Do you....

[flanjabelle]

Let your dog on the sofa? The bed? What are your reasons for both?

I have always had a no sofa no bed rule for our dog, but today I just wanted her on the sofa giving me a snuggle as I'm feeling a tad shit. I have decided that she can come on the sofa with a blanket down and give me lovely doggy cuddles. She is over the moon and completely blissed out. She has very quickly grasped that if the blanket is there, she can come up, no blanket = stay down. I wish I had done it years ago. I think I draw the line at the bed though.

No.

• despite being rinsed daily and washed weekly, he's not clean enough
• I like being able to leave things like clean clothes on the bed, items out of his reach
• I like to minimise hair and scratches on furniture
• I like him to respect our space
• I like to be able to have sex without a dog in attendance
• or have breakfast in bed without help
• I need to be able to bring him to other people's houses, to work, to the odd hotel and know that he'll have the manners to stay on the floor without me having to watch him like a hawk
• I love cuddling him and sitting beside him, and so we have a pair of sheepskins and sit/ lie side by side most evenings, but on the floor.

Our cat has the same rules and we can leave anything out without it being touched. Literally, we could leave a freshly roasted chicken on the kitchen table and go out, and neither of them would do more than inhale it from floor level. And that's how I like it!

The way a cat gently applies its anus directly to whatever it is sitting on I find unpleasant, especially when it comes to kitchen surfaces!

Sofa yes, bed no. The sofa is ancient and has a washable throw on it - I might think differently if it were a priceless antique...

Villain I completely agree with the cat anus issue and do not let mine on the counters, but how the hell do you keep the cat off the sofa? Beds I manage by shutting the doors, but I can't imagine being able to keep her off the sofa!

Re the dog and sofa issue, I have held off this long because of the dirt side of things. She is pretty clean for a dog though and with a blanket that is regularly washed I think it will be ok.

I see your points about worrying about other people's homes but she is so desperate to please she looks to us for every instruction. She is a rescue and is the most desperately grateful dog I have ever met, she wouldn't dream of jumping up on someone else's sofa. She just wants to be a good girl.

Awww, I know exactly what you mean. Give her a cuddle for me and I hope you feel better too.

Thank you, cuddle delivered. She is making those little piggy like grunts that staffies make when they are about to pass out from happiness so I think she appreciated it.

She's such an odd dog. We have been thinking about getting her a friend, but to be honest I think we have been utterly spoiled with her and no dog will ever compare. She is never naughty, she never chews dds toys or steals food, she doesn't put a foot wrong. She is just so gentle and loving and so damn grateful. I am worried any other dog will seem a nightmare in comparison! The only slight issue with her is separation anxiety, but we work around that. She had a terrible start in life as a breeding bitch in a puppy farm who was used until she had to have an emergency c section and hysterectomy then was dumped, so it's not surprising she is a tad anxious!

I'm so sorry I appear to have waffled on about my dog. Sorry about that. I luffs her you see.

She sounds wonderful ... and so do you!

Yes, my cat and dog are allowed on both . Irony is that I'm one of the most house proud and anal people you could meet ... honest!

Having pets has actually been good for my OCD. I have now just accepted that the house will never again be 100% clean until they pass ... and they're worth it!

My dog can sit just wherever he wants ,but he does sleep downstairs - during the day he often sits on the bed in my sons room as it gives a good cat viewing point . I have throws on the sofa which are washed regularly and he goes to the dog wash every second or third week . Overnight he sleeps on the sofas or his bed depending on what he fancies .

Dieu it's funny the effect animals have on your mental health isn't it. My dog especially does wonders for mine. I did however have a slight breakdown when we moved into our current home and the previous tenants had left a dormant flea infestation. As soon as we arrived they came back to life with a vengeance. They were everywhere. Even though she they had been flead, both cat and dog were crawling with them, they were everywhere. I couldn't cope with that at all. I got pest control in, went on a decontamination mission, cried a hell of a lot and went a bit loopy over it to be honest. That was not good for my mental health at all. It all felt so dirty :(

However, dog helps me to be calmer in so many ways. The walks are amazingly good for me, the cuddles, the silent understanding, the fact that out of the whole family she is the one who actually demands the least from me. The cat is more bloody demanding than her! She listens when I waffle on about my feelings, and doesn't try and fix it (other than the obligatory neck nuzzle and face lick). Ah I appear to be waffling on about my dog again. Thank goodness this is the dog board.

dogs on sofas and in bed here i wouldn't expect other members of the family to sleep on the floor so why should my dogs?

MuttDog goes where she wants. She has 3 beds, 2 blankets on the ends of sofas, and a chair that no-one else uses. And yet when I go up to bed I find this...

Sofa but not bed here. And sofa was kind of accidental. He was allowed on our laps as a puppy but not on the actual sofa itself, which was a stupid rule because when he got too big to fit on our laps he just ended up being on the sofa. He does stay on the bit of the sofa that has his blanket covering it though.

They're all allowed wherever they want here.

I love cuddling up with them on the sofa or in bed and it's nice not having to have loads of dog beds all over the place.

Plus, we'd be fighting a losing battle trying to keep pointy dogs off the furniture

No to both here which is ironic as I am not houseproud at all.

We let them on the sofa in the kitchen/family room and music room but not in the 'best' room. I like to cuddle them on the sofa whilst I relax or watch TV.

They aren't really allowed upstairs although they sometimes creep up but they are quickly shooed down.

See, I think it's easier to impose restrictions if you have an upstairs and downstairs. I live in a flat, and it's more tricky to manage.

Flanjabelle, my dog too is a walk in the park compared to the whingey wee bastard that is my cat