# Keeping puppy off furniture?



## Penny4YourThoughts (Aug 4, 2016)

Hi all!
I'm new to the group, and a new vizsla owner as well. 
Our penny is 12.5weeks now (got her at 10.5 wks)
Since the day we got her, we have been struggling with keeping her off furniture. A constant battle of her jumping up, us saying off and removing her, only for her to jump up again. I've tried sitting on the floor with her, best solution so far, but not a good long term fix.
The breeder had a couch that all the puppies slept on, so I thought it would just be something we would break, but there has been 0 improvement for all our struggles :'(
any suggestions?
Thanks!


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

When we were expecting our first child, we read several books on the subject of bringing up children. The one piece of advice that stuck with me over all the years (3 children later) was 'pick your battles'! Children have so much more energy than parents do and will grind away like water on a rock. As parents, you only have so much energy - hence 'pick your battles'.

Two Vizslas later and the advice still holds true. Not only are Vizslas 'velcro' dogs (so they will want to be beside you) but they also like a high position. They have an infinite amount of energy to challenge your decisions! Before we got our first Vizsla, we decided that we would allow her on the sofa but only when invited. That lasted about as long as it took for her to learn to get up for herself! We picked other battles.

I'm not saying you should not enforce what you have decided and with a lot of consistent enforcement you will probably achieve what you want. As I say though, it will require a LOT of enforcement as they are naturally dogs that want to be by your side. Personally, we decided it wasn't that important and just invested in some cheap blankets to put on the sofa.


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

Our girl isn't allowed on the couch and she does really well with it. We will occasionally find her on there if we are in the other room cleaning, etc. but she doesn't get on the furniture if we are in the same room. She also will sleep on there when we are away from home (she isn't kenneled) but they really are smart enough to learn that they can only be on it at certain times. 
I love it, because when we have guests over she doesn't jump in their lap if they're on the couch --if she was allowed up she definitely would and that would be inappropriate IMO!

Anyway ---
We taught her by consistently saying "off" and removing her from the couch. Also, we sat with her on the floor a lot and my husband still sits with her on the floor often at night, just because he likes the cuddles. Does she have a dog bed? Try bringing that into the living room along with a tasty bone to keep her occupied/on the bed rather than the couch.


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## Rbka (Apr 21, 2014)

Some ideas:
-we used the command"Up up" to invite Nico on the couch. If Nico looked like he was going to jump up, we would say "up up!" and eventually he figured out what it meant.

-we used "Off" to get off the sofa (others use "floor"... maybe not "down" because that usually means "lie down")

-our trainer said never to push a puppy off furniture because then they will think you are playing and they will try to continue the game!

-bring a dog bed and an engaging toy (or something to chew/destroy) and put it next to the sofa and sit with her... then when she is concentrated and settled, move up to the sofa. This way she may stay on her bed and get used to you being on the sofa without her.

-We closed the doors to the living room and bedroom when Nico was a pup so he couldn't go up when we weren't there. Eventually we left the doors open but would booby trap the sofa with pillows. If the pillows were moved or knocked off we would put a hand on the sofa where he'd been lying, say "Did you do this", and send him to his bed for a minute or two as a time out. --> Please note that dog-shaming is probably not a recommended training technique but it worked REALLY quickly for us and Nico doesn't seem to have any issues from it!


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## Penny4YourThoughts (Aug 4, 2016)

Thank you for all your advise! 
The main reason for keeping her off the furniture is that my mother who babysits my children twice a week has a fear of dogs. She is doing very well with our puppy (and I'm proud of her for that!) but I want to make things easier for her, and having the dog on the couch climbing on her would be too much...


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## Jrod (Dec 12, 2012)

Hello Penny,
All the above ideas are great, so is the advice. One thing I would like to add to it all is remember your puppy is only 12.5 weeks old, teaching her anything is going to be a challenge. Always remind yourself, what would you expect of a child that is the same age as she. 

Redirecting her behavior is another way to build good habits and shoo away some bad ones. When she jumps on the couch try luring her off with a treat, if she jumps down, offer the treat. As you progress through this training, you can replace the treat with lots of praise. 

Showing her positive attention when she is off the couch is the 2nd part to this. Play with her on the ground, work on commands or anything that distracts her from being on the couch. She will begin to relate being off the couch with pleasant experiences. Apply the same positive experiences for being in her bed/crate too!

Don't forget when she does what you want, to give lots of praise. That means even when she begins to understand she is suppose to be in crate or bed, remind her she is doing well by giving her a "good girl" or other positive reinforcment.

It takes time, *patience * and lots of practice but everything you put into your pup will be returned 10 fold. I hope all is well and you make some progress! Have a nice day.

Jrod


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## jean (Feb 17, 2015)

We blocked off the couch for weeks during the training phase in order to prevent the habit. We literally had chairs upside down on the couch. This is not ideal if you actually want to use your couch, but it worked. At 12.5 weeks, that is the most reliable thing you can do!


Once he was a little more mature and less prone to crazily darting up on things, we removed the chairs and he was accustomed to not going up there. We also needed a soft spot for him on the floor. 

Still, my husband often cuddled on the floor with him next to the couch. I think you will have to actively work on having him lay on his bed/floor while you sit on the couch in order to make that a normal behavior. Now we do let him up, but invite only.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

jean said:


> We blocked off the couch for weeks during the training phase in order to prevent the habit. We literally had chairs upside down on the couch. ...


Reminds me of this:


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I understand we each have our own house rules. 
Some of us just threw half the rules out the window. 

Lucy sitting at the kitchen table.


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