight. Jasper is the first boy dog I have ever had. He is so timid and is bossed silly by the other two , especially his sister.

[luckypunch]

34. The only way to keep a greyhound off a couch or chair

is to sit on it. But, even when we do that my grey gets pissed and will first try the greyhound pitiful look, then just climb up on top of us or behind us. When I try to kick her off she looks at me like I'm crazy and just ignores me.

[luaneryder]

35. My dogs have their own full size

sofa, two wing back chairs and an ottoman since they stay in the den (with their own doggie door to the back yard) a lot. My Scottie boy, he's 11 now, and my little hound girl sleep with me. My daughter's babies, Lab and Cocker mix, sleep with her. They sure have a rough life!

[Lizzie Borden]

36. My couch is an antique. I don't sit on it so my dogs don't either...

But my Neapolitan Mastiff sleeps on the bed.

[InvisibleTouch]

37. The couch, the chairs, the bed....

And it gets really interesting when we all want to curl up in the chair by the window!

As others have pointed out, you can't keep a sighthound off the furniture. It's just not dignified, for them to rest on the floor... ;)

[Silver Gaia]

38. My dog wouldn't have it any other way...

;) hehehe Yes, he gets on the couch, and on the bed... he'd get on my computer chair if he'd fit. He has a funny thing about the couch, tho... He HATES the pillows, and evidently prefers it without cushions, too, because every chance he gets, he gets up there and very busily dumps all the pillows and the cushions onto the floor. LOL No biggie, and he's been doing this for 12 years now. I just find it hilareous. :D We have a deal: He knows I'm gonna put 'em back, and I know he's gonna toss 'em off the first chance he gets.

[RebelOne]

39. There is no way I am going to allow a 100=pound

Rottweiler on the couch. She has two big cushions on the floor, which are much more comfortable than the couch anyway.

[Phentex]

40. Only when they were puppies. They're too big now!

They'd hog the whole thing!

[OnionPatch]

41. No Way!

I love my dog, but she's big (about 80 lbs.) and really hairy. She runs in and out of the house so her feet are usually fairly grubby. If I let her on the couch the couch would soon not be fit for a human to sit on. Doggies stay on the floor in this house. She does have a nice warm bed, though.
Also, cats ARE allowed on the couch here, always.

[davekriss]

42. My dogs rule!

Well, they rule me; our cats rule the house!

We have a beautiful wiemeraner and a lab/terrier mix, both female and both about 70 lbs -- and both are allowed on our couches.

In fact, they used to sleep with us in our king-sized bed! Despite the size of the bed, I was waking up with backaches every morning as the wiemy likes to jump in and sleep in the half-inch of space between the lab and me, with my wife pressing in on my other side. Sometimes they'd play leapfrog and see who can sleep closest to my head. I'd wake up with the lab/terrier's face a centimeter from my own with the wiemy across the top of the bed on my pillows.

Luckily, my wife Kriss doles out the doggy discipline and they obey her command. She pretty much keeps them off the bed now (my back thanks her!). The lab is getting old and can't jump up anymore, so she only comes up when I pick her up, but the wiemy usually sneaks in with us in the wee hours of the morning. Wiemeraners are very stubborn dogs!

The two follow me everywhere. When I'm at the computer, you almost always can find them sleeping on the floor next to me (there they are right now!) -- except when they decide "it's time" and they're trying to con me out of some flip chips. Then they gang up on me, work a one-two punch! Woe is me when we're out of supply! Ah, such are life's little pleasures!

(Yea, I'm a pushover. But if you think I spoil the dogs, you should see how I spoil my kids!)

[janx]

44. I was going to say--

I'll bet that weimie still wiggles into your bed somehow...! Weims are both stubborn and easily spoiled! ;-) I think we like to call them stubborn, but they're so cute and smart that we spoil them too.

Haved you ever visited weim.net? It's the greatest weim site I've found. For awhile, the site featured a special section called "The Bad Gray Dog Club" in which members posted pics of their weims up on sofas, beds, tables (because they can jump so well), etc. There were also pics of BGD's getting into all kinds of things, and there were lots of "counter surfing" pics.

Our situation is similar to yours in that we have an older dog who now has some trouble jumping up on the bed. She's a golden, and for a long time she was not allowed up on furniture (when we were around), but we could not enforce this after our weim joined the family.

My home office is littered with dog toys, because the dogs follow me around all the time. And as luck would have it, there's a sofa in here!

[janx]

45. Dookus--

We let our dogs up on the furniture, though I didn't let the golden do that until she was a bit older.

I think the most important part is that no matter what you decide to do, you and your bf should agree to something and remain consistent so that your pup doesn't get confused. (It's just like raising kids.)

Have fun!

[China_cat]

46. Yes, there is an 'other'

I don't allow people on the couch.