# Jumping up on the sofa/taking things



## Sarah Ralph (Jul 28, 2021)

Hi, my 13 week old Vizsla has now discovered he can climb onto the sofa and likes it there! If we try and physically remove him by lifting him off of gently pushing him off he growls and barks, I know he thinks it's a good game but my 9 year old son is becoming alarmed by his behaviour and only wants to be in the same room as him unless he's calm or asleep. Saying 'no' or 'get down' does not help at all. He also grabs and chews cushions, shoes, gloves, anything he can get his mouth on and runs away with them. I have tried to show no interest or swap with another toy but some things (£200 sunglasses) I have to get back straight away.
Can anyone help with this behaviour and how long does it last?


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## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

Sounds pretty normal. At 13 weeks , he is a baby and you should always remember that. Keep all things of value away from him , out of reach, etc. You will need to "puppy-proof" the living space that he has access to. The pup should never be put in a position where he can grab anything very valuable. Make sure you have tons of toys scattered all over and redirect to them when he gets into something he shouldn't. It is OK to say a firm "NO" or other no-no word. We use "EHE EHE" to begin his understanding of things you don't like him doing. Then followed with a fun "here take this!" with a toy as if initiating play. Make it really fun that he wants the toy you are offering instead of the things he shouldn't. Screaming or hitting will get you nowhere and may actually cause psychological damage in the long run. When he is older you can use something like a water squirt bottle to reinforce your "NO" expression.

Start teaching "up" and "off" commands using treats. Lure him up on the sofa and say "UP!". Then lure him with a treat to get off the sofa with the "OFF!". After awhile he'll learn these words and will know when you want him to get on and off something. At that point you can start telling him to get off of the sofa and start to build your boundaries around the house. We tried keeping Ellie off the sofa at first but gave up because she was just too confused before understanding what we were asking. Once she learned the off command we could have her get off if we wanted to, but we just decided to allow her to be on it at will as long as she's not destroying anything. Beds on the other hand we decided are off-limits.


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## Sarah Ralph (Jul 28, 2021)

Dan_A said:


> Sounds pretty normal. At 13 weeks , he is a baby and you should always remember that. Keep all things of value away from him , out of reach, etc. You will need to "puppy-proof" the living space that he has access to. The pup should never be put in a position where he can grab anything very valuable. Make sure you have tons of toys scattered all over and redirect to them when he gets into something he shouldn't. It is OK to say a firm "NO" or other no-no word. We use "EHE EHE" to begin his understanding of things you don't like him doing. Then followed with a fun "here take this!" with a toy as if initiating play. Make it really fun that he wants the toy you are offering instead of the things he shouldn't. Screaming or hitting will get you nowhere and may actually cause psychological damage in the long run. When he is older you can use something like a water squirt bottle to reinforce your "NO" expression.
> 
> Start teaching "up" and "off" commands using treats. Lure him up on the sofa and say "UP!". Then lure him with a treat to get off the sofa with the "OFF!". After awhile he'll learn these words and will know when you want him to get on and off something. At that point you can start telling him to get off of the sofa and start to build your boundaries around the house. We tried keeping Ellie off the sofa at first but gave up because she was just too confused before understanding what we were asking. Once she learned the off command we could have her get off if we wanted to, but we just decided to allow her to be on it at will as long as she's not destroying anything. Beds on the other hand we decided are off-limits.


Thanks you so much for your reply, an thank you for going into so much detail on how to tackle the problem. It makes sense now to teach him the word off rather than just expecting him to know it! I will definitely start to do that today. Thanks again.


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## anna wright (Dec 12, 2021)

Sarah Ralph said:


> Thanks you so much for your reply, an thank you for going into so much detail on how to tackle the problem. It makes sense now to teach him the word off rather than just expecting him to know it! I will definitely start to do that today. Thanks again.





Sarah Ralph said:


> Hi, my 13 week old Vizsla has now discovered he can climb onto the sofa and likes it there! If we try and physically remove him by lifting him off of gently pushing him off he growls and barks, I know he thinks it's a good game but my 9 year old son is becoming alarmed by his behaviour and only wants to be in the same room as him unless he's calm or asleep. Saying 'no' or 'get down' does not help at all. He also grabs and chews cushions, shoes, gloves, anything he can get his mouth on and runs away with them. I have tried to show no interest or swap with another toy but some things (£200 sunglasses) I have to get back straight away.
> Can anyone help with this behaviour and how long does it last?


The truth is, I do not know anybody who ownes a hunting breed, espacially Vz and made the sofa a banned place. Hunting breeds (again, especially Vs) are extremely sensitive to their rank in the pack. Not letting him sit where the rest of the family usually is resting together makes him feel excluded and pushed away. I have a feeling that this will be one of the most difficult challenges in your relationship - to keep him off of sofa, couch and beds.


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## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

I kind of agree with @anna wright around their sensitivity and velcro-factor. I also believe you can compromise as we did. We allow sofa, but not beds. We never gave in on the bed and although it took a bit of effort and persistence, Ellie doesn't even try to get on our bed now. She does test her boundaries with jumping on our 9y/o's bed at night time once in awhile before bed time. Otherwise Ellie sleeps in her comfy crate at night in the livingroom outside of our bedroom door. We use a crate cover and only leave one of the shorter sides open to make it like a den of sorts. She loves it and even in the early morning when my wife wakes, she doesn't even try to signal to get out as she's nice and cozy in her pillow and blankets.


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## anna wright (Dec 12, 2021)

Dan_A said:


> I kind of agree with @anna wright around their sensitivity and velcro-factor. I also believe you can compromise as we did. We allow sofa, but not beds. We never gave in on the bed and although it took a bit of effort and persistence, Ellie doesn't even try to get on our bed now. She does test her boundaries with jumping on our 9y/o's bed at night time once in awhile before bed time. Otherwise Ellie sleeps in her comfy crate at night in the livingroom outside of our bedroom door. We use a crate cover and only leave one of the shorter sides open to make it like a den of sorts. She loves it and even in the early morning when my wife wakes, she doesn't even try to signal to get out as she's nice and cozy in her pillow and blankets.


An excellent resolution, they love their "safe place" that is only theirs. And if the rules are set form the beginning than I am sure it works out smooth. However, like you 've mentioned, the family is together as equals in the living room, and I noticed that they are very much expecting that. Many times I had the feeling that they think of themself as of being a different-looking human species.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

If you don’t want the pup on the sofa, sit on the floor with them. I do it a lot, if one of has had surgery.


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## anna wright (Dec 12, 2021)

texasred said:


> If you don’t want the pup on the sofa, sit on the floor with them. I do it a lot, if one of has had surgery.


Absolutely, we did that all the time even though he was allowed everywhere. Sometimes he gotten overheated and we moved , all of us on the floor with him. The truth is, once we understood the togetherness with him, we nneded it at least as much as he did.


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