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This article is one of a great many articles written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning different dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health matters, training problems and other subjects. All these articles appear on Dennis Fisher's websites. Visit http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or http://www.freedogadvice.com if you interested in a breed other than German Shepherd Dogs
Dog owners
are very fond of their animals and if they are constantly in their homes, they
often encourage them to jump on the furniture and sit next to them.
This is understandable, but it is not a good idea if you want to have a
well-trained, obedient dog.
You are going to find it very difficult
to explain to the dog that there are some occasions when it is allowed to jump
and lie on a comfortable couch or arm-chair and other times when it is not.
In any
event, unless your dog happens to be a small poodle,
which has the very rare quality of never losing it’s coat, you are going
to find it very difficult to keep your home clean.
You also
have to take into consideration that not everyone is as fond of dogs as you are.
If your dog is used to lying on the furniture it is going to regard
a certain chair or couch
as his special territory.
If a visitor comes to your home the dog
is quite likely to show his resentment by growling.
This is not a very inviting greeting to
someone who may not be especially fond of dogs.
A visitor is also not going to take very kindly to the fact that before
they are invited to sit down their chair has to be brushed free from dog’s hair.
Unless
this is of no concern to you at all, it is far better not to allow the dog to
get used to lying on furniture in the
first place. The animal will soon
learn to understand what behavior is acceptable and what is not. You don’t have
to be harsh with your reprimand if you find the dog lying on your couch.
A definite, but clear and firm
“No, my boy, off,off” will soon make the dog get the message.
If your
dog is used to being in the house constantly, you will often find that he jumps
on the soft, comfortable couch or arm chair the moment you go out .
If you know this is happening you can remedy this by pretending to go out
and then suddenly returning to find the dog on the furniture.
If you do this on a number of occasions
and reprimand firmly the dog will soon
get the message. In all probability
he will stop this behavior because he doesn’t know when you are likely to
return.
If you
constant reprimands, when you find the dog on the couch while you are away don’t
manage to dissuade him from jumping
on the furniture, you can easily
remedy this in the following manner.
Place a
few very small mouse traps on the chair or couch where the dog is likely
to jump on and cover them with a few pages of newspaper.