Off the couch game

[Quercus]

@jys1011:

Andrea..you're hysterical I'm with you I let them lounge where they want to except the the counter tops & tables LOL Last night they decided they wanted to sprawl out froggy style by our feet under the dining table while we ate dinner :eek: so weird these furballs!

Ha, ha…yeah...no lounging on the counters or tables allowed...though the top of the toybox is FINE! When we did our remodel a few years ago, we put in a bay window with a platform that would be behind the couch...just so the dogs would have their own space. The love it, needless to say...they can survey their yard while reclining on their throne. It also just happens to have a heat/AC vent blowing right on it I think our contractors thought we were nuts!

[lvoss]

I just thought I should add that basenjis find human attention very rewarding. They really want to be with their human pack. They want to curl up next to you so they are in contact with you. There are times when just being in the same room is good enough and then there are times when they really have to be touching someone. Sometimes that means curling up at my feet when I am on the computer, sometimes curling up on my lap, sometimes just leaning against me. They also love the attention they get from play or training. They want to know they are an important part of your pack.

[Nexa]

Although it really didn't take much convincing, we'll see how she does on the couch.:) Is there any way to deter the dig to china? I'm just assuming she'll dig on the couch like she does anywhere else she lays down. I appreciate the input.

Thanks,

Dan

[JazzysMom]

Personally, I know VERY few people that require their basenjis stay off the >>couch…I can't really think of any

Well, you know one... ME!!

We have never allowed dogs of any breed on our furniture -- no couch, no chairs, no beds, etc. The dogs stay on the floors.
The only time they are allowed on the couch is if dh or I pick them up and hold them in our laps.

I don't want...and I don't want my guests...to have dog hair and yard dirt on everything I wear. I like to keep the furniture clean w/out having to actually deep clean it terribly often.
It's never been a problem. When they move in to the house, the first time they jump up or even put their feet up on the couch, we say, "Off" and move them. They catch on fast, and don't seem to be bothered by the fact that they can't get on our furniture.

They do have blankets and pillows, and they are allowed to sit in little camp chairs that belong to our sons. And they are allowed in the outside patio furniture. That's it.

[tanza]

WOW…. In our house you are lucky if the Basenjis will let you share the couch or chairs, let alone the bed...gggg And I have to add that I have had 4 to 5 B's for the last 15+ years with an occasional litter rasied here and there has never been a time that anyone that has visited our home, walked in and if they didn't see the Basenjis even knew I had dogs... Also very few dog hairs, except this time of year that they are blowing coat... I do have a throw blanket on the couch that I wash every other day or so, but that is it...

As far as the digging to China... NOPE.... that is a Basenji.. and you know that is usually the reason the "stuffed" furniture gets destroyed... from the digging, they get one little piece or string of the material and the party is over

[Vanessa]

Nexa,
Trust me…I KNOW how you feel! The couch game is a never ending battle with our litte guy. The past few days he as decided to be a little devil. The moment I start walking towards the couch he makes a mad dash towards it and stands right there where I want to sit. I used to just move him but then he would take his paw and swat me back! Now I just sit. Sit on em and then he gets a clue and will move but then....oah then I get the nuzzler. He changes from "im not going to listen to you" to now I am going to nuzzle you to death by trying to get as close to me as possible. First its the little lean up against me but then.....slowley....little by little.....he takes over me and flopps himself on me to take back over the darn couch!

[tanza]

Nope, go to the dog bed and that is where he will want to be….ggggg

[Quercus]

@JazzysMom:

Personally, I know VERY few people that require their basenjis stay off the >>couch…I can't really think of any

Well, you know one... ME!!

you know…you did enter my mind when I wrote that....but I figured I don't actually KNOW you

It is funny about the hair...I have never noticed Basenji hair coming off on my clothes from the couch...but as I look over at our couch, I notice a bunch of *my hair collecting on one of the cushions

[Quercus]

Digging. I teach them "stop it". If they start to dig, I say "stop it" and GET UP…GO OVER, and either redirect them, or if they won't redirect pull them off the couch while saying "off". That being said...we do have a few rips here and there in the cushions, but not actually where they dig...more on the seams.

[tanza]

@Quercus:

Digging. I teach them "stop it". If they start to dig, I say "stop it" and GET UP…GO OVER, and either redirect them, or if they won't redirect pull them off the couch while saying "off". That being said...we do have a few rips here and there in the cushions, but not actually where they dig...more on the seams.

I do that too, when I am home and see them digging… of course they don't seem to have their "selected" hearaids on all the time!

[ciarasmom]

Digging: my couches are covered with blankets and pillows, which while they dig they scatter all over the room. Seems to satisfy their reason for digging with (knock on wood) no damage to sofa.
Periodically I make a half-hearted fuss "oh my, look at this, pillows everywhere" which I then put back on the sofa for them to knock off again.

[JazzysMom]

Our couches are leather {nice leather} , which we did worry about before bringing B's into the house. We were a bit concerned that they'd try to chew on them. It's never been a problem, though.

{Why do I feel a very strong need to knock on wood?}

[Quercus]

@JazzysMom:

Our couches are leather {nice leather} , which we did worry about before bringing B's into the house. We were a bit concerned that they'd try to chew on them. It's never been a problem, though.

{Why do I feel a very strong need to knock on wood?}

Yes…knock!

So, we were thinking about doing leather next time, because we have had folks tell us that it holds up much better to dogs and scratching nails than fabric...but I doubt it will hold up to teeth...though also knocking on wood, ours haven't ever chewed the couch.

We also do the throw blanket and cushion thing like Brenda....that does seem to help with the digging and arranging.

[tanza]

We have leather and have "knock on wood" never had a problem…. and like I said I do have throws on them... and yes cushions all over the place...gggg... and it does seem to help with the re-arranging... as Brenda said..
They have never tried to chew on them even raising a litter of pups!!!... now table and chair legs (wood) are another story...

[vstripe]

Do basenji's usually chew on sofa's and table legs???

[drummamamma]

Wow there is nothing better than having my basenji on the couch with me. I agree tables or counters absolutely not but he has a blanket they he will lay on on the couch if it is not there he wont go up so when there are visitors over the blanket comes off.

[Quercus]

@vstripe:

Do basenji's usually chew on sofa's and table legs???

Sometimes, if they are bored or have even a little separation anxiety. I would say over half of most young basenjis would chew on furniture if you leave them unattended in a room for more than a short length of time. But that percentage isn't that much higher than puppies of any breed, IMO.

[tanza]

@Quercus:

Sometimes, if they are bored or have even a little separation anxiety. I would say over half of most young basenjis would chew on furniture if you leave them unattended in a room for more than a short length of time. But that percentage isn't that much higher than puppies of any breed, IMO.

I agree, given the opportunity all puppies might….. and puppies really don't know any better... as far as table legs or chair legs, for me it was that they would be laying close to them and just as a matter of teething would reach out and use the closest thing as a "chew" stick.... mostly without even thinking about it...

[JazzysMom]

Wow there is nothing better than having my basenji on the couch with me.

I do hold them on my lap while I'm on the couch; that is a very cozy, snuggly, cuddly time. But they're not getting directly ON the couch; and they don't mind a bit.
That was one concern dh had before we brought Jazz home. Every where we went, everything we'd read talked about how they love to sit on the furniture. I reassured him that I'd teach them not to, and it wouldn't be a problem. And it hasn't.

[Tayda_Lenny]

I used to let Tayda and Lenny on the couch as much as they wanted until the hair drove me so nuts I couldn't take it anymore. My solution was to move their crate next to the couch and put a dog bed on top of it. They now use the couch just to jump up onto their bed. And they still get to be next to me! I also sit on the ground with them if they want to snuggle with me, or I'll have one of them in my lap and the other one at my feet.

A leather couch would be nice! Maybe next time!