Dear Val,
Ok, dogs on sofas ........ no, no, no ! A dog should NEVER be at the same height or higher than you. This can give the dog a dominant feeling. I know of one couple - my lips are sealed – who now can only sit on their sofa if the dog is not on there ! A friendly dog in every way but woe betide you if you try to get him off the sofa. Dogs should always be at a lower level than that of the owner, so a cushion at your feet is great but on the lap/sofa is not on. When the pups are cute and tiny it is so tempting to cuddle and let them sit by you, but what happens when the pup gets bigger ...... and bigger ? Also so embarrassing when you have friends for drinks and they are balancing drink and nibbles only to find themselves suddenly with a four legged hairy being on their lap too !!
Same thing with the bed. We once homed a pup then four weeks later the lady called us because the dog had become ‘aggressive’. We were very surprised until we learned that the dog slept on the bed with the daughter and when her parents went in to kiss her good night, the dog growled at them and bared his teeth. Obviously he was protecting the little girl. Our advice to get the dog off the bed, out of the bedroom and back to his own sleeping place downstairs was taken on board and from then on, no more problems. The responsibility of guarding his mistress had been taken away and the pup could enjoy being just that, a carefree pup.
Do I practice what I preach .............. well, I don’t have a sofa so no problems there but the very ancient little dogs sleep in the bedroom but NEVER on the bed.
Sue xx Poorpaws
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