Should you let your dog on the sofa?

Topic: Training

Whether or not it is good to climb on the sofa will be determined by your dog's ability to learn the signals if you want the animal to stay off it. If your pet climbs on the sofa freely without consent, the fact that it climbs on it will end up not being a good thing. This often leads to disobedient behaviour that is likely to carry over into other areas or signals, and may even lead to unwanted or conflictive behaviour.

Therefore, the truth is that, in itself, letting it climb on the sofa isn’t a problem as long as your dog knows how to stay up as well as down. If our dog has been allowed to climb on the sofa for months, for example, it isn’t surprising that it shows resistance to go down or lacks self-control not to climb.

You shouldn’t let your dog climb on the sofa unless you are willing to put the effort, love and time into teaching it that it can only climb on the sofa when you let it, as this is the only way to avoid mistakes in its learning that will affect future behaviour, especially during the socialization period.

If it is clear to us that we do NOT want our dog to climb on the sofa under any circumstances and regardless of whether or not there is anyone at home, we will start to teach it that its place is somewhere else. When we see the dog on the floor, before it goes up we will start to use reinforcements so that it understands that this is the right place to be. It will have to be a constant exercise since, after all, communication from our side will come from above, so its natural tendency will be to climb up to be at the same level as us.

If we haven’t prevented it from going up, we should refrain from giving reinforcement to make the behaviour cease by extinction. It is worth remembering that not rewarding behaviour also means reinforcement, but in this case of what shouldn’t be done (negative).

And if your dog is already on the sofa, how do we get it off?

 

• If we want our dog to get off the sofa, we should accompany and guide it gently, trying to manipulate it physically as little as possible, since it is something it must learn to do by its own free will. Punishments and discipline aren’t the most favourable thing when teaching a dog, they will only open the way for us to emphasize a hierarchy that allows our furry friend to obey the signals.

• In addition, discipline should never be aggressive or involve the use of force, but should be shown through a firm tone and gestures that the dog associates them with behaviours that shouldn’t be carried out. The mere fact of removing it from the place where it wants to be, such as the sofa, for example, is already a type of punishment.

• Once down, we should reward it with some positive reinforcement (caresses, food or nice words) so that it sees that going down can bring it a reward. In case our dog doesn’t like being on the floor or isn’t used to it, we will provide it with a new resting place, either a bed or a cushion, but one that can replace the sofa. We will expose it to the object and once the animal gets on it, touches it or sniffs it, we will drop treats until our dog remains up and doesn't come down.

• Once it has been reinforced to lie on its new resting place we will teach it the "to your place" signal. We will do this as long as all its needs have been met beforehand (going for a walk, eating, etc.), as we can’t expect our dog to want to rest if it has spent the whole day at home, for example. We will have to be coherent and make the work easier for ourselves by balancing the dog’s energy levels and making it a fun and motivating experience for both of us.

It is undeniable that sharing quality time with your best friend, in a resting place, will strengthen your bond even more. The fact is that wanting to sleep next to you is a clear way of telling you that your dog loves you. But although we may believe that putting it on the sofa may make your dog feel more welcome or loved by the family, this may not actually be doing it any good.

Boundaries in canine behaviours

Why are they necessary?
The best sign of love that we can give them is to ensure their mental and physical safety, and to do this we need to set certain limits.The limits, if internalized from the time they are puppies, can accompany them throughout their lives and promote a harmonious coexistence with the rest of our society, just as they would do it with their pack. After all, allowing them to behave in ways that aren’t correct will only result in them not having the necessary understanding they need to feel accepted by other humans and dogs. As well as hindering their learning, climbing on the sofa may also be a hygiene problem, depending on the breed, due to the amount of hair your dog sheds, especially when there is someone with allergies at home.

When should we set limits?
It all depends, to a large extent, on the type of breed. Some will have in their DNA a greater predisposition to give allergies, or more dominant or possessive instincts that will make them more reluctant to get off the sofa against their will. So, if your dog's temperament tends to have difficulty in learning limits due to its type of nature, and it may show aggression in the face of a resource guarding, or if it belongs to a breed that tends to shed a lot of hair, the best thing to do is to assign your dog a new place to rest as an alternative to the sofa.

In the case of Australian Cobberdogs favoured with a temperament that is easy to teach due to their outstanding intelligence and hypoallergenic coat, they are the dogs to live with par excellence. Teaching them to get on or off the sofa won't be difficult, but quite the opposite, given their infinite desire to learn. And the important thing for them is the fact that they can be with you no matter where, making education an activity that both you and they enjoy, and that the sofa is something that ends up being in the background.