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Dogs On The Couch


Guest Maddyr24

Do you let your Grey on the Couch?  

568 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you let your dog on the couch?

    • Yes
      349
    • No
      169
    • Sometimes
      44
    • Undecided
      7


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Angel Dune was on the couch to snuggle, invitation only (and the invitation was given whenever I sat down), and he knew "off." DH was not pleased with this arrangement and laid down the "no dogs on furniture" rule when we moved in. Dune and I broke it within a week but it remained a point of occasional contention for the next seven years.

 

Kipper's never tried, and seems far less interested in snuggling than Dune. DH is a bit bummed about this. :rolleyes::o If he ever seems interested, he'll be allowed by invitation, and we'll teach "off."

 

Funny thing about DHs in my experience...when it's not their dog, they have strict rules...when it's their dog, the rules change...hm. :lol

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Dash (Mega Batboy), & forever missing Kipper (RD's Kiper, 2006-2015) & Souldog Dune (Pazzo Otis, 1994-2008)
"..cherish him and give him place with yourself for the rest of his but too short life. It is his one drawback. He should live as long as his owner."
James Matheson, The Greyhound: Breeding, Coursing, Racing, etc., 1929

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Guest sorenkkg
Sagan has been with us for just shy of 3 months and he is starting to come out of his shell (its so cute!). He has lately been trying to snuggle with us on the couch and I am all for it. My hubby is all for it too, but we just want to make sure we aren't letting him get away with too much...meaning..once we start giving into his requests...what else will he want?

 

So, comments, thoughts, and any funny stories.

 

M, J, and S

 

Oh, he'll want EVERYTHING! LOL

 

We started out with Haka not letting him on the couch, and I regret that decision now-- some of the books we (I) read said that you had to be "higher" than the dog to maintain pack order, blah blah.

Of course, "grandma" let him on the loveseat in her house, and that was the end of use and our silly no-couch decision! The part I regret is this-- he looks at us like he's doing something wrong when he gets on the couch, and I feel bad for instilling that in him.

 

when Aleeya came along, we always encouraged her to get on the couch, and aside from trying to sit head first :lol: on her first attempt, she's a happy couch-sitter and snuggler... maybe it's a personality thing.

 

anyway-- I think the most important thing about dogs and couches is learning OFF! I think they should know that it's your couch (or ya'lls) and they need to respect you when you ask them to get off.

 

Other than that, happy snuggling!

:) S.

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Guest D_MansMommy

Both dogs and kitties are allowed on the couches. They do know "off" if we need to clear the area for guests. Our home is their home :)

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nuri is not really interested nor can he really seem to figure out how to get his lanky legs up on the couch. the only way he comes up with me is if i take his front legs up for him and (only if he's totally interested :rolleyes: ) will he hop his butt up. he will then only stay up for a few minutes before he hops off...what a goof-ball!!!

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Guest Maddyr24

This this first posting, we have decided to let Sagan on the couch...and he loves it! We all watch movies together (he usually snuggles on mommy's side) and its so fun! He does know the meaning of off and will gladly lay on his bed when we have company or lack of room.

 

yay!

:rolleyes:

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We don't allow dogs on the beds/couches because we want to have spaces where the cats (and people) can be unmolested by overly friendly canines. Our couch can only hold so many of us, and 2 people and 2 cats is about the limit. Monty (grey) is a sprawler, and I know that Allie gets upset when the cats get in "her space" when she's on her dog bed (which used to include about a 5 foot span beyond the confines of the huge dog bed) so we're keeping her down. And my cats give me enough trouble on the bed (They're plastered to me even when it's 90 degrees) and it's hard to move already. Adding even a mid sized dog to that would be a nightmare!

 

(I have to admit that part of our not wanting Allie on the furniture is to keep her below the felines in the pecking order. It seems to be helping.)

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Both of our dogs were in previous homes where they weren't allowed on the furniture, so they've never shown any interest. With Coltrane now having period sleep incontinence, I don't know if I would ever allow it in the future, either. <_<

Rebecca
with Atlas the borzoi, Luna the pyr, and Madison the cat, always missing Sahara(Flyin Tara Lyn) and Coltrane(Blue on By) the greyhounds

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Guest ptomme

Our first grey was allowed on the couch until one evening when she kept trying to nose my parents off the couch so she could occupy it. That was the last time any of our greys were allowed on the furniture.

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Guest WhiteWave

Ronon lives on the couch! It took 4 months before we could get him to even consider the possibility that he could lay on a dog bed on the floor. :) He also hogs the entire bed at night too! I considered another adopting another grey, but there wouldn't be room!

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Guest TexasGreytMom
We don't allow them on furniture, but when we're not home they do. We find pillows knocked on the floor, etc. so we know they're up there when we're not around.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Ashley

Sadie isn't allowed on the bed or couch, but she loves her beds anyway. And she also loves laying next to the couch or chair while we are on them so she can receive pets and scritches for hooours. If we stop because our arms get tired, she looks at us and then her tummy (or wherever else she wants rubs) as if to say "Um... what are you doing? You are not finished here!" And of course, we just melt and start all over again :lol

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I voted "yes", but it was over a year before our first grey was allowed on furniture. He had severe space and sleep aggression, so he wasn't allowed on furniture until we conquered that. Even then, he was taught "OFF" command when he was allowed up. I think it's very important for a dog that's allowed furniture privelages to know a command to get off the furniture.

 

And - if ANY bad behavior occurs - growling, etc - it's an immediate OFF. And stay off for a while. More chances available in the future - but furniture is a PRIVELAGE, not a right.

 

We STILL struggle with the occasional space aggression with Sobe when he gets a "bit" too possessive of the couch. It gets his butt off furniture for a week at least. The couch, and bed, are for humans. Dogs that share nicely are welcome. Dogs that get pushy - are NOT.

 

ETA: I think it's a personal decision, depending on the dog, and the family. I recommend to adopters that have small children, that they never let the dog on furniture.

 

Our other grey, Diana, has had furniture privelages from day 1. She hasn't got an aggressive or possessive bone in her body. But - she still knows the "off" command - and responds perfectly to it - humans control the furniture.

 

Edited by sobesmom
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Guest LindsaySF

Certain couches in the house are dog-friendly, certain ones are not. The dogs have to wait to be invited up, and they all know the off command. (Not that they always listen promptly... :rolleyes:)

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

We do now! Lily had no interest in the furniture until our foster, Calypso, decided to show her the ropes! They love the couch. :couchjumpweeee lubs da cowch!! :couchjump Although, I am not entirely keen on letting Lily on the couch. She is a bit space aggressive when she sleeps and I don't want it to be an issue. Calypso, however, LOVES cuddling on the couch and so do I.

Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size.

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Guest Houndstown

They were going to do it eventually anyway, and had been doing it while we were gone, so we just let em have it. I usually prefer lying in the floor with the computer, so it works out.

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Guest RocketDog

Rocket had the couch figured out within a few days of coming home, and Cass spent the majority of her first week 'hiding' from the floor by curling up on the couch - I only have a few photos of her off of the couch from back then. We encouraged it at first, but now they rarely come up - they have so many cooshy beds that climbing up on the loveseat with mom or dad seems like an awful lot of effort :rolleyes:

 

Bed privileges are a little more controlled - Cass is the only one allowed to sleep on the bed at night, since Rocket is a violent dreamer and more than once launched either Casey or myself half off the bed during whatever stakes race he was determined to win whilst asleep. He does get up on the bed after Casey's vacated his side of the bed in the morning, but other than that he stays on the dog beds. Miss fosterpup Lexi sneaks up on the bed occasionally but we don't let her stay up since we don't want to be responsible for any bad habits that her forever home would have to take on.

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We've never let Greta on the couch or any furniture. Just our rules, but probably a good thing with her. She needs to always know that she is not the boss--or she will assume she is!

 

We tried to let Cookie on the furniture, and it didn't work out, either. :(

 

 

 

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc124/TgrrValily/CookieMac2009pt2/siggyyayayayayay.jpg

Waiting at the bridge: Buddy James, Cookie Dough, Shelby, and Mac. My angels :angelwings:angelwings:angelwings:angelwings

New dog mom to dachshunds Ginger and Ruger :banana:banana

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Guest cgl0909

We don't mind having the dogs on the couch or on the bed, but they really do not spend that much time on either. Usally they are on their beds.

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Guest RooCroo

We let our dogs on the couch, but they know we are unconditional BOSSES of the couch. We taught this to them early, when they were babies. If there was ever a hint of territorial aggression or challenging our boundaries, it was off the couch and into the crate! The only time we have "issues" now is when a foster or new dog is introduced into the pack and one of the dogs curls their lip or growls at the other dog. The OFF command is our friend! (So is the crate!)

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  • 1 month later...
Guest mcsheltie

I voted no. But we used to. Our group doesn't want the fosters on the furniture. And it didn't seem fair to let some up and some not. So I invested in REALLY good dog beds and now no one even wants to use the furniture anymore.

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Guest kodywyoming
Stella lives for the sofa...the day she arrived she jumped on it and has never looked back.

Dude got on the furniture the first hour he was in the house

 

:lol I can beat both of you...

 

Sammi~ Time from the Door to the first time on my couch.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....15 minutes into the Home Check

:rotfl

 

It took Zoey a couple days to find the couch, but she was on my bed within ten minutes of the home visit. :lol

 

My roommate and I only have a futon and then a pretty small chair. Now that Zoey is getting less "velcro," she likes to hang out on the futon while I'm in my room (I usually watch tv on my computer in bed). If there are too many people on the futon or the roommate's dog is being too annoying, Zoey will curl up into a tiny ball on the small chair and give everyone a horrible pitiful look like her life is absolutely THE WORST because she isn't on the couch. :rolleyes:

 

It isn't something I've specifically taught her, but she seems to wait to be invited into the bed, which is nice because it gives me a chance to get everything settled before I have a big dog squashing my legs.

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