I have a ridgeback and she is the laziest dog in the world. Which is great in a lot of ways but all she wants to do is sleep on the sofa.
We have always let her but usually we say she can only come up in the evening with a blanket on. She was always fine with that but recently she's started to just sleep on it all day everyday.
I bought her a new raised bed in the hope she would start sleeping in her bed again but she's not at all interested. We shut her out of the lounge at night but she's started to jump up and scratch the door open 🤦♀️ and then I find her there in the morning.
I spend all day telling her to get off and then finding her on it again 2 minutes later.
I wouldn't mind so much but she's been leaving little wet patches on the sofa. At first I thought it was just from her licking but I'm not so sure. And I just really feel unclean with her on it all the time.
How do I stop her? Am I really mean for making her stay off of it!?
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Dog on sofa
Ellieray · 22/12/2019 21:48
For night time, get a baby gate to put across the door. For the day, you could either get some throws for the sofa, which could at least be washed easily, or a blanket for one specific seat which would then be ‘her’ seat. Or you could teach an ‘off’ command and work on getting a bulletproof ‘stay’ under her belt (or collar 
). Try to make her bed more appealing, what’s her favourite treat/chew in the world? What toy would she sell her soul for? Figure that out and she only gets it when she’s in her bed.
We had a similar problem with a rescue we had, he was a beaut of a doggo, but a very smelly old boy and had clearly been allowed to languish on the sofas and beds all day. For us it was a case of really working on commands (eg. throw a small piece of her fave treat, in a long sweeping gesture and say ‘off’ or ‘down’. Yes he got back on at first, but it really is about persistence and giving them a reason to want to get off) and making his bed the most wonderful place to be. It took time, but was so worth it.
FWIW I don’t think you’re mean at all. We don’t have dogs on the sofas, but if you make the decision not to let her on the sofa, it will probably be best to have that as a permanent rule. Letting her up sometimes and not others will likely cause confusion and undo lots of hard work. 
I think your maybe fighting a loosing battle tbh.
Ours goes on our sofa and bed but has a specific blanket. He sits and stares at me until I get the blanket out as this is his spot . He knows he isint allowed up unless the blanket is down.
We've also been teaching him bed. Now its winter he has his carrots in his bed (too cold and dark outside). He won't however ever go to his bed unless told too and will always choose the sofa instead.
I would maybe get a waterproof backer blanket like the ones you use for picnics and put them on the sofa along with reinforcing that he isint allowed on until the blanket is down.
You have given her the green light and so retracting that will be confusing for her. I recommend a throw that you can wash frequently - we have three of the buggers on our sofas! 
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