Hi there,

what is the best way of keeping my dog off the sofa? i have an 18 month old staffy who has started to develop a habit of jumping on the sofa. to start with, we imediately corrected him with an "Ah Ah" and lifted him off. After some time of doing this we escalted to then tieing him up as well. the problem seems to be getting worse rather than better. he is now also starting to nip and growl at us when we try and get him off. we are starting to leave his leash on most of the time when he is inside. any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Was he ever allowed onto the furniture? Even once?
How's the floor? Is it cold or bare? He might just want to be off the floor for his comfort.

Hey Brad, As far as getting on the sofa goes if u dont want him there dont let him. The leash is your obvious choice. The next thing would be to do the opposite of what u might think: teach him how to get on the couch!! Dogs learn two side of a problem much better than one side. Take him over to the couch and say "Up" or "On"....then say "Off". Make it a fun game....on,off,on,off...over and over again. Even if u never let him up there ever agin he now knows there is a word for getting on so untill he hears it he must stay "OFF". Now the next part...growling and nipping.....it might be the lifting him off the couch that is the problem, it might be the handling part of your hands on him, it might be a very big respect issue (that is my guess). Check out the basic respect 101 class on the web site and get started sooner than later.
If u need anymore advice please keep posting.........Damian