Dog Community

How many dogs on the couch?

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:04:57 AM

We've never let our dogs on the furniture, mainly because that's out cat's safe spot. But this morning I walked into the living room to find Odin curled up on DH's camo blanket on the couch. It was so cute, I had a hard time making him get down.

I was just curious, how many people let their dogs on the furniture? It seems like we are in the minority by not letting them up. It's not a dominance thing at all. We just want our cat to have her own spot. And we just have one small couch and two pretty large dogs.

Susan Chandler

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:07:12 AM

Well, our dogs are relatively on the small size so it is easy for us to let them up on the couch, unless, of course, they have tried to "perfume" themselves from the outside but then again, they sleep in the bed with us, too. [

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rwbeagles

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:09:58 AM

Ellie is allowed...but only because she's never shown any issues with being possesive of space and will move when our kids need to sit. She is also very small. I noticed she isn't a couch sleeper tho...but she likes to climb and up high...then jump down lol!

pamdb

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:21:58 AM

We have a couch, a loveseat and a chair that swivels and faces the front window.
The chair is Mocha's and BooBoo likes the loveseat, with the pillows on either end
it makes a nice little space for him. They can also go on the regular couch but with
us on it, there's not enough room for both of them. They are spoiled and we don't
care.
They do sleep in a separate room in big doggie beds next to each other and they each
have their own bed they go to, never the others, which is interesting. In the morning they
can come in our bed with us. Even in a king, it's just too cramped with us and two 50lb
dogs.

jode88

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:24:41 AM

Sam is allowed, he just doesnt care for it much. He will sit on the couch for a couple minutes if we call him up there but is eager to get down. During the day
his favorite spot is the tile floor. At night he is on his bed next to ours, sometimes on our bed but not for long.

Sarajade

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:25:59 AM

I like to keep my couch people friendly, because Marty sheds a lot. So he's not allowed up there. But there is an armchair by the window that's his chair, and he's fine with it.

clifford red dog

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:33:30 AM

We tried keeping our 80 lb Catahoula mix off the couch. We noticed her hair on the sofa when we went out though. Also when I go to bed she waits a few minutes and then cuddles up in the corner. I think it's so cute. I HATE THE HAIR THOUGH. So now I cover the sofa with a sheet when I go to bed. She does get off in the morning when I catch her. She has a nice faux lamb covered dog bed that I purchased from Costco for about $20. She loves it too.

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:37:09 AM

we used to not allow any of our pets on the furniture. it was so difficult when sydney was much smaller to make him stay off (ie. he would jump off the couch and run to the recliner, or vice versa, and he was making too much of a game out of it), that we gave in and now allow whoever wants on the couch on there. sydney likes to either sleep on the couch or in the recliner.

houndlove

Posted : 10/31/2006 10:47:24 AM

We have crappy furniture, so as long as they get off when we want them to, we allow it. I really treasure the times I have to snuggle with the dogs when we're all on one of the couches, and I think they value that time as well. Marlowe has a chair that he particularily loves and both are pretty big fans of the futon. During the day when no one is home, though, Conrad is crated and Marlowe is confined to a room with no furniture aside from his dog beds. They both have their favorite places to sleep at night that generally don't include our bed (too crowded and cramped).

Conrad is an ace with "off" and will even wake from a deep sleep to get off on one command. Marlowe is still learning and also a much heavier sleeper. He hasn't generalized to all possible situations yet, but we're working on it. He doesn't get posessive though, just confused.

Scout in Canada

Posted : 10/31/2006 11:20:28 AM

We don't let Scout on the furniture or the bed. So far she has not really tried to test us on either count (she is crated which helps).

She has a comfy bed that is at the foot of our chair, and she seems happy to hang out there when we're in the living room. Sometimes I want to let her up so much, but I just like to have a spot where we can relax without the dog scrambling all over us. When we want to snuggle, we sit on the ground on her bed and cozy up there.

tiffy

Posted : 10/31/2006 11:23:31 AM

All three of mine are allowed on the furniture. Our cat having a safe spot has never been an issue, she curls up right next to the dogs.. If she needs to get away, she knows how to jump.

Tashmoo5454

Posted : 10/31/2006 11:25:31 AM

Well, i think the picture speaks for itself, even though some of them are not technically on the couch. By the way, there are 4 dogs on my DH, one is kind of hidden.. We have found that leather furniture is a lot easier to clean, so everyone is allowed to sleep and sit wherever they want!

cakana

Posted : 10/31/2006 12:29:20 PM

I too wanted to keep the furniture people friendly and not have to deal with dog hair everytime someone stops by. We have dog beds in every room including the family room. We trained that the couch is off limits unless I put the special "doggie blanket" down and then it's okay. It's worked perfectly and I can throw the blanket in the wash.

Vivian

Posted : 10/31/2006 12:38:25 PM

April has never been able to jump up on anything so never had to worry about furniture. She does sit on my lap though.

Stella K.

Posted : 10/31/2006 1:02:53 PM

Stanley's not allowed on the bed or the couch. Unless there's a really bad thunderstorm. Like someone said above, I like to keep my couch human-friendly and Stanley sheds a LOT. We do cuddle w/ him a lot on the floor though!