It is amazing how much trouble a dog can get into in a short period of time! But dogs remain some of our closest companions. Cats are great too, of course, but sometimes lack the friendship and warmth a relationship between a human and a dog can provide. Many dogs love jumping up on furniture no matter how much you tell them not to. What are some ways you can deal with this?
One suggestion is to have a spray bottle of water, and give your pet a spritz anytime they jump up. Sometimes this works better with cats than with dogs, but some animals respond well to this harmless method. After a while, your pet will simply respond to seeing the spray bottle held up, and before long they will remember that sitting on the nice family furniture has a negative association.
Another way to prevent pet jump up is to put sticky tape material on the spot your animal likes to jump up on, if there is a particular chair they enjoy cuddling and scratching up. Make sure this is mild, pet friendly stick material, however! You do not want your animal getting stuck, you just want them to remember the discomfort.
Those are examples of negative reinforcement, but positive reinforcement often has great results as well. Using dog biscuits to teach your dog to stay away from furniture is one way to make everyone happy with the end result. Consider buying homemade dog biscuits for a special and healthy treat. Buying homemade dog biscuits also tends to support local businesses. What I like about homemade dog biscuits is that they often come in interesting, exotic flavors your dog would not get from normal dog treats.
And, of course, there is one solution that many people might not consider, but in the end, it might save you a whole lot of headaches and you will not have to spend time training your dog. Just let them hang out on your mattress, couch or chair and keep you company. Sooner or later your furniture is going to show wear and tear anyway, and it takes only a minute or two to clean unwanted hair up when you have guests. And no worries, you can still give your dog some homemade dog treats! There is nothing a dog likes better than homemade dog biscuits, other than your companionship, of course!
