Harley is destroying my leather couch... - Paw Talk

Marioski · #1 03-09-2004, 05:25 PM

He found a slit in the cushions and dug his way in to reveal the foam stuff inside the cushions and started to tug away on this. This happenned a few weeks ago and since then I have been putting a blanket on the sofa to deter him from digging. However, he's persistent, whenever I leave the room and he wants to be a bad little guy, he will move the blanket away and dig again until all the foam from the cushion is all over my living room floor. I really don't care about the sofa as this is an old and I knew this was going to happen so I didn't purchase new sofa's when we moved in. But, what can I do to get him to stop attacking my sofa? He does have enough play and chew toy's but for some reason he is drawn to the foam inside the sofa.

Thanks
Mario

Becki · #2 03-09-2004, 09:11 PM

No answers from me but I feel your pain! On of my dogs LOVES stuffing... from furniture, stuffed toys and especially comforters

RSbunny · #3 03-09-2004, 11:19 PM

remove the stuffing!! Or tape it up!! As long as he knows it is there he will keep going for it! If he can't get to it he will get bored of the new game he invented.

**kittygurl823** · #4 03-09-2004, 11:27 PM

Hi Mario! I don't know much about the stuffing chewing, either.

You said you tried putting a blanket on the couch, I wonder, have you tried a couch cover? I know it would cover your leather couch, which is a bummer, but it might help? We have one on our one couch, I always thought they were so expensive, but we got a nice one at Burdines on sale for $120 (maybe?) It's washable, so that makes it nice, too. My dogs all love pulling the stuffing out of their toys, though!

Marioski · #5 03-09-2004, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kittygurl823


	Hi Mario! I don't know much about the stuffing chewing, either. You said you tried putting a blanket on the couch, I wonder, have you tried a couch cover? I know it would cover your leather couch, which is a bummer, but it might help? We have one on our one couch, I always thought they were so expensive, but we got a nice one at Burdines on sale for $120 (maybe?) It's washable, so that makes it nice, too. My dogs all love pulling the stuffing out of their toys, though!

Yeah we thought about that and I don't really want to get any covers for this couch as it will be replaced by the end of this year. So basically I don't want to spend the money on a cover for a couch that is going to be replaced shortly, yup I'm a bit cheap. I did try one thing which seems like it's working. I have been putting two pieces of 12x12 ceramic tile, that I have laying around, directly on top of the opening in the sofa where he digs and he doesn't want to go near that. Seems to work whenever I remember! I'm thinking that maybe I'll go get something that I can either spray on the couch that will deter him or put something inside the couch that will scare him away if he starts to dig.

Chinchilla_Girl · #6 03-09-2004, 11:51 PM

We trained my father's goldens to stay away from the furniture when that happened by putting a blanket on the couch with mouse traps underneith (sp?) it. When the dogs would try to climb up there to tear it up, the mouse traps would go off and scare the geebies out of the dogs...No one ever got caught because of the blanket...but they quickly learned the couch was off limits.

**kittygurl823** · #7 03-09-2004, 11:52 PM

Oh I hear ya! Some of them CAN be so expensive.

I was thinking of suggesting spraying something on the couch, too. I have heard awesome things about bitter apple, but I just wasn't sure if it could be sprayed on fabic or leather, I didn't know if it would ruin it? Anyone know?

***Dena*** · #8 03-10-2004, 12:16 AM

When I first moved into my house and got my new puppies they decided it would be fun to pee on the couch, two days later we replaced them. It was a marking thing, they have done this to their dog bed too which at least I can stick in the washing machine. When we got the new couch (leather) I trained them that they were not allowed to go on the furniture anymore. If the tile is working then stick with that or you might want to try some duck tape, as bad as that sounds it might help until you replace the couch.

Marioski · #9 03-10-2004, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinchilla_Girl


	We trained my father's goldens to stay away from the furniture when that happened by putting a blanket on the couch with mouse traps underneith (sp?) it. When the dogs would try to climb up there to tear it up, the mouse traps would go off and scare the geebies out of the dogs...No one ever got caught because of the blanket...but they quickly learned the couch was off limits.

See I mentioned that to my girlfriend before about putting a small mouse trap inside the cushion. I don't mind him behing on the couch as he's small enough and doesn't take up any space at all, I just don't want him to dig at the cushion. She thought I was being mean, but I told her it would probably scare the geebies (as you put it) out of him and he'd never dig again. Same thing happenned with the cables, when he was a bit younger he was really bad with bitting thru cables. I must have gone thru 4 speaker cables and I went thru one monitor cable for the computer. One time when I wasn't paying attention he went thru my extension cable for the fish tank. Well he bit thru the insulation and got slightly shocked. Let me tell you that must have done the trick as since then he has not touched any cables at all.

Dena, you made me chuckle in the first two lines of what you wrote. You said you got new puppies and they were peeing on the sofa so you replaced them. I don't know if it's just too early in the morning for me, but it took me a while to figure out that you meant you replaced the sofa's and not the puppies! hahhaha. Harley pee'd in his bed in his cage a few times as well, but he's out of his cage now for the last few weeks and sleeping either on the floor in our bedroom or on our bed and he does really good all night long. He's sound asleep until one of us wake up in the morning and once he's up the first thing we have to do is let him out or else he will have an accident.

Kittygurl823, I know the bitter apple spray works on Ferrets but I wasn't sure it worked on dogs. Might have to give that a shot.

Jodi · #10 03-10-2004, 10:18 AM

Yep, bitter apple works for doggies too!

Deja, has suggested putting tinfoil on your couch/bed, etc to keep a dog from jumping up on the furniture. Since you don't mind if they're on the couch and just want to keep 'em from digging...maybe put some tinfoil over or in the spot they are digging. Maybe that would help. Then again, maybe they would just dig that up!

Just a thought!

Formula86 · #11 03-10-2004, 10:55 AM

hey! i feel your pain dude! i would definetely teach the dog to NOT ever be on the couch. this is deja (and many others') suggestion for when i started teaching my dogs that they weren't allowed on the bed: every time he goes to get on the couch, shake a coke can with pennies in it really hard. make some sort of loud, scary, annoying noise to deter him. he will keep ripping up your couch. it's not going to stop - seriously. i thought that my dog would stop ripping up the carpet by me spraying bitter apple all over it, etc...and she just got used to the bitter apple. she just eats it now. i think that not only is this a game for harley, but it has become a habit (such as biting one's fingernails) and it calms him down.
as for the cables, you could try the bitter apple (doesn't get absorbed so the taste lasts longer). make sure you put some cable tape on those so that he doesn't shock himself.
also - are you crating/containing him when you are gone? have you started him with basic obidience? both of these things will help.
oh yah....and by the way...it's almost required that you post some pics of your couch-eater!!!!!

welcome to pt.

Marioski · #12 03-10-2004, 03:39 PM

Hey Formula86,pics of my couch eater are posted up in my intro tread. Check it out when you have a second. Here's the link in case your feeling lazy.

http://www.paw-talk.net/forums/showthread.php?t=17451

I already had him cage trained and he does very well. I have no problems with him when I leave the house or at night when he stays in the bedroom, with the door open. I typically leave him gated in the kitchen, but sometimes I let him roam around the house so he has access to the kitchen, living, dining, hallways and stairs. The bedroom and bathroom doors I keep closed. He doesn't do anything, just lays down on the sofa top and stares out the window. When my parents watch him sometimes, they leave him in their huge family/kitchen room and he's fine. I would figure he would have more problems over there since my mom has all sorts of things he can get into and tons of plants everywhere, but he just lays down and sleeps. I know this because I set up an internet cam one day and watched him from work!!!! He still has his accidents once in a while at work (more pooping accidents then peeing) so when I have a long day at work I leave him in the kitchen. However, when I do that, he rarely has an accident, it's usually when I leave him roaming around the house he'll poop by the door or on the stairs. At least his poop is nice and solid and doesn't make a mess.

The electrical cords are no problem now, he stays away from them so we're in the clear on that.

RSbunny · #13 03-10-2004, 03:45 PM

If you are going to do the mouse trap idea please please please be very very very careful and kaem sure that it is covered by something that he won't be able to remove so he doesn't get caught. Personally I think there are better alternatives out there (tin foil etc. if you want him on the couch) and you should try those....there is less of a risk of Harley getting his paw caught. What about some bubble wrap stuffed in the cushion?? Then when he digs at it it will pop and be loud but won't hurt him in any way at all and the lounge will be the one punishing him which meand that he won't get clever and only do it when you are not at home!!

**kittygurl823** · #14 03-10-2004, 04:10 PM

Yup, like Jodi said there is bitter apple for doggies, too!

Jodi, it's cool to spray on couches and stuff then? I haven't used it myself so I wasn't sure.

Formula86 · #15 03-11-2004, 01:53 AM

i have sprayed bitter apple on my fabric couch and it doesn't hurt it. but keep in mind - my couch is dark and is scotch guarded. i think overall, you want to make sure it's scotch guarded. the bitter apple itself is kind of yellowish, so if you have a very light colored couch, i wouldn't recommend it.