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?

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

We let Timbow on the couch mainly because when he was a little puppy we held him and cuddled with him constantly. It doesn't bother us much, but now we are working on only letting him up after an invitation.

[Sandy]

On. We were undecided, and then one day when we walked into the room when Toby was about 4 months old, he was on the couch! I keep covers on the couch cushions, and we have a 5 year warranty on the couch as far as the fabric goes, so it's fine. He's also allowed on our bed - but sleeps in his crate at night. We recently got new furniture for the living room, and he pretty much perfectly fits on the chair and a half. Usually he's up there with his head on the throw pillow. He's part person, we think. :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

If you teach him to say thank you, let me know. I want Ned to be more appreciative of my wonderful doodle=mothering!

[Dori]

In the early weeks my husband was firm he wasn't to be allowed on the furniture. That went out the window after about a month. It's just in his personality - he'll jump up and snuggle with us be it on the couch or in bed - and we like it that way (including my husband!). He sleeps on his doggie bed in our room, but when I leave for work at 5:15 he jumps up on our bed and sleeps with my husband until he gets up. There are no negative consequences that we have seen yet. So far it's been all good!