Pros And Cons Of Letting Your Doodle On The Couch.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Lately I have been wondering if our rule to not let Darwin on the couch is a bad one. We have only see him try to get on the couch twice, once we walked in the room and he was curled up and sound asleep. I would love to have him hop up and cuddle with me rather than having to sit on the floor... but I don't know if this would have negative consequences.
We initially didn't let him up for two reasons.
-We were afraid this would be a big contributing factor to the doggy smell. We bathe him every week, so perhaps this is not really a huge concern.
-I heard some information about how your dog may be confused about his place int he "pack" if you allow him to inhabit all the same spaces as you, such as a couch. Is this just mumbo jumbo in your opinion?

Do you allow your dog on the couch? Do the pros outweigh the cons?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've always allowed my dogs on all the furniture; but I never had a huge shedding dog before Jack. He is not allowed on the living room sofa unless he is invited up, but he is allowed on everything else.
The big problems are dirt and hair. Dirty feet & hair all over the sofas, beds, etc. But to me it's worth it to be able to snuggle with him.
I haven't had any issues with "pack order" with any of my dogs because of allowing them on the furniture. Jack was submissive when I got him, and he hasn't changed a bit.

[Leslie and Halas]

I let Halas on the couch. Like you, I got tired of sitting on the floor with him all the time. So we still play on the floor, but when it's time to relax, I let him up on the couch if he wants up there. I don't notice a doggy smell. If there is one, it's in the carpet, too, so I figure it doesn't make a huge difference. There are a couple of cons, though. Halas has HIS corner of the couch. It's just at the front corner edge of the cushion, where he used to fit when he was a puppy. He takes up more room now, but there's still room for a person to sit there. Halas just has to walk over them to get to his spot. So he sometimes stares at people and whines if they are near his spot. He doesn't really need them to move much, just enough so he can jump up there without landing on them. Halas also loves to sit on laps, so sitting on the couch probably means that Halas will try to sit directly on your lap for at least a few minutes. People that visit me are generally dog people, and Halas isn't that large, so I'm not too worried about it. I should probably be a little more strict with him regarding the laps of non-family members, but I figure, "love me, love my dog." The pros are that you don't have to sit on the floor all the time, you get more cuddle-dood time, and you have an extra foot/hand/leg warmer in the winter.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I go along with "love me, love my dog" for the most part.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I let Peri up on the casual couches but not the living room couch. She doesn't shed though.

It was just too hard to let Taquito up but not her :) She usually likes playing on the floor better - jumps on couch to rest or cuddle usually.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin doesn't shed at all, so that wouldn't really be a problem. Also we would probably drape a blanket over the couch, to avoid any dirt or anything. Our sofa covers are removable and machine washable, so it wouldn't be too hard to clean. I think I'm just going to let him up. It's like Karen said, it's worth it.

[F, Calla & Luca]

My dogs are allowed on the bed, couch, you name it. I do have washable covers and I'm thinking it's time to wash them But really, like most things in my house, having raised 2 sons and being a bit permissive about germs, my couch is kind of camouflage colored and scotchguarded. No doggy smell either. Generally the couch is OK because I use my bed as command central anyhow. The paw prints are sometimes impressive but everything is washable and I'm of the Karen school. She can't understand outdoor dogs and I can't understand floor dogs either. Our best times are cuddling and I might never get up if I had to keep getting down to their level.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Amen.

[Adina P]

The Con that trumps it all: Dingleberries on the booty. They pop up enough on Rosco that I just can't deal with the thought of that on the couch. Or if we slacked at poop pick-up they occasionally will step in poo--I don't deal well with poo on places I lay my head =)

That and not all my friends are doodle crazy and they need somewhere to sit without being loved on =) Dirt and hair still manages to get on my couches because their chins enjoy it there...but chin slobber is much much less offensive than butt ickies.

Those are the main reasons, but it's also nice that I can sit there in peace and not deal with wrestling dogs or dogs jumping on baby ... =)

They've gotten SO used to it that I have to work HARD at convincing them to get on on those rare occasions I allow them up. And even then, they jump off in less than 5 minutes.

[Amanda and Quinn]

We are also a pets off household. We live in a city, so Quinn is at the dog park almost every day, and it's gross. I feel like I could never get him clean enough to feel comfortable with him being up there. We went through a brief period of letting him up on one armchair with permission, because it was an old chair that we never used and we wanted a place to snuggle him. It lasted about a week, and in that week he got really snarly with a dog at the dog park for the first time ever. It may have been a coincidence, but I got nervous that he was getting too big for his britches, and he lost chair privileges. Now he's on the floor or his nice bed, and he never tries to get up.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Interesting. I am going to have to consider this all. I really want to let him up... but I am still afraid of the consequences. I wish I could decide... oh boy.

[Amanda and Quinn]

If it helps it all, both our individual trainer and the trainer who taught our puppy class said to keep them off until age 2. Quinn was only a year or so when we tried it.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Too late for that and what's the thinking about 2?