Training
You get up for a moment and your seat has gone. The rule is yours to choose; what counts is that the whole family keeps it and he learns it without being dragged off.
You get up to fetch a glass of water and by the time you are back your seat has gone. The dog is stretched full length along the sofa with his head on your cushion, and when you say "off" he gives you a quick look and shuts his eyes. When you brought him home the rule was "never on the sofa". He is eight months old now, he sleeps at the foot of your bed, your partner says he is not bothering anyone and the children sneak him up when you are not looking. He is not after running the household. The sofa is the softest, warmest spot in the house and it smells of all of you, which is reason enough. Below is how to pick a rule, how to teach it without a battle, and how to spot when it has stopped being a training question.
Any of these works. The one condition is that everybody in the house sticks to it in the same way.
"Yes today, no tomorrow because I'm wearing white trousers" means nothing to a dog. If he is allowed up every now and then, he will try every single time, because sometimes it worked.
He needs a soft bed big enough to stretch out in, in the room where you all spend the evening. The hall does not count. Half the appeal of the sofa is that you are on it. Leave something to chew next to the bed. For the first few days, whenever he settles there on his own, go over, tell him warmly what a good lad he is and pop a treat between his paws.
If you went for the invitation rule: pat the blanket, say "up" and praise him as he climbs on. No word, no sofa. If he gets up uninvited, it is "off" and back to his bed, calmly and without a telling-off. Dogs pick up the difference quickly as long as the invitation always comes with the same signal.
Eight hours on the sofa while you are at work is eight hours of practising the very thing you are trying to stop. Until the rule has settled, shut the living room door, put two chairs on the sofa or a folded blanket over it, or leave him in a pen. It is not for ever. The chairs come off once you see him choosing his own bed.
If you do not want him on the bed, put his bed next to yours in the same room, especially in the first weeks. Plenty of dogs climb onto the bed simply because they do not want to sleep alone, and they settle much faster beside you. If he is allowed on the bed, give him his own blanket at the foot of it and practise "off" there as well, for the nights you need the room.
| Day | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Family conversation: the rule and the words. The new bed goes next to the sofa. |
| 1–7 | Every time he settles in his bed by himself, praise and a treat. |
| 2–4 | "Off" with the treat lowered to the floor, 5 or 6 times a day. Sofa blocked while you are out. |
| 5–7 | "Off" on the word alone, then sent to his bed. "Up" on invitation, if that is your rule. |
Puppies. The rule starts on day one. Stopping a habit from forming is far easier than undoing it at eight months. Do not lift him onto the sofa if he is going to jump down onto a hard floor on his own afterwards: jumping from a height is hard on a puppy's joints, particularly in small and large breeds. At night, his bed or crate goes beside yours.
Adolescents. Somewhere between 6 and 18 months, dogs start pushing at limits you thought were settled. It looks like defiance. It is his age. Keep the rule exactly as it was, and if you had stopped using treats for "off", bring them back.
Adopted adults. For the first few weeks, keep him off the sofa and the bed until you know him. Watch first how he reacts when he is touched while asleep, when you come close to him on a soft spot, and when he has to get down. Some shelter dogs have never owned anything in their lives and may start guarding the spot.
Seniors. An old dog jumping off the bed can slip or hurt himself. If you want him close, give him a ramp or a soft step, an orthopaedic bed next to yours, or get a low sofa. Sometimes a dog who has slept in his own bed all his life suddenly wants to be next to you at night. Usually that is the insecurity that comes with age rather than a whim.
"Off" on the word, indoors, usually takes one to two weeks of short sessions. A no-exceptions rule sets in two or three weeks, provided the sofa stays blocked while you are out. The invitation rule takes about a month, because there are two words and a rule with a condition attached.
The good signs come one at a time. In the evening, when you sit down on the sofa, he takes himself off to his bed. Before climbing up he looks at you, as if he is asking. He gets down at the first "off" without one last stretch. At night he stays off the bed, or comes up only when called. The last sign tends to come last: you leave the sofa clear when you go out and come home to find him in his own bed.
The first three are beyond house rules. They are about guarding a place or about fear of being left alone, and a trainer or behaviour specialist can help you work through them without anyone getting bitten. We have a separate guide on resource guarding, which covers dogs who protect their spot and their things.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer.
Not if he is healthy, wormed, does not guard the bed and everyone sleeps well. Plenty of people share a bed with their dog for years without any trouble. Think again if someone in the house has allergies, if he growls when touched in his sleep or if he keeps you awake all night. A good bed beside yours is a fair compromise then.
Do not pull him by the collar or push him; that is exactly when a lot of dogs bite. Hold a treat at his nose, lower your hand to the floor, say "off" as he hops down and give him the treat on the floor. Within a few days the word is enough. If he growls when asked to get down, get a trainer in.
No. The idea that a dog who sleeps up high wants to run the family was dropped by behaviour specialists long ago. What draws him is comfort and being near you. The real problem only starts if he guards the spot, with growling or biting. That is resource guarding, and it needs a specialist.
To begin with, do not let him practise: room door shut, chairs on the sofa or a folded blanket over it. Meanwhile make his own bed as good as you can, close to where you sit, and praise him every time he settles there by himself. After a few weeks you can ease off the blocking.
Repeated jumps from a height onto hard floors are tough on a puppy's joints, especially in small and large breeds. Do not lift him up if he is going to jump down on his own. If you want him next to you, use a soft step or a ramp and teach "off" while he is young.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
He freezes over the bowl, eats faster as you approach, growls over his bone. Resource guarding is natural behaviour that has become a problem, and you fix it by trading.
His first night away from his mother and littermates, alone in the dark in a box. Crying is normal; how you respond in the first few nights decides how long it lasts.
Taught patiently, a crate becomes where your dog sleeps of his own accord, door open. Forced on him, it becomes a prison. It is decided in the first few weeks.
He runs, lifts a back leg, goes three steps on three legs and then carries on. In small breeds it is very often the kneecap slipping out of place.
In Puppy Class and the basic obedience course these exercises are worked in a group, with real distractions and feedback at every step.