Henry is a 10 month old Golden Labrador who just loved company. Unfortunately for Henry, he never really had any company because his owner, Dave, worked full time. Because of this, Henry spent a lot of time by himself at home during the day, and would frequently entertain himself by gnawing at shrubbery and outdoor furniture in the garden.
The only thing that stopped Henry from going completely round the bend with boredom and loneliness was the next-door neighbor’s dog, Lucy, whom Henry got on extremely well with.
Even though a fence separated the two dogs, Henry had chewed through one of the boards, leaving a hole big enough for him to tunnel underneath to the neighbor’s back yard.
Although Dave loved Henry, and felt remorseful at having to subject him to such loneliness and boredom, clearly such destructive behavior was not acceptable.
After apologizing to the neighbor, Dave arranged to have Lucy around during the day to visit.
This arrangement suited everyone perfectly until the day that the neighbor moved house, taking Lucy with him. Henry quickly fell back into his old destructive habits, and became withdrawn and depressed.
Dave had to figure out some ways of improving Henry’s quality of life. He began to get up earlier in the morning to take Henry out for a forty-five minute walk.
He also built a dog run in his yard, which permitted Henry a good range of the garden, without Dave having to worry that he would break free. On top of this, he purchased some quality dog-toys and chews, and an exercise ball to keep Henry busy for at least some of the day.
Sometimes during the day, Dave would come home at lunch to play with Henry.
All this added up to a much improved quality of life for Henry, but it still wasn’t ideal - and all the driving to and fro wasn’t convenient for Dave. As a solution, he decided to get another dog as a friend for Henry.
After having a look in a few shelters, Dave found a two year old Poodle called Jazz that was accustomed to living with other dogs.
Dave introduced the two dogs in the local park (a neutral setting), and allowed them to play for awhile and sort out who was the more dominant dog before Dave finalized Jazz’s adoption.
Henry and Jazz are now the best of friends. Dave was surprised and pleased to find that having two happy dogs was a lot easier then owning one bored and lonely dog!
Dogs are intensely social animals that are driven by instinct to seek out company.
Before humans began to domesticate dogs, a dog without a pack didn’t have long to survive - even though a lot of the wilder instincts have been bred out of dogs, the need to interact socially has not, and a lonely dog is an unhappy dog.
In the case of a dog that’s left by himself for long periods of time, as was the case with Henry, it’s only fair that something is arranged to keep him busy and content. This removes the need to be destructive in the first place.
[NOTE: We are NOT advocating the addition of a second dog as a “cure” for your first dog’s boredom and subsequent destructive behavior! Getting another dog is a huge decision to make, requiring careful consideration of all the possible consequences. In Dave’s case, the addition of Jazz to his household worked just fine, but this isn’t to say that getting another dog is the only or best solution available to you. We included this case study because it does cover a range of response to this particular problem, and we hope it helps!]
G. Jumping on Furniture
Whether your dog is to be allowed up on the furniture or not is a pretty big decision to make. Whatever your decision, you’re going to have to stick with it. Consistency is really important when it comes to issues like this: once you decide to allow him access to the couch or bed, it’s going to be difficult for you (and confusing for your dog) if you change your mind in future!
In general, it’s considered good dog-training etiquette not to allow young puppies up on furniture until they’re at least five or six months old. This is because being allowed up on the furniture - your territory - is a privilege for a dog, and it doesn’t
do any harm for him to understand that it’s not his given right to sprawl on the couch. You are permitting him to join you there.
The decision is entirely yours, and whatever decision you do make, the number-one rule is that you MUST be consistent.
This means that, if you decide to allow him free access to your furniture at all times - meaning that he doesn’t have to wait for an invitation before jumping up - you’re essentially removing your right to tell him off if he ever chooses an inopportune moment to do so (for example, when you’re enjoying an afternoon nap, when you’ve got a glass of red wine balanced on the arm, or when he’s wet and muddy). If he’s going to be allowed up as and when he chooses, you have to be prepared to deal with the consequences of your decision.
This is why the team at Kingdom of Pets suggests that if you allow access to furniture, you also impose limits. If you want your dog on the couch, then great, but he has to understand that he can’t just leap up there any old time. He has to wait for you to invite him up there ... and he also has to get off when you ask him to.
This is a fundamental rule for a harmonious household: partly because there are always going to be times when it’s inconvenient to have a dog sprawling on the couch (particularly if you have a large dog/small children/are wearing your Sunday best) and partly because it boils down to the issue of dominance.
Sleeping/reclining space is a big thing when it comes to sorting out pack hierarchy - some say it’s even more indicative of alpha ranking than who eats first. Make no mistake about it: he knows that the furniture - particularly the bed - is your territory. If he’s allowed up there whenever he chooses, that’s likely a sign of his dominance over you: he can trample all over your personal turf, but nobody ever invades his bed or crate and messes it all up.
The best thing for you to do is to emphasize the fact that he must wait for your invitation before getting up on the couch/bed/armchair. Not only does this prevent minor inconveniences like having books, clothes, and furniture scratched and rumpled when you’re caught unprepared, but it also removes an ongoing opportunity for your dog to view himself as higher than you in the household hierarchy.
Inviting Him To Join You
It won’t take much for him to understand what you want - simply pat the couch (or bed, or chair, or whatever) and, with an encouraging, high-pitched voice, say “Up you get!” or “Come on!” or whatever phrase it is that you’ve chosen.
He should understand almost immediately what you want, and will leap right up there.
Requesting To Disembark
Getting up on the couch is rarely a problem - it’s enforcing the “get down” that can sometimes be an issue!
The first thing for you to do is to supply him with a comfortable alternative:
you want to make it an easy decision to obey you and relinquish his spot on the couch. Get a good dog bed and place it near the couch (you can buy one specifically designed for this purpose, or you can create one from a beanbag, a length of corrugated foam wrapped in towels, or a folded quilt and some pillows - basically anything comfortable!).
When you want your dog to get off the couch, say “Off” and point to the dog bed. There’s no need to sound like a drill sergeant: keep your tone low but pleasant.
Don’t repeat yourself. One “off” is enough - but keep your arm pointing at the dog bed, and maintain eye contact with the dog.
Before using physical encouragement, wait for 30 seconds (which may seem like an eternity). Some dogs are slow to obey commands at first, and will look at you with a, “You have to be kidding me, right?” expression on his face, before slowly getting up and reluctantly acceding to your request. If he does obey you - even if he doesn’t do so straight away - reward him immediately and generously, with plentiful praise, petting, and a small food reward or two.
If he hasn’t obeyed you after 30 seconds, you’ll need to physically encourage your dog to obey you.
NOTE: Plenty of owners make the mistake of thinking that dog-training commands are interchangeable, and use “off” for more than one situation (for example, using “off” to ask your dog to both get off the couch and to stop jumping up on people.) Using the same command in different situations will only confuse your dog: you need to keep commands for separate circumstances clearly distinguishable from each other. Likewise, you won’t be able to use “down”
if you’ve taught him to lie down when you say it - you’ll need to come up with
Physically Encouraging The “Off”
For a lot of owners, the instinctive reaction for dealing with a disobedient dog is to grab him by the collar and literally drag him into the desired location.
This isn’t particularly constructive - not only is the collar-pulling technique not guaranteed to work with big dogs, but it’s also a lot more effective if you can make your dog do something under his own steam rather than just hauling him about. When you drag him by the collar, you may be demonstrating physical power, but that’s no assurance of long-term obedience!
Slide your hand, palm-down, under his rear end so you’ve created a slight wedge effect between his rear and the couch. Gradually push your arm forwards so the angle increases and the pressure mounts on his back end - you’re not forcing him to get off, but you’re making him uncomfortable enough that he’ll choose to move of his own volition.
This is where you repeat the “off” command once more: the physical encouragement reinforces your request, as well as making the seat uncomfortable enough so that he’ll want to bail out!
Correcting Jump-Ups
Until he gets the message that an invitation must always precede furniture access, your dog will probably keep jumping up on the furniture every so often without an invitation (some dogs that have been permitted free access for a prolonged period of time take months or even years to fully stop this habit).
If you see him doing this, you need to correct him straight away: if you actually catch him as he’s leaping up, make a loud “Ah-ah-aaaahh!” sound. Most dogs seem to instinctively understand that this means, “Hold it right there!” Some will get off voluntarily when they hear this, but even if yours doesn’t the split-second timing will still underline the fact that he’s not to jump up without an invitation.
If you don’t catch him in the act but notice him on the furniture (when you haven’t invited him up there!) say, “Off!” in a low, authoritative tone. Punctuate this with a snap of your fingers or a clap of your hands if you like, and then point to the dog-bed. Remember: don’t repeat yourself, but keep pointing and maintain eye contact. Give him about 30 seconds before initiating physical encouragement.
It’s important to always praise generously for obedience with this issue, since from your dog’s point of view it’s a pretty big thing to ask (who wants to leave a comfortable, warm spot on the couch for a dog-bed or, even worse, the floor?) not to mention a real sign of respect when he obeys you.