I've seen in some online sites have mats you can put on sofa's that will give off an electric shock/warning if they get up there.

I checked some of those out and it didn't seem like they would work for me. One because I'm not home as often as my roommate and he'd probably just brush them off and two because I dont' want to spend $100 on them (one for each couch@ $50), that's a nice chunk towards my new sofa <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Someone suggested trying a vinegar/water mix and spraying it at him when I caught him on the furniture but it did't work well for me. The first time I sprayed him he just started biting at the water until he realized that he didn't like it (1:5 mix), then I increased the amount to almost 1:2 and he just jumps off when sprayed and runs to the other couch spray again and he jumps down, shakes it off and runs into my roommates bedroom.

Obviously I can't keep him off because everytime I hear him 'playing' with one of his toys/squeakers in the living room it never fails that he's standing on my furniture doing it.

I've decided to just give the couch to Goodwill/Salvation Army as it frustrates me even dealing with it. I doubt it will get the point across to my roommate but at least he won't be destroying my things.

Thanks for all looks and suggestions, but I guess I made my mind up from the beginning and was just trying to avoid that option.

Tae

How about putting your sofas in storage so when you're roommate asks what happened to it, you can tell him since he doesn't care that his dog is ruining the furniture he can provide the sofa instead of you.

Have you tried Ed's recommended procedure for using Bitter Apple?

This seems more like a problem with you and your roommate, though. =) Why not tell your roommate that the dog is not allowed on your furniture and that you are going to deal with it appropriately, by letting the dog know that the couch is yours and that he is not allowed on it. If you can't do that, wrap the furniture in plastic until you move.

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How about putting your sofas in storage so when you're roommate asks what happened to it, you can tell him since he doesn't care that his dog is ruining the furniture he can provide the sofa instead of you.

I considered that but the furniture has been getting worse (or maybe it's just showing more now because the fabric is getting worn. I was hoping to salvage the couches for a few months until I move but that is obviously not going to happen.

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Have you tried Ed's recommended procedure for using Bitter Apple?

This seems more like a problem with you and your roommate, though. =) Why not tell your roommate that the dog is not allowed on your furniture and that you are going to deal with it appropriately, by letting the dog know that the couch is yours and that he is not allowed on it. If you can't do that, wrap the furniture in plastic until you move.

I didn't try the bitter apple spray (although I considered it) because my roommate has a hissy fit when I discipline his dog and I didn't want to get into it with him.

You are exactly right it is an issue between my roommate and I but he hasn't done anything about it despite my CONSTANT requests (he thinks I'm a nagger and am moody, must be the Gemini<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. He's had the dog since Christmas and I have been constantly harping on him about making the dog stay off the furniture yet every time I came home there he was again standing on the couch/loveseat eating a rawhide or playing with a toy with my roommate sitting on the other couch not doing anything about it.

My roommate is one of those 'pet' people..."OMG he's so cute look at him heres, 50 pictures I took of him doing things I know he shouldn't be doing!" Or (his favorite line) "He's only 5 months old! Did you do X when you were only 5 months old? You can't train a dog overnight!" Funny he fails to realize that that is exactly my point, that it doesn't happen overnight or just because he gets upset that he doesn't obey in a situation that could reflect negatively on him as a dog owner.

He has no idea what kind of trouble he's going to be in when his dog is all of the sudden an 85lb adult Pit Bull and is disobedient or ignores my roommates commands altogether, because he chose not to train the dog to be obedient from day 1 people like him give the breed a bad name<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />.

He doesn't respect my wishes/opinion/property. At first I figured it was just the puppy being a puppy and learning, but after seeing the dog jump on the couch while my roommate sits there and does nothing I realized that it was his fault and not the dogs learning curve. I tried to correct this myself for a while but it did not work.

He won't get the point but at least I won't have to deal with it and watching my things be destroyed.

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate all the input.

BTW the dog has an affinity for plastic (and my roommate doesn't mind) so covering the furniture would not only not resolve the problem but could be potentially harmful to the dog. And of course I'd be to blame even though my roommate lets him eat plastic bags... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Sounds to me like your roomate's dog is damaging your property that otherwise would be in decent condition if the dog were not jumping all over it and tearing it up. These conditions go beyond "normal wear and tear"....see where I'm going with this? Tell your roommate that, unless he does his part to keep HIS dog from further destroying YOUR property, you will keep his part of the security deposit (or whatever way you can hit the moron financially to make him pay for the destruction of your furniture). Why should you have to pay for his negligence/lack of responsibility? Would the owner of your apt let the dog tear up the walls and carpets and not make you pay for it? That's what pet deposits are for.
***Hindsight, maybe you should have charged the roommate a pet deposit for any property/furniture damages incurred by his dog, refundable when you all move out if there's no damage.

Well, your roomate doesn't need to know that you trained the dog to hate bitter apple, unless he's there 24/7.

You could always take the cushions off the furniture, or turn the furniture upside down until your roommate settles.

You could also try Ed's solution for keeping a dog from digging, although, I'm not sure the result would be what you would want. =)

I see where you're going Kate, and since I just made him put all the utilities in his name (due to othe irresponsibilities) I could just hold out on my part. Didn't even consider that.

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Well, your roomate doesn't need to know that you trained the dog to hate bitter apple, unless he's there 24/7.

You could always take the cushions off the furniture, or turn the furniture upside down until your roommate settles.

He is there 24x7 because he rarely goes to class, with the exception of him leaving to get fast food 6-8x/week for about 20min-30min. I'll check into the bitter apple and read up on the digging solution.