When Ollie first arrived at our home, he was just eight weeks old and weighed around 10 pounds. He loved chasing his cousin Willow, a 15-pound Cocker Spaniel, around the house. However, when Willow had enough, she would jump onto her dog mom's lap, out of Ollie's reach. Ollie couldn't figure out how to get on the couch to reach Willow, so he just sat and stared at her.
About a month later, Ollie figured out how to get on the couch, and we encouraged him a little since he was so cute, tiny, and cuddly. It was also fun to watch him learn new things. However, fast forward a few months, and Ollie is now over 50 pounds and takes running leaps onto the couch, which is not so cute anymore. My wife had warned me about this earlier.
Our trainer asked us if we wanted Ollie on the furniture. We generally keep our pets off the furniture, but sitting with them is nice sometimes. The trainer told us to use a command like "hop up" to invite Ollie onto the couch when we wanted him to come up. If he gets on the furniture without permission, we tell him “Off." If he doesn't budge, we say, "No off" and gently grab him by the collar to pull him off. This has worked well for us.
Ollie is an intelligent dog who sometimes sneaks onto the furniture when we're not looking. It's hard not to laugh at his sneakiness, especially when he avoids eye contact. He must think we won't notice. But we go ahead and correct him by saying "no off," and he gets right down.
I know many people don't want pets on the furniture, while others let them on whenever they want. But my experience of training Ollie has taught me that we can have it both ways. Our pets are smart and can learn, but only if we, their owners, take the time to teach them. Steady, consistent, and loving training of our pets ensures they are well-mannered, safe, and welcome.
Ryan –
PS: Here are a few of my favorite places to learn more about how to train your pets.