How to keep dog off couch when not home

Some dog owners allow their pets on their couches or to sleep in their beds. But what if you don’t want your dog to do that? If you are a new pet parent and have decided the furniture is a dog-free zone in your home, you may be wondering how to keep your new pet off the furniture.

Five tips to keep your furniture dog free

1. Give your dog their own bed or couch and show them how to use it.

   If you and your family are sitting on the couch or on the bed and you don’t want the dog to join you, one thing you can do is teach the command go to your bed or go to your place. Having a comfy spot near the humans will help your pet feel close to you without having to be on the furniture.

2. Do not ever let your dog on forbidden furniture under any circumstances.

Dogs don’t generalize well so if your pet is allowed on the bed with the kids, but mom says no, that can be confusing for your pet and hard to reinforce. If the dog isn’t allowed on the couch, the bed or any other piece of furniture the dog can’t ever be on the couch, the bed, or any other piece of furniture. All houseguests must also obey these rules if you want them to stick!

Another thing that can be confusing for your pet is a home with multiple couches. If you let your dog on the family room couch but not the formal living room that can be confusing. If you want to do this, the best bet is to keep the pet out of the formal living room so he is not tempted to test out that couch.

3. Do not let your pet have access to the furniture when you are not home.

   This means crate training your pet or gaiting off the area where the forbidden furniture is so your pet access it when you aren’t home to redirect them to a more appropriate place.

4. Do not let your dog counter surf or hop up on the dinner table.

   While it might be adorable to see your dog “stand” at the counter and look like he’s cooking, what you don’t want is a dog who thinks they can help themselves to a plate of meat or worse something toxic like a bowl of grapes or dish filled with onions.

5. Reward your dog for staying off the furniture.

   If your best friend cooperates and keeps themselves off the furniture - be sure to reward generously for good behavior. This can be in the form of a favorite toy or bone on his bed, treats for listening or just some playtime with you!

This is a totally personal decision that you need to make for yourself. While some owners can’t imagine not allowing their dogs to share the bed other people want their pups to sleep in their own beds. If you have an antique couch in the living room no one goes in, you may also want to keep the dog from making that his nap spot, BUT if the whole family is cramming on the living room couch to watch Disney+ it might be okay for you to let your pup join in there. Just know that once you’ve allowed the dog on a piece of furniture, it’s much harder to say no in the future!

Why do dogs even go on the furniture in the first place?

Same reason you do, it’s comfortable and their favorite people are there. Your dog may want to be on the couch, the bed or cozied up on a favorite ottoman to spend time with you.

If you don’t want your dog on your furniture there are other ways to accomplish this. You can have snuggle time on the floor or on their bed for example.

What to do if your dog won’t stay off the furniture

1. Be consistent

   Ensure you are not sending mixed messages to your pet about what you expect. If your pet gets on a piece of furniture they shouldn’t be on, tell them off and take them to their bed or place. You can give them a bone or toy on their bed or place to play with.

2. Try a physical barrier

   This could include closing the door to a room you don’t want your dog to play in or using baby gates to block off areas they should not be in.
   If one of those options won’t work, there are several products designed to keep your pet off the furniture. These include:

   X-Mat Pet Training Mat: This can be placed on your furniture directly. It contains small, pointy nubs that deter your pet from spending time on your furniture. It comes in a few sizes depending on the size you need.

   Couch defenders: These products create a physical barrier so that your pets can’t get on the furniture in the first place. They come in neutral colors like brown and beige and they can easily be folded and stored when you have company and want to use your couch or other furniture. These products work best in rooms that have furniture that isn’t used frequently including guest rooms and living rooms that are primarily used for entertaining.

   Furniture pads: these make a crinkling sound that deters your pet from jumping on the couch.

   You’ll want to avoid products that cause your pet pain or scare them when they go near the furniture. These products could make your pet scared of the that piece of furniture (or you) and they do not teach your pet what you do want them to do! These include:

   A can of pennies that you’d shake at your dog when he gets on a piece of furniture he isn’t supposed to be on. This can cause an adverse reaction or scare your pet.

   PetSafe Scat Mat: This mat uses static electricity like shocks to keep your pet off the sofa. While not painful it can be uncomfortable for your best friend. This mat does not help your pet learn what to do. It only provides a ‘correction’ for doing the wrong thing.

   Sofa Scram Sonic Dog & Cat Repellent Mat:When your pet steps on this mat it emits a 95-decibel beep that is irritating. This can cause your pet to avoid the piece of furniture and area around it - but not for the right reasons.

3. Obedience training

   If your pet is becoming territorial over your couch, bed or other furniture or is finding ways to sneak onto a piece of furniture after you’ve repeatedly told them no, don’t panic. While you might make the choice to share your couch or bed with your best friend you don’t want your dog to think he owns it. If your pet growls or snaps when someone tries to sit on ‘his’ spot or your pet won’t move over to make room for your partner you may have an issue. Contact a knowledgeable dog trainer or behaviorist who can help you work through the challenge.

They may give you some training exercises to do with your dog to help reinforce the behavior you want (staying off or away from the furniture). Look for trainers who use positive reinforcement and humane training methods to help your pet feel physically and psychologically safe.

Figuring out how to keep dogs off the couch can be tough - especially for new dog parents or those who have added another furbaby into their home. If you're the kind of family that doesn't want dogs up on the couch (whether it's because you wear all black or have really nice furniture), there are certainly ways to keep dogs off the couch - and bed, if you want them off of there, too. 

We don't judge owners who let dogs sleep in their bed  (many of us are guilty of that as well), and it's understandable if you want your dog to cuddle up with you on the couch. But many dog owners believe their pup belongs in their own dog bed and not on human furniture. Dogs love to go outside, and some owners would prefer they keep their potentially dirty paws planted firmly on the ground and not stomping all over their furniture and bedding.

There’s no right or wrong answer about where your dogs are allowed to go - it’s simply a matter of personal preference. If you want your furkid to stay off the couch and your bed, then you’ll find the tips that follow to be really helpful. Here's how to keep dogs off the couch (and elsewhere). 

How to keep dogs off the couch and furniture

If you and your pooch have a tight bond, it's likely that they wan tto be wherever you are. And that's a great thing - it means you have a great relationship! However, if you want to keep your dog off of the furniture, it might seem taxing if they have a tendency to be your second shadow. Perhaps they've jumped up on the couch before you've gotten a chance to even lower yourself onto it, or they just get up there when you're relaxing and are caught off-guard.

There’s nothing wrong with letting your pooch share the couch with you if that’s what you want, but if you’d rather they didn’t have access to the furniture, there are plenty of ways that you can lovingly help teach them their place.

Dogs need training to help teach them appropriate boundaries. So the sooner you start, the easier your life is going to be, as you can instill boundaries in them at a young age. Consistency around any ‘no dogs on the furniture’ policy is crucial, so if you live in a multi-human household, you’ll want to make sure everyone is on the same page - or they could be undoing any work you've done.

It can be tempting when you first bring home a new dog, especially if they’re a puppy, to let them curl up beside you for comfort, but it’s best to start to keep them off from the beginning if you intend to keep it that way for their entire life. If you make it clear from day one that the couch and all other furniture is off limits, your dog won’t know any different.

2. Give them a place of their own

If your dog has a great space of their own, the couch will seem like a downgrade. Invest in one of the best dog beds that your budget allows for, knowing that the more comfortable it is, the less interested they'll be in climbing up on the couch. 

When choosing a dog bed, steer clear of anything too flat and instead go for something that has a cozy feel. Donut-style beds and luxury dog beds with a bolster can be a great choice as these have sides that your pooch can rest their head against - which is often half the appeal of your couch! 

Make sure you keep the bed close to where you are as this will make your dog feel like they’re still very much a part of the family, and furnish it with a nice blanket if you want to make it more homely. Popping a few of the best dog toys in there will also help make their living space feel more appealing. 

3. Teach commands

So you’ve come home and busted your guilty hound blissfully pushing up zzz’s on your couch and you want to stop it from happening again? Commands are going to be your best friend.

They key commands you want to teach your dog are ‘off’ and ‘go to your bed’ and when your dog follows through you want to make sure you positively reinforce their good behavior. Training dogs with treats is the easiest way to do this as it’s a well known fact that our furkids are massive foodies!

When you issue the commands ‘off’ and ‘go to your bed’ it can be helpful to back this up with a sweeping gesture that makes it clear what you’re asking your dog to do. And remember to offer one of the best dog treats as a reward every time your pup follows through. They’ll quickly learn to associate going to their bed as an action that gets them a tasty morsel and before you know it, the couch will be forgotten!

4. Block access

In the early stages of teaching your dog that the couch and furniture is a no-go zone, you’re going to need to adopt a good management strategy to make your furniture as inaccessible to your pup as possible.

While that may be as simple as shutting a door to a particular room, there'll be lots of occasions where you’re not able or not wanting to do that, so here are some other techniques you can use to make sure your couch and furniture are off limits.

1) Use a baby gate
Not just for human babies, baby gates are also perfect for keeping your pets out of certain spaces. Place one at the bottom of the stairs or use it to block the entrance way to a room. 

Baby gates come in all sizes and if you have a medium to large breed, you can even get one that has an extra small door that still lets any cats in your home come and go as they please - which will definitely keep Garfield happy, but Odie perhaps a little less so! 

2) Try a training mat
We particularly like the X-Mat Pet Training Mat (opens in new tab) which can be placed on your furniture and has small pointy nubs that are incredibly uncomfortable to sit on. It’s a great deterrent that will stop your pooch from hopping up on the couch.

3) Invest in a Couch Defender
This one is great for when you’re going to be out of the house as it completely blocks access to your couch. The Couch Defender (opens in new tab) has a rectangular design that will take up the full length of your couch and when it’s not in use it folds down for easy storage. 

You can also try other simple tricks like placing a laundry basket upside down on your furniture and if you have a small dog who likes to quietly stare out the window and watch the world go by, consider purchasing a ‘cat sill’ that they can sit on.

5. Avoid aversives

If you’ve been hunting around for ways to keep your dog off the couch and furniture, it’s likely you’ve come across aversives. It’s not uncommon for pet parents to use scat mats or shock collars as a way of deterring pets from engaging in unwanted behavior but we recommend avoiding this kind of training technique.

The problem with using vibrations and shocks is that it can actually end up working against you and creating new problems. Some dogs find aversives to be frightening and it can make them develop a fear of furniture and loud or unexpected noises. 

If your chosen parasite prevention method is to use one of the best flea collars for dogs, then using a shock collar could cause your pup to refuse to wear it because they’ve associated collars with something unpleasant.

Remember, positive reinforcement in the form of treats and praise is a much easier and more pleasant way to train your dog. Like us, our canine companions learn best when we reward them for good behavior instead of punishing them for bad behavior. 

How to keep your dog off your bed

Many pet parents find they have no trouble keeping their dog off the couch but when it comes to their bed? Well, that’s a whole nother story! If you find your pooch is constantly wanting to clamber under the sheets with your or laze about on top of the duvet, there are a few tips in addition to the ones above that can help.

Learning how to crate train a dog is one of the best ways to make it clear to your pup that your bed isn’t for sleeping on. You can either keep their crate in a separate room or, if they’re prone to separation anxiety, pop the crate in your bedroom so they’re still sleeping nearby.

Once you’ve invested in one of the best dog crates, pop their dog bed, blanket, and toys in to create a cozy space. For an added sense of security you can also drape a blanket over the top.

Use the ‘off’ command to teach your dog that your bed isn’t for them. While it sounds counterintuitive, start by getting your pooch to jump up on the bed (if they’re already doing this then you’re not teaching them any bad habits!) and then point to the floor and say ‘off’. Once they’ve done it, reward them with a treat.

Make your bedroom floor a fun place to be. Invest in a few of the best rope dog toys and engage in a game of tug-of-war. Sit on the bed to do this but ensure your dog remains on the floor. This will teach him that the bed is somewhere for you to sit but not for him.