Now I’m not saying this will definitely happen, but it could. Again, it doesn’t mean that your dog is a vicious danger if it does. Dog’s are animals at the end of the day and certain natures are built into them, guarding territory been one of them. Some breeds are worse than others, but they all have it in them. Going back to how dogs function, the trainer explained that dogs communicate to each other a lot through body language, to another dog the signs would be clear, but to us humans, we’d be none the wiser. The father returning to his bed, his dog probably gave him several different warnings not to approach and not to try and get into the bed, but as a human, he just didn’t pick up on them, leaving the dog feeling like he had no choice but to bite.

 

The solution? Make going up on the sofa a LUXURY for your dog, make it something they have to earn. That way they know that when they’re allowed on the sofa it’s a treat and privilege, not a right, and also that it is not their sofa, it is your sofa that you are allowing them to sit on.

 

It was a bit of a bugger for us as we’d let Cooper up on the sofa a few times and in his head he was fully allowed to go up as and when he wanted. This meant 2 things, some floor training and some mat training.

 

FLOOR TRAINING

 

If your dog is always on the sofa, you simply have to make it worthwhile for them to be on the floor. Every time they get up on the sofa, use a treat (high value if needed), and put it on the floor. It’s a repetitive game but eventually your dog will think, ‘hey why am I going up on the sofa when all the good stuff is down on the floor?’ Like most training it doesn’t happen over night and I wouldn’t be trying it while you’re watching your favourite tv show as it’s pretty time consuming, but in the end you should start to see results.

 

MAT TRAINING

 

So our trainer suggested using mat training. It was something that we could use in multiple situations, including controlling the craziness the ensues every time the doorbell rings! Using food as a treat, we have taught Cooper the command ‘Mat!’ When he hears it, he goes and sits on his mat (an old cushion from his bed). Wherever it is in the house, when he hears the command ‘mat’, that is where he goes.The trainer basically said the idea of having the mat (or whatever it is you want to use, a blanket or carpet- anything you want basically!), is that you can place the dog anywhere you want him to be. Dog’s are smart, but they’re not smart enough for you to say ‘go sit next to that sofa!’ or ‘Sit by the cabinet over there!’ If however you train them to sit on something consistent, you can just move that item and give them their command to go and sit on it.Tying it back into the sofa situation, the basic premise is, eventually, once Cooper has fully learned that the sofa is no go, and he is fully consistent on the ‘mat’ command, we can put the mat on the sofa, and tell him to go and sit on it. That way he knows that the sofa is not his, but he is allowed to sit on the mat, so he can go up there with our permission.

 

It’s still a massive working progress for us but we are seeing results now! I just thought it was a really interesting concept how allowing one little behaviour could eventually lead to a pretty nasty situation! Especially if you have a dog breed which is known to be territorial! Click below to see a list of 10 of the most territorial dog breeds.