May 13, 2011
Our 1 year old dog is obedience trained but we can’t keep him off the furniture. What can we do?
Full Question:
Our 1 year old dog is obedience trained but we cannot keep him off the furniture. What can we do? 
Ed's Answer:
There are a couple of things that come to mind when I see and hear about this problem.
When the dog climbs on the furniture, the handler should only use "ONE COMMAND" either No or pfui (pfui is the German word for NO).
Many dog owners forget this very important point. They come into the room and say "Spot get off the damn couch." or "Spot if I told you once I told you a hundred times, get down off the couch." The fact is that the only word the dog probably understood was his name. He may react to the harsh tone of the voice but this is not good dog training. We should not have to get mad or even sound mad when we train our dogs.
It's important to learn to give a firm command without sounding mad. This is not easy to do, it takes practice. Too often new dog owners teach their dogs that the only time they really have to mind is when they sound mad. They accomplish this by not moving to give a correction until they sound upset.
So, the proper way to handle the dog when it gets on the couch is to issue a firm "NO" and if the dog does not get down the owner should calmly walk over, pick up the drag line and give a firm "JERK." Here again we see a lot of mistakes. Many owners will drag the dog off the couch or chair and not give a proper correction.
The correction needs to be a "snap jerk," it’s more like "Popping" the dog. Many new owners correct the dog with something more like a pull on the leash rather than popping the choke collar with a firm quick pop. This kind of a correction should almost create a little shock in the dogs temperament. We want the dog to realize that he screwed up and just got popped for it.
The most important part of the entire process is to praise the dog when it gets down off the chair. Dogs will naturally seek an area area of least stress. If owners are consistent with this NO - calmly walk to the dog and give a JERK CORRECTION followed by praise or NO followed by praise when the dog gets down. The dog will quickly learn that getting on the furniture is not in its best interest.
If you have a very stubborn dog that will continue to climb on the furniture (after you have gone through the above process) and just get down when told then you need to change tactics. When the dog is found on furniture you must calmly walk over to the dog and give an automatic correction. This means that you don't act mad or upset, you simply walk up to the dog (without giving eye contact), reach down and give the dog a correction that he will dream about tonight. As you issue the correction you give the "NO" command. When it’s down you still must praise. Every dog will appreciate your consistency and praise.
- The dog is not really obedience trained.
- The owners do not really understand how to give a proper correction.
When the dog climbs on the furniture, the handler should only use "ONE COMMAND" either No or pfui (pfui is the German word for NO).
Many dog owners forget this very important point. They come into the room and say "Spot get off the damn couch." or "Spot if I told you once I told you a hundred times, get down off the couch." The fact is that the only word the dog probably understood was his name. He may react to the harsh tone of the voice but this is not good dog training. We should not have to get mad or even sound mad when we train our dogs.
It's important to learn to give a firm command without sounding mad. This is not easy to do, it takes practice. Too often new dog owners teach their dogs that the only time they really have to mind is when they sound mad. They accomplish this by not moving to give a correction until they sound upset.
So, the proper way to handle the dog when it gets on the couch is to issue a firm "NO" and if the dog does not get down the owner should calmly walk over, pick up the drag line and give a firm "JERK." Here again we see a lot of mistakes. Many owners will drag the dog off the couch or chair and not give a proper correction.
The correction needs to be a "snap jerk," it’s more like "Popping" the dog. Many new owners correct the dog with something more like a pull on the leash rather than popping the choke collar with a firm quick pop. This kind of a correction should almost create a little shock in the dogs temperament. We want the dog to realize that he screwed up and just got popped for it.
The most important part of the entire process is to praise the dog when it gets down off the chair. Dogs will naturally seek an area area of least stress. If owners are consistent with this NO - calmly walk to the dog and give a JERK CORRECTION followed by praise or NO followed by praise when the dog gets down. The dog will quickly learn that getting on the furniture is not in its best interest.
If you have a very stubborn dog that will continue to climb on the furniture (after you have gone through the above process) and just get down when told then you need to change tactics. When the dog is found on furniture you must calmly walk over to the dog and give an automatic correction. This means that you don't act mad or upset, you simply walk up to the dog (without giving eye contact), reach down and give the dog a correction that he will dream about tonight. As you issue the correction you give the "NO" command. When it’s down you still must praise. Every dog will appreciate your consistency and praise.
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