Our beloved pets can sometimes get under our skin. Especially annoying is their persistent jumping into places where they don’t belong, for example when a dog jumps onto our sofa. A nice, light or beige one, where their paw prints are perfectly visible. But do we have to spread our arms and think „what can we do when the dog jumps on the sofa”? Not at all! If our beloved dog jumps on the sofa, we are not doomed to put up with constant hair and paw prints on the furniture. There are more ways to stop your dog from climbing on the sofa than you might think.
Why does my dog climb on the sofa?
First of all, why does your dog like to jump on the sofa? Is it just because he sees us sitting on it? Or does he miss his bed? Or is it too small, too hard or just not comfortable? Before you start thinking about how to stop your dog from climbing onto the sofa, check what alternatives there are. Often, even a good-looking bed is not adjusted to the weight of the animal – large dogs need a thick bed, often in the form of a mattress, while small and medium-sized dogs will settle for something thinner but soft.
Why else would a dog climb on the sofa? Perhaps he associates it with treats? Do we always give them when we are resting and sitting comfortably on the sofa? Or did he always chew on them when he was young, sitting next to us? Maybe it is enough to stop giving them from the sofa and suddenly he will start to get bored with it?
What to do when the dog jumps on the sofa or a short guide on how to stop your beloved dog from climbing on the sofa
Now that we know why our dog climbs on the sofa, it’s time to think about what to do when your dog stops doing it. Remember, no amount of asking or threatening will help. If your dog climbs on the sofa. Firstly, check whether its bed is suitable for it. Secondly, let’s show the dog that climbing on the sofa is not worth it. We recommend a short training – that is, the positive reinforcement technique. Every time you want to stop your dog from climbing on the sofa and you see him snoozing on it, approach him, wake him up and give him a treat in such a way that he has to come down. We repeat this until it happens. And we never encourage him to get on the sofa ourselves. We also give a treat when the dog lies down on the ground or rests in its bed. If we skip this, instead of learning not to get on the sofa, our lovely dog will learn to jump up and down to get a treat. Dogs are very clever animals and always do what is more profitable for them.
