Are your pets allowed on the couch?

[elrohwen]

Kenny's topic got me thinking - do you let your pets up on the couch? Are there some pieces of furniture that are off limits? Do your pets respect the limits?



The rabbits are allowed up on the couches, but not the other pieces of furniture. Hannah loves to jump up on the dining room chairs, because it's like a dark little cave with the table above, but we always kick her off because we don't want guests to sit down in a pile of bunny hair. She knows not to go up there, but tests it out occasionally to see if we're paying attention. Our couches are leather, so at least they're easy to keep clean of hair. Otto's too scared to jump up on the couches himself most of the time, but we pick him up and help him out when he wants.

When we have a dog, I imagine the dog will be allowed up on all of the furniture, though if we had a dog larger than 50lbs we might change our mind. Leather also makes things easier because they don't pick up that dog smell, so if we get non-leather couches we'll have to reconsider. My parents had a couch for years that the dogs slept on, and by the end that thing was kind of stinky (and our dogs weren't stinky in general)

 

[kenny]

Okay, Lady! You owe me 5 billion dollars.

Just kidding.

Our two monsters are allowed only on the couch with the machine-washable cover.

 

[elrohwen]

Hah! Why do I owe you 5 billion dollars? Your question was specifically about beds, despite the brief mention of couches. I think you're just trying to extort money out of me to buy diamonds.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

I describe Neena as furniture, it's a rare condition to see her on the floor. This is one of her favorite pass times

 

[kenny]

Hah! Why do I owe you 5 billion dollars? Your question was specifically about beds, despite the brief mention of couches. I think you're just trying to extort money out of me to buy diamonds.

Hey, all I want is a 10-ct flawless red Octavia asshcer.
Is that too much to ask?

 

[anchor31]

Hm, I wish they weren't. But DH lets them, so I can't enforce it.

 

[packrat]

Cats yes, Chicken no.

 

[iheartscience]

Yep-I don't think it would be possible to keep them off of the couch. 2 of the 3 LOVE it and lay there pretty much all day. I have a good vacuum so it doesn't bother me!

And Elro-my cat (who basically has bunny hair-it's super silky and sticks to EVERYTHING) loooooves to lay on the dining room chairs. She usually just lays on one so I just vacuum furiously before anyone comes over for dinner.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

My 3 furbabies have full run of the house.
They usually get the most comfy spots on the furniture before I get the chance.
I always said I didn't want the dog on the couch...now I have a 60 lb lap dog.
And my red leather arm chair has become the doggy princess throne.
No fair.

 

[elrohwen]

Thing, I wondered if any kitties had discovered that spot. It seems perfect for both kitties and bunnies! Luckily for me Hannah is locked up in one area during the day, so she can't sneak up there while we're gone. Like a kitty though, we'll never be able to keep her off completely.

She just decided she likes jumping up on the couch and putting her feet all over the keyboard. Fun! Especially funny because she's silent like a ninja, so I don't see or hear her coming and then all of a sudden she's on my lap and in my face.

 

[movie zombie]

our 5 cats get really put out when them make room for us on the couch and we don't join them.

mz

ps is it really our couch? does not appear that way in our household.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

See what I mean?

 

[elrohwen]

Haha. I love how she's only using half the couch and hanging her legs off.

 

[Amandine]

Nope. With one at 65 lbs and the other at 75 lbs, there wouldn't be any room for us.

 

[Haven]

Our pets are definitely allowed on the furniture. We use slipcovers on our sofas when we don't have company over, so that makes it easy to keep them clean, and frankly, I cannot figure out how you would keep three cats off of the furniture. They're usually draped over the back of some piece of furniture during the day. (Exhibit A attached. That would be Manny cuddled up on the back of our leather sofa in the family room. Look at that mushy belly!)

The pup is trained to wait for an invitation before jumping up on the sofas, but she does have a safe sofa spot where she knows she's allowed to lounge when we aren't home.

 

[elrohwen]

Haven, that's what I'd like to do when we get a dog - train it to wait for an invite to come onto the couch (or bed) rather than jumping up at any time. Though I guess if we have two couches, who am I to say that our dog can't sleep on the one we're not sitting on at the time

 

[Haven]

They really like the back of our sofas. This is Vince draped over one in the living room. And yes, that's really how he sleeps.


And who would nap with me during the day if they weren't allowed on the furniture?


And of course, I need my reading buddies.

 

[Haven]

Haven, that's what I'd like to do when we get a dog - train it to wait for an invite to come onto the couch (or bed) rather than jumping up at any time. Though I guess if we have two couches, who am I to say that our dog can't sleep on the one we're not sitting on at the time

It's really easy to do if you're doing a good job of training them overall. We started out allowing her to just go wherever she pleased, and only trained her to wait for an invitation months later. She's a good girl, so she complies. We really did it because it's nicer when we have company. Some people don't like having a 45 lb dog as a sofa companion. I can't really relate, but it's true.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

Elrohwen: She is a very awkward long-legged puppy. When she tries to curl up in the previously mentioned red leather armchair, I swear there are more than 4 legs. And she ALWAYS cuddles with a pillow.

P.S. The cat is asleep on the other end of the couch.

 

[Arkteia]

They are allowed everywhere except for the garage. I'd say, we are allowed on the couch. Sometimes.

 

[Cehrabehra]

cats yes, dogs no. I have my prejudices! And cats are allowed anywhere our feet or butts can go. Dogs only where feet go. Of course the only dog I've had as an adult is a labrador and that's too big IMO. I don't think I'd let a small dog though, I am not a fan of dog smell or dog cooties (the invisible, *possibly* non existent oogies they have). Ironically I am allergic to cats lol

 

[bee*]

Yeah they're both allowed on the couch. There's no place that we really keep off limits.

 

[Sabine]

My dog is allowed on all furniture except our bed.

She used to sleep with me or my (then boyfriend) in bed, but when we moved in together and started sharing a bed on a regular basis, she had some issues and peed on the bed twice. After ruling out medical issues, we figured it was behavioral. When we got married, we bought a new bed and trained her to sleep in her own pet bed on the floor. The new bed is higher and she had trouble jumping up on it anyway, but it really didn't take too long.

We have the old bed in our guest room, and we tried to keep her off of that as well, but if someone is in that room, she is on the bed. So now we just keep the door to that room shut.

Her preferred spot on the couch is so close to whoever is sitting on the couch that she is practically underneath you. Mostly I love that she is cuddly, but sometimes I wish for a bit of space.

I'm really glad she doesn't sleep with us anymore though, both dh and I sleep better and I like having more room!

 

[zoebartlett]

Our cats are allowed everywhere except the dining room table and the kitchen counters. Luckily, they don't have much interest in those spots. They snuggle on the couch all the time, and we don't mind. I don't know how we'd prevent them from doing it anyway. It is a pain to vacuum their fur off the furniture, but I guess that's the price you pay for having furry pets.

 

[Jennifer W]

No, never. I'm too idle to hoover regularly, so no.

 

[zoebartlett]

Haven, those pictures are hilarious, especially the one with Bailee snuggling on your head. So cute!

 

[soocool]

My dog is allowed on the couch, but only when the removable cover is on. He knows if it is not on, he does not jump onto the couch. I have the fan in front of him to make him more comfortable as this summer has been brutal. He is a cold weather dog!

 

[lyra]

No, not allowed on the couch. The command "get off the couch!" is obeyed. At least while we are home....

 

[Haven]

DaviElMejor--Neena is precious! I love the expression on her face in that picture. She looks so content.

ChloeTheGreat--Look at those long legs! She's a beauty, that Chloe!

(I like that both of your names screen means very similar things, by the way.)

 

[dragonfly411]

Both of our dogs are allowed on both the couch and the chair. When they are at my grandparents (every weekend and soon to be all the time as we are moving home to save money) they are allowed on them as well. The girl is very much a lap dog. She likes to cuddle, and be loved on. The boy does too, but he enjoys just lounging.