apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Anything but the tables, and no dogs on the bed. That's pretty much it.

Rewarding your dog after coaxing him off the furniture will only teach him to get on the furniture and jump off to get a treat. Preventative measures are best. Yes you can teach an old dog new tricks!

My long-time now diseased companion, a Cairn terrier, couldn't be dissuaded from the furniture. My current housemate, a Shih-Tzu, waits to be invited with one exception. He gets on the bed when I'm not home. I'm OK with it. The bedspread is washable, upholstery is harder to clean.

The bed is the only off limits for our dogs. The cat pretty much has free reign as she needs her space to be able to get away from the dogs. No home is complete without pethair.

When I was growing up, we allowed our dogs on the furniture...
...but now that I'm grown up and don't have pets, it drives me looney (and into sneezing fits) when I go visit my sister's home and there's fur on the car seats, the sofas, etc.

As long as it's not on the kitchen counters, I let my cat hang out wherever she pleases. And when she gets caught on the kitchen counter, I don't even have to say anything, she immediately does a little whiny meow and jumps off.

We got a little dog from a shelter who seems to have been welcome on furniture at his old home. Hes a very social creature, so if we are on the couch, he will want to be too. If we sit on the floor he will want to sit on the floor. But usually we prefer the couch!

I keep a really soft (but washable) microfiber throw on the couch for him to sit on with us. He loves how soft and warm it is and it takes absolutely no coaxing to get him to just sit on that. Keeps the furniture looking nicer and smelling fresh.

hes also allowed in the bed, although we fought it for awhile hes hard to say no to. He has us well trained.

Our dog is allowed on the sofa in our media room so that we can snuggle with her - and the bed (our other dog is old enough that his getting-on-the-furniture days are behind him). No dogs allowed on the sitting room-living room furniture, so that we can entertain drop-in visitors without shooing them outside so that we can vacuum first.

Watching TV or reading a book would not be enjoyable without my dog curled up with me. And yes, she sleeps on the bed, too. She's the best hot water bottle in the world.

That said, there are times when I don't want her on the furniture, so I taught her to get up and off on command. If you make it a game, instead of scolding, it's fun and easy peasy to teach.

anything but tables. but we have also trained our 2 beagles to go to their beds when we are eating or when we have guests.

to combat their shedding - leather sofa, lint rollers, and i am thinking of investing in a pet hair specific vaccuum

I like to believe that the cats aren't allowed on the kitchen counter, but really they go where they like. I cannot imagine any technique short of constant vigilance with a water gun that could change this...

I was successful in keeping my cat off of one couch but he would go sit in the corner and stare at me up on the couch with a sad look in his eyes. So when I got another one with a more worn fabric I just decided it would be the "lived in" couch, pet hair and all. My cat's rescue and was really timid when I fist got him except, the first night I got him he jumped in the bed with me. I was so touched, I never thought to shoo him away afterwards.

We allow our great dane on the furniture, with the exception of our leather couch and chairs. That breed tends to like to sleep on very soft, bulky things that are elevated. She sits on furniture just like a person too :) We taught her to get down on command and wait to be invited, and it was very easy. She was not a baby when we got her, so we taught her by setting up a specific place on the floor (a rug next to a couch, for example, and coaxing her down onto it while telling her to get off. After a few weeks, we didn't need a rug, and now she simply gets down when told.

Totally. The cat goes on the couch, the table, in the bed, cupboards... the house is just as much his as it is mine.

My two dogs are allowed on the sofa and the beds. It's become routine for my dog Pepe to join me in my room on my bed when I'm doing some uni work in the evening! Infact he's on my bed right now. Sometimes both dogs can be found on my bed snuggled together! They are Yorkshire Terriers so they don't moult, I think if they did I would try not to let them on the bed so much! Coarse dog hairs itch me so much, as do cat hairs.

Like someone said above, we have them trained to get in their baskets when we're eating or when we tell them to. It's hard when we have vistors who aren't too keen on dogs because they do jump up all over them on the chairs to say hello! They get so excited. Most guests are understanding though and become besotted with them haha.

When the youngest dog was a pup and she got big enough to jump onto the kitchen table chair, she did lots and then jumped on the kitchen table! Once we found her snuggled up on the table with some laundry we'd just brought in. She's got out of that habit now after we just shouted at her and made her get down whenever she did it.

Family Room couch - yes
Cream living room sofa - no
Mommy's bed - special occasions, clean dogs only!

No other furniture.

I have two cats and live in a motorhome. It seemed cruel to me to refuse them access to window seats and sunbeams in such a small space with so few alternate options, so I decided that they could climb almost anywhere. They can go into the sleeping loft, the couch in the study, the bookcase in the lounge, and the dining table, where I had to concede defeat. When I have guests, I wash the table well and add a table cloth. They are not allowed on the kitchen counter or the stove! I don't know what it is about the stove, but when we moved in they thought it was a good lounging location! I also don't let them onto the computer desk in the study.

I vacuum frequently and use the 'wet rubber glove' method of removing hair once a week. Frankly, I'd rather have hairy lounge chairs than not have my cats.

Oh, and one of them still has her claws so I cover them with 'Soft Paws' to protect the furnishings.

When I had cats, I didn't let them on the kitchen table or counters (no cat hair in my food, ick!). Just get 'em when they're kittens and yell at them every time they try it, and pretty soon they know the tone in your voice and stay away. Water guns help, as well as double-sided tape (they don't like the sticky feeling on their paws).

Definitely allowed! My dog snuggles on the couch and sleeps on my bed (and in). I have a slipcovered couch and duvet covers so I can wash everything as frequently as needed. Even if I didn't let her up, I've found that there's enough grime from rubbing furniture as she walks past that washable covers are the way to go. Wouldn't have it any other way!

my doggie is too big for our furniture, which makes it so hard when he gives us very...sad...puppy...dog...eyes when my husband and I are both sitting on the couch.

His hair ends up on the couch whether he sits there or not, so I'd gladly let him if I could!

My dog has always been told to stay off the furniture. He is simply too large and furry to be up there! Not to mention the dirty paws after he comes in from the yard!

The only exception is when he is sick (he had a nasty virus a while back) then and ONLY then is he allowed to sleep at the foot of the bed....I think it helps him feel better and it makes me feel better too!

Our dog is allowed on the leather sofa in the guest room and one of the living room chairs. He's invited on the chair when my husband or I are sitting in it and pull the ottoman close - he knows that his invitation to climb aboard.

I let my cat on chairs, couch and bed. A big no no if he jumps unto the kitchen island or bathroom sink. If he does do that, I'd walk over and firmly tell him to get down. It's like he knows that he's not supposed to be there, so he'd just get down.

No dogs on the furniture! I don't mind dog hair and am aware that it already covers everything that I wear and eat - that part isn't the issue for me. However, I would rather not deal with a situation in which company comes to the house, sits down on the couch, and is immediately jumped on and loved by a total of close to 150lbs of dog. Easier to just let the dogs know that they are never allowed on the furniture. The same goes with my bed - I would rather not be pushed out of the way by at least one huge snoring dog taking up twice the sleeping space that I am. No dogs on the bed!
Now, the cat is a different story and can go anywhere she wants but the kitchen table and counters... but that's mostly because she doesn't listen to a thing I have to say.

My great dane curls up on "her" couch cushion all day long - luckily my boyfriend and I have a sectional, so there's room for the three of us.

She also likes to sleep in bed with us, especially during the colder months. Somewhere along the way she learned to flip blankets off me with her nose when I don't let her snuggle next to me - it would be more annoying if she wasn't so darn cute!

My cats aren't allowed on the counters. But I know they are up there when I am not at home. I suspect there is the case for everyone

My dog is allowed on the TV room leather couch only, by invitation only. He's an obedient beast.

And this one embarrasses me a bit, but I got him a vintage Norwegian army blanket to curl up on when I'm not home. Hey - it was a steal at a surplus store, and looks nice in the room. I save the Swiss army one for myself.

Kitty, and her long kitty hairs, are all over my couch and bed. She has a chair that she considers 'hers'.
But not cats on counters or kitchen tables. It's obnoxious enough to have to her begging for scraps sitting on the floor, I wouldn't be able to keep her away from my dinner if she got on the tables.

My cat isn't allowed on the counters but the rule is broken constantly. There was a time where I tried to train him not to do it by putting double-sided sticky tape on the counters. It worked while the tape was there, but all it takes is one successful jump after you've removed the tape and the lesson is undone. So I decided to let it go. These days, I just tell him to get down if I catch him doing it. And he knows better than to try it when I'm cooking or washing dishes.

I can't even imagine trying to keep him off the sofa. He spends more time there than I do.

i can't get my cat to do anything, he is as stubborn as i am! right now i am trying to desperately keep him from destroying my furniture (he likes to claw at everything and it is a total nightmare). he has already ruined my new couch *sigh*.

I have a cat and the dog and they're both allowed on the sofas and chairs and beds, but there are ways to control them. My bed is too high for the dog so if I don't want him there I don't pick him up. My cat is too old and can't jump on the counter, but she's free to go anywhere else she can reach. Lint rollers and the vacuum are my best friends.

My smaller dog will not be dissuaded from getting on the furniture, especially if humans are also occupying it. His foster parents were an elderly couple who adored him and spoiled him rotten, but he also has a stubborn and somewhat clingy personality. I tried to stop him at first, but it wasn't worth the effort since he doesn't damage or stain anything and he's very low-shedding.

My other dog was 11 1/2 when I adopted him. He has excellent house manners and waits to be invited up on furniture. But I can tell by the hair on the couch and bed that he gets up there when I'm at work.

It means a little more vacuuming and cleaning, but I'd be doing that anyway. It's just part of having pets.

My miniature schnauzer is in complete control of the apartment, if he can jump on it… it’s his.

Dogs off the couch unless I'm there too. In which case, they go on my lap. Dogs in the bed are discouraged, but I'm the first to admit that some nights, there's nothing better than a pup to snuggle up to. Long story short, I'm an enabler.

The only other thing I've learned from all these posts is that cats are highly insubordinate. If I wanted something to ignore me and consume the food I buy and take over all my furniture, I'd get a teenager.

To each their own!

We have two cats and they are allowed everywhere except the kitchen counter and dining table....if we had dogs the rules might be different but with cats you just have to learn how to share....especially in a small apartment.

One good thing about our cats is that they are very habitual about where they spend their time so when cleaning it is easy to focus on their spots (ie: the foot of the bed on my side, the cushion on the wooden chair and the ottoman)

no dogs on the couch!

unless i want to take a nap with them. or cuddle. or they're on a blanket. or on top of me. or they ask nicely. or look sad. or i'm cold. or one's in my lap and the other looks jealous.

but other than that.... definitely not.

Animals don't belong in the house.

I have 2 dogs (80 lbs & 40 lbs) and a cat, and they sleep whereever they want. I've put down two folded up comforters but usually they're on the furniture. I do have slipcovers on my sofa and chair, so in a pinch I can rip them off. Sometimes they lay on my bed but I try not to have them sleep with me (they keep me up).

I got lucky with my cat, the downstairs neighbor left him when he moved and he only sleeps in a chair and sometimes on the floor curled up next to the pups. But I've never seen him jump on a counter once, even with food on there. Also, he doesn't use a litter box, only goes outside. After growing up with a lot of cats, this was a huge perk.

I have nicer furniture and try to take care of it. But growing up in a house with 3 large dogs and 10 cats, I don't stress over things like pet hair. It can be embarrassing but my pups and kits are my family, and they'd probably conspire against me if I stopped letting them on the furniture :)

I "explained" to my last cat why she wasn't allowed on the counters by showing her - from a safe distance - about what the stove does: emits flames. She had super long fluffy fur that screamed flammable. I may be giving both of us too much credit, but I never once found her up there even though there was a window above the sink. And you do eventually catch them no matter how clever they are. She was also very obedient for a cat.

It took about three days for me to train my pup that he could get on the sofa or chair, as long as he stayed on his little blanket. For the next ten years he would wait patiently while I spread out his blanket before he hopped up.

My cats have free roam, and we are in a constant battle in the kitchen. They are constantly opening both bottom and top cabinets -sitting all up in my pots and on my plates - making me was them over and over. I come home and the cabinets are open.

When i cook, I put all 3 of them in my bedroom, clean down all the surfaces and wash whatever I'm using. If I don't, I get a fatass cat jumping onto my kitchen table, me smacking something loud or squirting them full blast with the sink hose trying to get them off.

Home body - I tried teaching my cats that the big white box in the kitchen equals fire. One understood, but the other... I found her once, trying to snuggle with two pots I had on the stove, both boiling on high heat. This is also the same cat that is obsessed with candles. She burnt off her eye whiskers in the fraction of a second I turned away from a candle.

The other week, I was checking if a lighter still worked - She ran to it like it was made of tuna.

It's my dog's home too. If guests object to a little fur, they're welcome to be outdoor guests. Let's see how they like sitting on the cement porch.

Have you seen the 'Bounce' commercial for their new pet hair product? It's strangely amusing... err disturbing. I'm not a fan of laundry products, but wonder if this works?

We have a very old cat who loves the couch. The problem is not hair -- it is the filth he deposits everywhere he goes (god love him!). We are now calling him Phil The Cat. Get it? (okay, bad, I know...) He seldom grooms and is always covered in dirt. I've been covering the couch with a sheet but it is so unsightly. Any ideas?

i think allowing a pet on some furniture and not others (ie - yes to the family room sofa but no to the formal sofa etc..) is confusing for the pet, no?

i have a small 8 pound dog. he doesn't shed and i suspect if he did he i wouldn't let him on the furniture.or perhaps i would with the same 'rules' i use now.

to answer the question yes i do allow my pet on my furniture. i do allow my dog on my sofa (only other seating in the living room is a leather club chair which doesn't interest him one bit). BUT i do have one of my old large, oversized scarves on 'his' side of the sofa. it covers the seat and he knows if he wants on the sofa then he is on the scarf. he has no problem and always curls up on it...he goes to that end of the sofa instinctively. when i have friends over i simply remove the scarf and the seating is for people - he's usually fine to hang out on the ground or carpet then.

as for my bed - same thing goes. he is allowed on the foot of my bed - where i have a coverlet for him and he's more than happy to curl up on 'his portion' of the bed.

I knew when we got a dog (it was a must for my daughter the dog lover!) that he would end up on the couch... c'mon this is her best bud! Okay, mine too! So when we chose what type of dog we would get we agreed it had to be small to medium sized... and short haired low shedding. That way we had the best of both worlds... A Boston Terrier fit the bill, a best friend that can sit on the couch and a mom who's pretty happy about having guests over who can't tell the dogs been on it! A little fur.. ok... a lot, not so much.

Little Jack just sheds way too much to be allowed on the couch or the bed anymore. We know he still climbs up on the sofa back while we're gone - the dent is there to prove it - but while we're home, he plays by the rules.

people who are anal enough to forbid their animals from getting on their PRECIOUS furniture probably don't deserve to have pets.

I managed to train my cats to sit on "their" cat blanket (piece of hemmed fabric). It makes it easy to keep the bed (or couch) clean and if I want to sit or sleep all I have to do is drag their blanket to one side to reposition them. We use a lint roller and dust mop every day and vacuum once a week. I've got terrible allergies but those tactics make them barely noticeable--and I'm not giving up my cats.

The two cats have full run of the house, although the elderly one can't jump like she used to, so she has a narrower range or options. Counters too. (I wouldn't think of preparing food directly on the counters without wiping them down anyhow, so it doesn't make any difference from a sanitation standpoint.) They have plenty of cat-specific beds, baskets, and pillows, but Geisha, the elder, prefers my lap. (WITH a specific blanket, on a specific section of the sofa, where I am to pet her only occasionally and let her sleep undisturbed and unmoved the rest of the time. And I am derelict in my duty if I need to get a drink or use the restroom!)

After some... "interesting" experiences in our previous house, the 2 house rabbits are confined to their pen and "bedroom" (actually the under-stairs closet adjacent to the pen area) most of the time. We let them run in specific areas of the house for a couple of hours at night, and sometimes (rarely) they jump onto furniture. We cope. And vacuum a lot! (They shed like most people would NOT believe!)

My pets are family members -- if they want to be on the furniture, it's ok. I wouldn't buy furniture that wasn't pet friendly. (We do keep the bunnies away from furniture they might chew on, though. As best we can!) (But I did choose chairs with metal legs, for example...)

Two chihuahuas allowed on sofas and chairs and bed.

My partner initially resisted the bed idea. But, I got my way!

Cats and dogs are on the furniture, in the bed, under the covers, nothing is off limits. However, all of my furniture is worth exploiting: no italian silk fabric covering designer couches or Sotheby's quality chairs. However, if I did have an expensive couch or exquisite fabric that I wanted to keep pet free, I might consider one of those Pet Containment Systems that can be used inside the house to keep pets from accessing certain spaces/rooms. I've read about it but not used it myself. In truth, I probably wouldn't buy a $10,000 sofa because I want to be able to chill on the couch with my lab and so what if she gets hair all over the place. If Dyson can't fix it, I don't want it.
VIVA LA PET OWNERS! Bravo to all of you that love and live with animals!!!

Thanks to my wife we have an emasculatingly small four pound poodle. As far as I'm concerned, because she is so small she can go anywhere she climb to.

Our Pomeranian is too little to jump up onto beds or sofas. So she's always invited up, but now in her old age (she's 10) she seldom accepts the invite. LOL Yep, we ask her to come sit with us and she looks at us, and declines. LOL Gotta love the lil dog temperament.

I think the dog whisperer would say no to dogs on the couch. I try to maintain a higher rung in the pack than the dog so he won't enter my room unless he is invited and he'll never get on any furniture around me. My stepmom treats him like a baby (definitely not a baby!) and he won't only jump on the couch, he'll jump on HER to get on the couch. No way. Totally disrespectful but she thinks it's cute. There's always one person in the house that doesn't want to maintain pack rules.

i have cats, and they're allowed on pretty much anything but kitchen areas: no tables, no counters, etc.

Pets on the furniture? Hell Yea! I needed to replace a horrible flame stitch covered sofa a couple years ago... Kept telling myself 2K was my limit on a dog bed. Thought again about the dog bed designation. Decided washable linen slipcovers were a better, cost saving and environmentally friendly choice. In the bed? Of course! Duvet cover laundered weekly with sheets keeps the filth to a minimum. My boys, 2 havanese are my companions and they keep my feet warm at night.

One of my big dogs is so rigorous at "nesting" that she rips through upholstery and bed linens. So, all furniture has had to become off limits for both dogs. I place a beautiful willow branch across the sofa and that keeps her off. As for the bed, when I'm not home to supervise, I put the dog beds in another room and close my bedroom door.

Why on earth wouldnt I let my cats on funiture? Well I get alot of cat hair on my sofa, and I get rolled out of my bed often, but theres nothing better than waking up with a furball sleeping over my head.

"My" cat is gracious enough to allow me on his furniture in his apartment. In exchange, I must feed him, provide clean water in an ever-flowing fountain, clean his litter box & provide catnip & an exercise regimen (play-time).

Pets on the furniture? Depends upon who is considered the pet? the human or the animal?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spins_lps/2952183691/

Dog on the bed- Yes (we can always wash the bedding)
Dog on all other furniture- No
Professional Puppy Training- Priceless

Our cats are part of our family, of course they sit on the furniture. They can sit where we can sit - so no tables or benches, but sofas, beds etc are fine.

The cats go on anything but the table and kitchen counters. That's just.... ick.

My husband is highly allergic to animals but we adopted a cat eight years ago that was born behind our property and then left by his feral mother. To make the situation liveable for my husband, I trained the cat not to sit on any furniture by giving him a supercomfy fleece petbed on the floor in the living room for daytime and one in the basement for nighttime. He sits on my lap either in the kitchen on a wood chair or on a leather chair in the living room, but doesn't sit on any upholstered furniture. And of course, he is not allowed on tables or counters! He also knows that he is not allowed to go upstairs. When he wants our attention, when we're upstairs, he sits at the bottom of the stairs and yowls until we respond! We moved house about 2 years ago and had no problem shifting our "rules" to the new house. Cats are SMART!

Yes - to a point.

The kitties are allowed on the bed, sofa, chairs, and bathroom counter. They aren't allowed on tables or the kitchen counter - no feet where Mommy eats! I can't let them outside, so it's not like they track in outside dirt.

We have a 90 lb. lab-shep mix. A lap (or furniture) dog, he ain't.

Both of my feline furbabies enjoying lounging everywhere. One of them clawed our sofa until we put a throw over it and then he stopped. If only we`d thought of that initially we could have saved the future expense of recovering the sofa. For de-furring, I keep a sticky paper roller (not very green, but works far better than any of the other options on the market in my opinion) hidden in every room for clothing and textiles.

Cats need to stay off the food surfaces, and dogs are very dependent on the breed. Non-shedding can have free reign for all I care (though they will occasionally be barred from the bedroom).

There is a lot to be said for well groomed poodles and siamese. (Siamese have little to no undercoat which is the worst of the cat fur).

The dog can get on the couch, but is too big and lazy to even attempt getting on the bed.

I'm gone for 10 hours every day, so, obviously, the cats go wherever they please.

"people who are anal enough to forbid their animals from getting on their PRECIOUS furniture probably don't deserve to have pets."

The furniture isn't PRECIOUS, it's just not hers. The dog has her furniture, we have ours. Aunt is the alpha, I'm the beta, the Boston Terror is the omega. Dogs can get confused and unhappy if they don't have the order they need.

my dog is allowed on some furniture. for the other stuff -- the new couch or the two chairs i got re-upholstered i use loud, but weak plastic mousetraps. you can put your finger in one and have it snap with zero pain, but the noise totally deters my scaredy cat dog.

shannonstarfish: weaky moustraps for the scaredy cat dogs... i love it.

Bear, the 80 pound lab chow mix, has furniture rules. He is only allowed on furniture purchased from Craigslist. This means all of the furniture at my apartment, all of the furniture at my boyfriends, and none at my parents. The cat goes wherever he damn well pleases.