Dog jumping on the sofa/bed

[N40M1]

Hi,

We've got a 5 month chocolate Labrador who is great, has been quick to learn things like sit and wait.

We've said from the start that we don't want our dog on the sofa. We wouldn't mind but we have a baby on the way and don't want him jumping on the sofa or bed when the baby is on there. Obviously they wouldn't be together unsupervised, but Milo jumps up on us when we're sitting on the sofa.

We've looked at training advice and have followed this; he jumps off when we say off and have a treat, but won't jump off if we don't have a treat. We've bought comfy beds for him, which he enjoyed chewing and he had a duvet on the floor at one point. Despite repeatedly telling him 'off', as soon as he's been off and had his treat, he jumps straight up again. He's got tons of toys to occupy him, too. He doesn't have access to sofas while we're out.

Any advice on what we can do to stop him? I'm sure he knows he's not allowed! We've been training him now for at least a couple of months.

[Nettle]

You are nearly there, but you need to make where you want him to be more desirable. he wants to be near you, so put a(nother) bed or duvet beside the sofa when you go to sit on the sofa. Make sure it is really really comfortable - two duvets are even better than one. Then it's a patience game. Put out the duvets, put a treat in your hand, put him on a lead, direct him to the duvet, when he is on it, treat him. Give him something safe to chew eg a stuffed kong. He only has this on the duvet. When he tries to jump on the sofa, redirect him onto the duvets on the floor. The lead is not for pulling him: it is to give you more control when he tries to jump onto the sofa. It's important to make what you want him to do more fun than what HE wants to do, so when you redirect, no word, no fuss, no eye contact, don't get annoyed, but WHEN he is where you want him, he gets attention.

When you get up from the sofa to do something else, he has no access to the sofa. It sounds as if you are doing this already.

Labradors, as you are finding, are world champion chewers. So supply him with vast amounts of safe things to chew.

[Nettle]

Continuing - also make sure he gets lots of attention in the rest of his day. If he gets the most attention by doing something you don't want, that just encourages him to keep doing it. Every family member must be on board with this - if just one person just once says awww let him up, or gives in and lets him up, then that sets you back to zero again.

The first few times it will seem like an exercise in perpetual motion, and he will try harder and harder. It's called an 'extinction burst'. As long as you just keep on quietly persistently redirecting him, he will get the idea.

Stop the treat reward after the first time of asking, but the kong should only be his when he is on the duvet.

Also if you are training a command for this, don't say "down" because that means lie down and will confuse him. You can use any other word, but I use 'off'.

[N40M1]

Thank you for your reply. We'll try this!

[Caesg]

Knowledgeable folks here: please correct me if I am off base. My experience is primarily with cats. Obviously, both (a) different from dogs and (b) both have a greater need and (c) are better physically built for getting up and down from high places. Although, what I am proposing is no higher than the sofa itself and didn't appear to be a problem for the puppy in question.

N40M1-- I wonder if it would help if you could create a raised platform for the duvet/dog bed. That's way, rather than being on the ground and thus more separate from the family, he can still see everyone, while having his own separate location and not bothering the baby. Perhaps have gap of a foot or two between the sofa and the "bed stand." I am thinking placing the bed on top of a kennel or low large chest of drawers with a lip. (Partner and I bond over creating handy projects liked this. I can imagine it being overwhelming for folks with different hobbies/time use preferences.)

[JudyN]

N40M1-- I wonder if it would help if you could create a raised platform for the duvet/dog bed. That's way, rather than being on the ground and thus more separate from the family, he can still see everyone, while having his own separate location and not bothering the baby.

At 5 months, he shouldn't really be jumping up and down too much anyway so a bed raised as high as a sofa wouldn't be the best idea right now. You would also want to avoid having him and his people too close - being on the same level might mean he feels too close to the strange squalling unpredicatable new arrival. But dogs often do prefer a raised bed so apart from these two factors, I think it's an excellent idea

[emmabeth]

Yup, we have a crate downstairs at the minute with a duvet heaped on top.. the dogs are FAR more likely to be on top of it than in it!