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I would have preferred that Willie not sleep on the bed, but SO's favorite thing ever is his dog sleeping at his feet, so I submitted to a compromise on that one early on after the adoption. It's nice to have him there, but I do not appreciate the extra laundry of swapping out the bedding more often due to his shedding. He's also very hard on comforters, bedspreads and quilts, which aren't the cheapest things to replace. He's not big enough to be a huge bed hog (35 lbs), but he does "paperweight" the bedding down annoyingly, preventing you from always being able to be sufficiently covered. He won't sleep under the covers, he just weights them down.
As far as furniture goes, we only have a couch and a loveseat that appeal to him...all our other seating is wooden seats and benches, so they're not candidates for lounging on. The couch and loveseat is a relatively inexpensive overstuffed chocolate brown microfiber suede set. He's allowed on it, because a. it's nothing fancy, and it's something that will be eventually upgraded; it was our starter set, b. because it's microfiber suede, it's enormously easy and quick to rid of hair by a quick wipe-down with a hair removal glove or the pet hair attachment on the vacuum, and c it's a dark brown color, and hides any grime well.
SO would love a leather set, and I'd be amenable to it, if it were distressed leather that could hide any scuffs, and if he would then take on sole responsibility for keeping the dog's nails pretty blunted and filed so as not to puncture costly furniture.
Always had my dogs sleep on dog pillows and not allowed on furniture. When I was OTR, that was the exception, they had a pillow at the foot of the sleeper bed. (If I or hubby got up in the night, they wouldn't get stepped on.)
Spanky (Am Bulldog) has been my first allowed to sleep with me, he stays on top of the covers. Easy to wash the comforters. He doesn't really get on the furniture. Has dog pillows placed through out the house. Does like to get on my lap in the recliner. Ever had a 70+ pound paper weight? He's a great lap warmer!
Then I remarried and wanted to move him (Spanky) out of the bed, new hubby was fine with him staying. So Spanky moved to our feet...and along came Diesel. (Am Bulldogx 80 pounds) larger paper weight...and we need a bigger bed. We are thinking, California King? The boys hog the covers, Diesel wants to be as close to me as he can get and he is the hottest dog on the planet (which will be good this winter!) But it's not winter and we don't have the California King, yet...so, I'll leave the hubby and boys to sleep in the bed and I'll go to the recliner, so I have room...only to have Diesel, climb up on me, lay across my body...and snore. Spanky follows to but gets on a pillow (on the floor)...and yes, he snores too.
The boys know to wait to be invited up on the bed. It is by invitation only. They have pillows in the bedrooms. Sometimes, I just need to stretch out and I will make them stay on the pillows. Diesel makes his way to my recliner, or will wait til I fall asleep and "sneak" up on the bed, staying at my feet. Spanky will stay on the pillow.
I leave a towel on my recliner as Diesel has taken to laying there when I am not in it or not home. I have been told by my hubby he will do one of three things. A. Wait by the door, with his nose in the crack, B. Walk over to my recliner, sit or stand in front and put his head on it or C. Get into my recliner and lay down with his head on the arm-rest.
As I sit in the recliner now, the boys are on the dog pillows in front of me, napping and snoring.
The real challenge is when both want on my lap, in the recliner. I have manage to wrangle both of them up and on me (on the recliner) at the same time...more than once. Ever had 150 pound of dog on your lap? I will say this, I don't want to do it every day. Spanky has bony elbows. Diesel has heavy elbows. I love my boys but one at a time is good for me. (I LOVE a good challenge.) Ha, ha!!!
So, they get on the bed by invitation and Diesel on the recliner...they are not interested in the couch and loveseat.
We have paid lots of $$ and compromised our decorating to have comfy, orthopedic, high-end dog beds around the house. There is one older leather chair that the younger one likes to sit on. The older one is finding it hard to jump up on furniture these days, anyway.
No one in the bed. At night they have their cute routine where they follow me to the bedroom and assume the position on their beds.
My opinion, dogs belong on the floor. My family, has a different opinion...so what is funny, is that the dog knows who will let him on the furniture, and who won't...and who the boss is...when I am around, he stays on the floor.
Always had my dogs sleep on dog pillows and not allowed on furniture. When I was OTR, that was the exception, they had a pillow at the foot of the sleeper bed. (If I or hubby got up in the night, they wouldn't get stepped on.)
Spanky (Am Bulldog) has been my first allowed to sleep with me, he stays on top of the covers. Easy to wash the comforters. He doesn't really get on the furniture. Has dog pillows placed through out the house. Does like to get on my lap in the recliner. Ever had a 70+ pound paper weight? He's a great lap warmer!
Then I remarried and wanted to move him (Spanky) out of the bed, new hubby was fine with him staying. So Spanky moved to our feet...and along came Diesel. (Am Bulldogx 80 pounds) larger paper weight...and we need a bigger bed. We are thinking, California King? The boys hog the covers, Diesel wants to be as close to me as he can get and he is the hottest dog on the planet (which will be good this winter!) But it's not winter and we don't have the California King, yet...so, I'll leave the hubby and boys to sleep in the bed and I'll go to the recliner, so I have room...only to have Diesel, climb up on me, lay across my body...and snore. Spanky follows to but gets on a pillow (on the floor)...and yes, he snores too.
The boys know to wait to be invited up on the bed. It is by invitation only. They have pillows in the bedrooms. Sometimes, I just need to stretch out and I will make them stay on the pillows. Diesel makes his way to my recliner, or will wait til I fall asleep and "sneak" up on the bed, staying at my feet. Spanky will stay on the pillow.
I leave a towel on my recliner as Diesel has taken to laying there when I am not in it or not home. I have been told by my hubby he will do one of three things. A. Wait by the door, with his nose in the crack, B. Walk over to my recliner, sit or stand in front and put his head on it or C. Get into my recliner and lay down with his head on the arm-rest.
As I sit in the recliner now, the boys are on the dog pillows in front of me, napping and snoring.
The real challenge is when both want on my lap, in the recliner. I have manage to wrangle both of them up and on me (on the recliner) at the same time...more than once. Ever had 150 pound of dog on your lap? I will say this, I don't want to do it every day. Spanky has bony elbows. Diesel has heavy elbows. I love my boys but one at a time is good for me. (I LOVE a good challenge.) Ha, ha!!!
So, they get on the bed by invitation and Diesel on the recliner...they are not interested in the couch and loveseat.
while you say that your dogs wait to be invited it does not appear that way! Ha. they might have you trained better than you know.
while you say that your dogs wait to be invited it does not appear that way! Ha. they might have you trained better than you know.
Yes, they do!!! Ha, ha!!
That's why he (Diesel) waits til I go to sleep, if he does it. Spanky stays put. However lately, Diesel has been going to the recliner instead on getting on the bed, when I go to sleep. Sneaky, I know.
Spanky knows to wait for the invite. Diesel is being "trained." (I just adopted him in July.) He's learning.
buddy our whippet gets on the living room furniture but is NOt allowed on my bed. He does sleep with our 9 yr old son. Lady Bug the mini weenie sleeps right next to me every night and she gets on EVERYTHING. I really don't care what they get on. However once Buddy is gone there will be no more dogs that shed like him. (maybe)
No dogs on furniture in our house. It's just something we've never allowed to happen. All our dogs have had comfy beds around the house. One exception was with our last schnauzer Annie. Our boys were 7 and 8 when we got her and they wanted her to sleep on their beds. We would put her on them, but she would immediately jump off. She refused to stay on a bed. When we took our new baby, Barney, an almost 6 month old mini golden doodle with us to visit our oldest son, whose off in college, he put the puppy up on his bed, and they actually took a nap together. Barney stayed with him his house for the weekend, and was spoiled by our son, who let him sleep on the bed with him all weekend. He knew though that when we got home, it was no furniture again.
My dogs are not allowed on the furniture or bed. It's not a matter of smell or fur or ruining the furniture, it's a matter of they have to know that they are not "equal" to me.
When the girl came back from being spayed, she had a rough go and I felt terrible plus was concerned so the first night, I let her on the bed while I stayed up all night monitoring her. Sure, it was nice having her there and was nice to cuddle with her.
So I let her do that the second night. And felt bad for the boy so let him up, too. I let them up on the bed and couch for about a month and BOY did their attitudes change. Changed for the worst.
They stopped listening well, they started thinking they could do their own thing, they started growling at each other over space on the bed or furniture so that was the end of that.
Those trainers who say not to allow it, in my experience, were right. It causes problems in behavior.
Yes, it's "their" home as well, as in, they live here. But they know that I am the one who provides everything for them and their respect level went flying back up once I stopped allowing them to be in the "good" spot.
As much as some people deny it, dogs are pack animals and things we do send messages to them in their language. What seems like innocence to us is completely different interpretation to them.
They are not in charge, I am. Therefore, I get the best spot to sleep and sit, they do not.
They have extraordinarily comfortable doggie beds that frankly, feel better than my own bed so to be honest, I think they have the best beds in the house...but the hell if I'm going to let them know that.
I let my animals on the furniture - I have blankets on it, that I wash weekly. I do regret not allowing a family dog on the furniture when I was raising my kids. I think it was heartless and basically valued the furniture more than the dog. If I could do it over, I would allow the dog on the furniture.
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Fur-niture
