Dog on sofa - yes or no vote

[ZebraSpotts]

Hi - just got a 5 month pup, he's a large breed, so lovely. He's settled brilliantly. Started with basics, house rules and clicker training from the get go. So he's actually doing well and being responsive. He's a clever working breed & livestock guardian.
He's got plenty of outdoor space to access, so his world isn't limited to indoors or the floor space.

Anyways, one thing i cant decide - let him on the sofas or is that an absolute no no?

YABU - let that pup on the sofa
YANBU - pups shouldn't be on sofa

Our dog goes on our sofa , on our cushions , on our laps abs on our beds .

He's a small Jack Russell though so doesn't really take up much room .

Reading some of these replies it doesn't seem as if a lot of you actually like your dogs .

errrr no. I love my hairy beast. I just don't want him on my sofa or bed. I spends his evenings happily snoozing with his slobbery chops resting on my feet. You might feel differently if you had a giant Golden rather than a Jack Russell!

My dog has his own sofa and his own single bed 🤣

My dog is jealous, @Istheyearoveryet21!

However, our cat has his own sofa, in his own room - with SkyQ and a TV. Theoretically this is the spare room, with a sofa bed, for when people come to stay, but CatBastard has adopted it as his own!!

This thread proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that none of us have spoiled our pets at all. No Siree.

Depends on whether youwant to share your sofas with them. Mine go wherever they like but hey are mainly bony sighthounds who like to nest. We bought an exra sofa so theres room for everyone.

I tried to stop my dog going on the sofa when we first got her - pointless. Unless I’ve got chicken in my pocket or treats in my hand, she doesn’t listen to me anyway...like everyone else in this house!! She is great at cuddles though so I don’t mind now.

For me it's really odd to read all the 'well you can't stop them anyway' comments. I guess it must be different if you have a tiny dog you can just pick up when needed? I've only ever had big dogs, so I always invested a lot of time and energy in their training and I don't treat them like my babies who are allowed to do whatever they want. Dogs need social structure and they

Sorry posted too soon. If dogs don't have structure and they believe they need to take charge themselves, then you end up with a disobedient badly behaved dog, who will jump and pull, beg and steal food and generally misbehave and do whatever they want. Of course one option is to indulgently chuckle that aww isn't he adorable, but my dogs are stronger than me, so they simply have to listen to what I say.

I think there's a difference between well behaved, well trained dogs who are allowed on the furniture, and poorly trained dogs with over-indulgent owners, @G5000. In the first case, the dogs obey the rules/boundaries, but those rules/boundaries are a bit looser than yours - in the second, you have a dog that gets away with everything and is a pain to be around.

I think DDog is in the first catagory - she does as she is told, and behaves nicely - and we have chosen to let her on the furniture. If she is told to get down, she obeys at once.

The cat is a different kettle of fish - but not for nothing do they say dogs have owners, and cats have staff. Luckily he weighs 10lb, wringing wet, so if he decided he doesn't want to get down, he's put in his place by us.

Yes, just to be clear, I am NOT talking about all dogs that are allowed on the sofa. No, it does not mean they are all badly behaved, as I already wrote earlier.
There have been quite a few comments though where people seem to be surprised you could even express any opinions about what your dog is allowed to do, and that's the reason they're on the sofa - the dog decides. For me it's comparable having your toddler running wild and calling it a free spirit indigo child. Quite annoying for most people.

@fourquenelles

Of course

@fourquenelles - you don't have dogs, you have greyhounds. Far superior, and OF COURSE they have to go on the sofa. It's the law.

I used to but have stopped it now. They have comfy baskets so I'm sure they'll survive.

I've never allowed any of mine on any furniture or upstairs.
They have a comfy bed in the kitchen for overnight, otherwise it's on the floor.
The same applies to the cat. I would go beserk if he went on the kitchen work tops too.

Sorry, @G5000 - I had missed your earlier post.

@G5000

For me it's really odd to read all the 'well you can't stop them anyway' comments. I guess it must be different if you have a tiny dog you can just pick up when needed? I've only ever had big dogs, so I always invested a lot of time and energy in their training and I don't treat them like my babies who are allowed to do whatever they want. Dogs need social structure and they

Yup, i can absolutely see this dog being disobedient if not firmly (but lovingly) trained. His breed type likes rules and structure and thrive on it, very trainable, but also have a stubborn streak that gets bigger if there's no rules. He will likely be stronger than me and is already stronger than than my kids. I'm fully committed to making sure he's thoroughly trained or he cant live with us safely, which would be a shame on me and unfair on him. If i wanted baby this wouldn't be the first breed I'd pick.

So the comments and responses have been helpful, reminding me the bigger picture. Rather than get swept away with his adorable puppiness and cheekiness towards wanna-be sofa surfing :)

@Shouldbeworkingnotreadingtalk

It's a yes from me ....

Awwwwww 😍

And these are big dogs too!

Which came first....the big sofa, or the big dogs so you bought a large sofa to accommodate them? 😆

Well I’ve always let my dog on my sofa - it’s leather easy to clean but I have a new fabric one coming soon so I’m not sure now! Our dog is 4 and always used to being allowed so not sure how we will manage. I’m thinking of buying her own super comfy bed for the front room (current bed in kitchen) and she will favour that!

I have 2 dogs . A large breed (giant ) and a terrier. They both get on the sofa and terrier sleeps with me too .
It's each to their own !
I cover my sofa in blankets so just wash them . Sofa is kept clean . I'm not overly precious about dogs on anything and my terrier is my cuddly bed buddy. The giant gets on the bed twice a year - when there's fireworks cos he's a wuss and needs mummy 😂. Bedding and blankets wash . My dogs are flea free and wormed. I also live alone so I don't see the problem.

We do sofa snuggles here