Tips and advice to stop to Lucca from endlessly trying to sit on the sofa please! Sophie and Lucca 13 weeks
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa Generally with an unwanted behaviour the best approach is to teach an alternative, acceptable behaviour. With couch wannabes you could teach them to sit somewhere else, like on a mat or dog bed that is theirs. First lure them to the mat and reward for stepping on it, then sitting on it, then lying on it, then staying on it for longer. Generally they want to be on the couch because it's comfy and because they want to be near us, which is fair enough. The 'acceptable alternative' should be comfy too and strongly associated with treat rewards. All special chews or toys should be given while on the mat/dog bed. A crate or pen is another arrangement that will work via physical prevention but you still need to make it a positive placid to be, as with the mat.
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa Yes, we are doing that, but he still thinks that racing onto the sofa and sitting there and then running the whole length is a great idea (it's a big corner sofa) i seem to spend a lot of time redirecting and he appears to think the redirecting is fun….
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa Sounds like he enjoys the game. You could try rewarding with a treat when he gets down; you could try some clicker training too. I used to sit on the floor but Chepi would jump up behind me. If you were interested in clicker training, now sounds a good time to make contact with a local trainer. Otherwise keep saying a firm no and putting him down, followed by something to distract him straight away.
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa Maybe avoid sofa room for a while if you can? Then start again? I don't have a stair gate(difficult to put in) We stood in hallway chatting ignoring bailey, and then sprayed with water whenever he went near the stairs, without him seeing where it came from, now sighs and walks away when I go upstairs! Of course we only two weeks in! He's (14 weeks)
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa Throw treats on the floor whilst saying 'off' - he will soon be jumping down as soon as you say 'off' in anticipation of a treat. We have an interesting situation in our house where one dog (17 months) is allowed on the sofa and the other (17 weeks) isn't. Tatze, the older dog, is only allowed on my sofa when I'm on it - Gypsy not at all. So I have a nice snuggly bed right by my sofa for Gypsy - I gave her lots of nice treats there at first and now I make sure she gets plenty of fuss and tummy tickles there. She doesn't try to get up any more.
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa that's interesting Boogie… I was thinking of having an 'only when I'm on it' rule but thought it might be a bit difficult to establish. Also I may wait til he's older as he's only 13 weeks.
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa Most folks' sofas aren't too high, but you want to avoid your pup doing too much jumping up and down onto things so probably lifting off (and on?) might be good to consider. If he is unavoidably jumping, then at the very least making sure the surface is non slip (I mean carpet rather than laminate or slippy rug) We didn't encourage Lilly on the sofa at all, and she rarely comes up. We did sit on the floor with her a lot when she was small though. We did this because it is nice not to be completely covered in dog hair ALL the time : :
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa My "no dogs on the sofa" rule was swiftly abandoned - far too much faff - anyway, all those puppy cuddle opportunity gone to waste. Small puppies jumping up and down onto sofas is best avoided though. I made Charlie a little set of stairs out of dog mats. You can buy these from Orvis, but pricey for what they are and it's easy to make your own.
Re: how to train a puppy NOT to sit on the sofa [quote author=sophmiller link=topic=7928.msg111712#msg111712 date=1411305150] that's interesting Boogie… I was thinking of having an 'only when I'm on it' rule but thought it might be a bit difficult to establish. Also I may wait til he's older as he's only 13 weeks. [/quote] Any behaviour you want to establish then the sooner the better Gypsy is a Guide Dog pup and her training started as soon as she could walk at the breeders - and it shows. She was completely clean and dry by 12 weeks and stopped mouthing at 15 weeks! I think the consistency of expectations and commands alongside gentle, yet constant, reminders are what does it.
