How To Keep Your Weimaraner Off Of Beds, Chairs, & Couches

November 25, 2006 on 1:00 pm | In Weimaraner Articles |

When Your Weimaraner Jumps On The Bed: Because of their pack origins, dogs are very social animals and love to be with their people. Most dogs need little if any encouragement to jump up to be near them. With a highly social, friendly dog the solution to too much togetherness is to shock the animal out of the undesirable behavior.

Have a full water pistol or spray bottle handy, and the minute the dog starts to jump up, squirt it in the mouth or face and say “NO!” When it settles back down on the floor, you can pet and praise the dog, but in case it thinks this is encouragement to jump up again, keep the water pistol handy to spray immediately if the animal makes a move. Another way to shock a dog is to have a large cooking pot and spoon handy. The minute it starts to jump, bang the pot with the spoon and say “NO.” The dog will soon realize this is not a positive experience.

Alternatively, if you don’t care about your Weimaraner having the run of the house but still want it in your bedroom at night, leash the dog and hold the end of the dog’s leash. As soon as it begins to jump, correct it with a snap and say “NO.”

A long-term solution is to train your dog to Go to Your Place. Then it will stay quietly all night in its own bed or place.

When Your Weimaraner Jumps On Chairs & Couches: dogs and their ancestors the wolves always like to create a nest for themselves. A dog naturally finds a couch or chair more comfortable than the floor for its nest. In addition, the scent its owners leave on the furniture makes it an even more appealing nesting place for a dog. The best way to break a dog of this habit is to make the act uncomfortable in some way so it becomes pleasanter for the dog to sleep on the floor.

You can use a Setup. Put a bunch of balloons on the couch. Then, with the dog on a leash, walk over to the couch, point at it, and say “NO.” When you’re right next to the couch, pick up a balloon and pop it right in the dog’s face. Then walk a short distance away with the dog still on leash. Remove the leash and go into another room. If the dog wasn’t sufficiently startled by the popped balloon and is still brave enough to jump on the couch, the remaining balloons will pop and frighten it into getting right down.

With a very strong-willed, powerful dog such as an Weimaraner, a popping balloon may not be deterrent enough. You may need to use a stronger Setup. Place a number of set mousetraps on the furniture with a light sheet on top (the sheet will protect the dog from being hurt by the traps). If the dog jumps up, the traps will snap and startle the animal enough to make it give up the couch as a bed.