I love cuddling up with my dogs Moose and Kirby on my couch, but it does make quite the mess. Their dirty little paws make a mess of the upholstery and their Dog hair gets everywhere! If you want to keep your house nice and tidy, it may be a good idea to keep dogs off the couch. Here are some tips and tricks to make that happen.
Dog training for keeping dogs off couch and other furniture
Teaching your dog good manners is the best way to keep them off your Furniture. If you want to keep your dog off the couch, it’s best to teach them another command first.
Start with the ‘up’ command…
“Wait, I want my dog to stay off the couch, not jump up on it!”
That’s correct.
But you want your dog to ask for permission before they jump.
By teaching them ‘off’ without ‘up’, smart dogs may realize that they can get a boatload of treats by jumping on and off the furniture. Not exactly what you’re looking for.
Teaching your dog the ‘up’ command puts the power in your hands. Then you can choose to let your dog on the couch when, or if, you decide.
When teaching your dog the ‘up’ command, you want to:
1. Choose a training location
The ideal location to train a dog on the ‘up’ command has two qualities:
It is a place that the dog can easily jump up to.
The spot won’t get damaged by your dog jumping on it.
A box or an old piece of furniture works great for this. If you don’t want your dog on furniture at all, I would recommend staying away from all types of furniture during Training.
2. Use a short leash to pull them up while you say ‘up’
Attach a short leash to your dog, and pull them up to your training spot while saying the word ‘up’.
You may need to place their favorite toy or treats on the training spot to get them to understand the first time or two.
3. Praise them with a treat
Once your dog jumps up, give them some nice praise and a treat.
And after they are on top of your training spot…
…then you can teach them the ‘off’ command
Teaching the ‘off’ command is essentially the ‘up’ command in reverse. You can get started with the training by:
1. Gently pull them down while saying ‘off’
Pull their leash gently towards the ground while saying the word ‘off’.
In time, your dog will associate this word with the action itself.
If they won’t jump on their own, it may help to place a treat on the ground until they learn the meaning of the word ‘off’.
2. Reward with treats when performed correctly
When your dog does jump off, praise them and give them another tasty treat.
3. Repeat
Once your dog completes the full ‘up and off’ cycle, it’s time to do it again!
Dogs learn best through repetition and positive reinforcement. Over time, they’ll begin to understand that they will be rewarded for jumping on and off things on command.
When your dog responds to ‘up’ and ‘off’ without you needing to pull at the leash, you can remove it completely.
4. Slowly phase out the treats
When I train dogs, I like to give them a treat every time they successfully perform the desired behavior for the first day or two.
But after that, I become a little more stingy. I still give them praise and say ‘yes’ when they do it correctly, but I do start restricting how often I reward with treats.
Dogs need to learn to get satisfaction from doing the activity itself, and that is done by slowly removing their food reward.
With enough training, your dog will respond to ‘up’ and ‘off’ without even thinking about a treat.
Other training tips
This process will need to be repeated many, many times for your dog to understand. Most dogs get the hang of it after a couple days, but I recommend sticking with this training for at least 1-2 weeks. Here are some tips to make your training sessions more productive.
Keep training sessions short – dogs have short attention spans, so they can only handle a few minutes of training at a time. Keep your dog training sessions to 10-15 minutes.
Don’t reward them when you don’t ask – sometime during your training session, your dog will jump on or off without your permission. When this happens, do not reward them and give them a quick ‘no’. This will teach your dog that asking for permission is the most important part of the training.
Use a clicker for more precise training – it is not required, but clicker training allows for more precise training by signaling to the dog exactly when things went right. If you do use a clicker, give it a click at the exact moment your dog hits the ground or lands on the elevated surface.
Stay consistent even when training is done – training sessions may be done after 1-2 weeks, but you need to stay consistent with the rules long after that. Dogs can forget what they’re supposed to do sometimes, or they may try to push their boundaries. Either way, keep them in check by gently reminding them of the rules.
More tips to keep dog off couch and other furniture
Training is the best method for keeping dogs off furniture, but it does take some time. Here are some additional tips to help make the training easier for stubborn dogs and keep your dog off the furniture while you’re away.
Don’t spend time with your dog on the couch
It’s simple: if you don’t want your dog on the couch, don’t spend time with them there.
This applies even when they are puppies.
If you’d like to keep the dog off the couch completely, try playing or cuddling with them on the floor instead.
Give them their own bed
I can see why dogs would want to jump up on the couch. They’re so soft and warm and fluffy, it just makes you want to curl up and go to sleep.
But you can give your dog that same feeling by providing them with a comfortable dog bed of their very own.
And if your dog likes to cover itself in blankets, a nice covered dog bed may be just what your puppy needs.
Crate training
Crate training is one of the most fundamental lessons you can teach your dog.
In addition to keeping them off the furniture, learning how to be comfortable in a crate can help dogs and dog owners with potty training and comforting separation anxiety.
Keep dogs off furniture with a scat mat
A scat mat is an electronic mat that senses when something or someone is touching it.
When the mat feels pressure on it, it will beep or give a mild static shock to scare off the one touching it.
These can teach cats or dogs that jumping on the couch leads to an unwanted surprise.
Put up a physical barrier
If your dog has a habit of jumping on the furniture while you’re away, putting up a physical barrier may prevent them from being a bad boy.
Baby gates work great to keep them away from furniture and other off-limits areas.
But if you better protection while giving your pup more freedom to run around, I’d recommend a couch defender.
These little tents sit on your furniture and take up all the sitting space without the need to block access.
Improve your dog training skills
Like I said above, training is the best way to teach your dog that jumping on the couch is an unwanted behavior.
But if you feel that your training skills are lacking, K9 Training Institute can help you gain the confidence and skills to teach or correct any dog behavior right in your own living room.
Also check out the best online dog training courses for more information.
Hire a professional dog trainer
If you’d rather have a professional take care of your dog’s behavior, that is perfectly fine as well.
Fill out the form below, and we’ll put you in touch with a certified specialist in your area that can help you correct your specific issue.
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