Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dog on sofa - yes or no vote

270 replies

ZebraSpotts · 01/12/2020 12:27

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
30
Fluffybutter · 01/12/2020 13:44

Yes if you have a throw you can put on there so if people come over they don’t have to sit on dog slobber and hair

scentedgeranium · 01/12/2020 13:46

YANBU
ours isn't allowed on our 'human' sofas, but we have one 'dog sofa' in the kitchen which is his and his alone.
Hairy Golden Retriever. His sofa is yellow!

pepsicolagirl · 01/12/2020 13:48

I never let our dog on the sofa. She was very happy on her bed or laying at my feet. She was pts last month and honestly if I could turn the clock back and fill our evenings with sofa snuggles I absolutely would.

Ariela · 01/12/2020 13:51

No. Dog has own Tuffies dog bed in the lounge. We don't sit or lie on that so why should dog sit on our chairs?

mineandyours · 01/12/2020 13:52

Ddog absolutely allowed on the sofa here. But he's a small breed/lapdog so maybe that makes a difference.

Pikachubaby · 01/12/2020 13:53

I have been unlucky enough to have been bitten twice by sofa-dogs Grin (not my own digs)

Allowing the dog on the sofa is telling the dog it’s his bed. Once a dog is older, it can tend to defend its bed a bit more and snarl/bite Humans who try to move the dog/try to sit on the sofa

Mil’s dog ended up owning the sofa, and growling/biting anyone who wanted to sit on it. A ridiculous situation really Grin DH and I would sit on the floor when visiting (happily did that for mil’s sake, and her beloved dog, but really it is a ridiculous set up imo)

Also, dogs smell, and the sofa will smell like the dog bed.

updownroundandround · 01/12/2020 13:53

An absolute no from me.

None of our dogs is allowed on the sofa or upstairs, ever.

Dogs claws wreck furniture, they leave hair, dander, slobber and sometimes something worse wherever they lie down.

They lie on the floor, always.( I expect to have to clean the floors/ carpet because people walk on them with shoes etc)

Why anyone would like that on their sofa or bed is beyond me.

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 01/12/2020 13:54

@ZebraSpotts we REALLY need to see a photo of pup so we can advise.

We were always clear - absolutely no dogs on sofas - till our current dog. It was just impossible to keep her off and she does a very good line in adorably dumb (convinced she knew exactly what the score was). In the end we just swapped the fabric sofa for a leather one and that solved the fur/stains/smells problem.

Stellaris22 · 01/12/2020 13:56

@Pikachubaby ours is allowed on the sofa, but it was only after learning the 'off' command. I love doggy sofa cuddles which is why I taught ours this.

Dogs can get territorial which is worrying and not acceptable.

Hothammock · 01/12/2020 13:56

My dogs have taken over the sofa and I wish I hadn't let them! They are good and don't damage it but they can't help being big and smelly!

ApplesandAardvarks · 01/12/2020 13:57

I can't imagine not allowing my dogs on the sofa. They're part of the family. I have a throw on part of it so that takes care of the hair. Mine sleep on the bed too. It's a definite yes from me. I've had a lot of dogs and never had any react aggressively when moved. There's obviously more going on if so. It wasn't just caused by allowing it on the couch.

Madzhouse · 01/12/2020 13:59

Dogs everywhere in this house! Tbh it helps that we have another room where dogs, cats and kids don't usually hang out so guests who don't actually know what we like go in there!

Dog on sofa - yes or no vote
Stellaris22 · 01/12/2020 13:59

Old bedsheets on sofas are great, I wash our sofa sheets and throws every other day.

Dog on sofa - yes or no vote
Worriedandabitscared · 01/12/2020 14:01

@Madzhouse

Dogs everywhere in this house! Tbh it helps that we have another room where dogs, cats and kids don't usually hang out so guests who don't actually know what we like go in there!
This is my heaven Grin
VetOnCall · 01/12/2020 14:02

Yes in this house, it's their home too. We have 6 dogs and a big house with a few sofas and they can sit/lie wherever they want. They'll all move or get off if told to, I use throws and we have a custom built dog shower in the basement with its own entrance so they get rinsed off if they're muddy. I can't imagine making them stay on the floor all the time, I don't want to have to sit on the floor to cuddle them, and as a previous poster said they get a lot from being able to sit with us and so do we. They are all extremely well trained working gundogs and two are field trial champions so the 'well behaved dogs don't go on furniture' theory is crap.

fourquenelles · 01/12/2020 14:03

Just popping back to say that it is a breed requirement for sighthounds (lighthearted btw).
They are not called 40 mile per hour couch potatoes for nothing. Rescues talk about finding them their "forever sofas". I also belong to a "Sighthounds on Sofas" facebook group. Grin

Willfiasco · 01/12/2020 14:05

Sigh. Cushions in the wash again

Dog on sofa - yes or no vote
Willfiasco · 01/12/2020 14:05

^14 yo sighthound.

2bazookas · 01/12/2020 14:08

He's only half grown.

If you have enough sofas to seat everyone plus the dog, your family and guests don't mind dog hair and whiffs and he lets you wash and dry his feet when he comes indoors from digging or swimming. ... by all means let him choose which sofa he wants to sit on today.

( owner of 3 whiffy sofas and a huge hound).

Lonecatwithkitten · 01/12/2020 14:09

Rules off the sofa

  1. You must get down when asked ( cat never got that memo)
  2. If someone else is already there you must share nicely ( cat never got that memo).
  3. You must not wash your arse on the sofa ( cat never got that memo)
Dog on sofa - yes or no vote
WorriedNotWorried · 01/12/2020 14:17

No.

I do have the occasional pang that he’s not allowed, particularly days like today when I’m under the weather and lying in the sofa feeling sorry for myself.

However the fields where we walk have benches and I’ve seen no end of dogs jump up on the benches. Not mine! But I guess dogs who are allowed on sofas must think it’s ok to jump up on benches too. Even when random strangers are sitting there!

It also makes life easier when we go to other people’s houses (well pre Covid) as he knows the rules.

I’m not keen when visitors’ dogs jump up on my sofas to be honest.

cushioncovers · 01/12/2020 14:20

Yes with covers on the sofa that can be washed

PlanDeRaccordement · 01/12/2020 14:20

If the dog is cat size or smaller- yes
If the dog is bigger than a cat- no

MadCatLady71 · 01/12/2020 14:23

We have a 5 month beagle. Before he arrived we agreed very strict house rules - including no sofa. It took about 4 weeks for pretty much all rules to collapse. I love my sofa snuggles with him. Though he is still not allowed to sleep in bed with us - because the cats got there first.

vanillandhoney · 01/12/2020 14:24

@MadCatLady71

We have a 5 month beagle. Before he arrived we agreed very strict house rules - including no sofa. It took about 4 weeks for pretty much all rules to collapse. I love my sofa snuggles with him. Though he is still not allowed to sleep in bed with us - because the cats got there first.
Beagles love a sofa Grin

Mine especially loves burying himself under about five blankets!