our St. Bernard

Question
QUESTION: Our St. Bernard is 4-1/2 years old.  We rescued her when she was 6 months and she has been a good girl and a good companion for our Golden Retriever, who is now very old, BUT all of a sudden she is sitting on furniture she is not allowed on.  She has always been allowed on the couch in the family room but now she is going on my recliner and on our WHITE furniture in the sunroom and in the living room.  Why and how do we stop her?  (She is so big - would mouse traps even make an impression?)

ANSWER: Hi Phillis,

Using mouse traps on your dog is NOT a good idea. If your dog were to touch it with her nose, it could inflict a serious wound upon her!

If you're not around to remind your dog not to get on the furniture, then you'd need to prevent her from accessing the furniture.
To ensure she doesn't enter the room with the white furniture, try using a child gate or two to keep her out of the room completely.
It sounds like you have other areas in your home where you dog can lay down.
A popular solution to this problem is to use slipcovers on the furniture. They could be formal ones, beautifully made, or just bedsheets, comforters, blankets, etc. tossed over the sofa to keep it from picking up dog hair and such.

Another option is to use a "scat-mat" on the furniture you don't want your dog on. Scat-mats use a 9 volt battery to give a harmless though unpleasant static charge that's startling.

Best of luck,
Patti

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Patti - I wasn't clear on my question.  Peggy Sue would never, ever sit on furniture she shouldn't until now.  What I am concerned over is WHY the behavior change after 4 years and I am wondering if it could be connected to the fact that our other dog is very old and getting to the end of his long life and she, on some level, senses this and is looking for comfort?

Answer
Hi Phillis,

Thank you for getting back to me and clarifying this.

I really can't say why Peggy Sue has had a change in her habits, when previously she's known not to go on your furniture. Anything that might cause a dog stress, which can be a change in her routine, to some change in your household (large or small), can cause problems that you hadn't previously encountered. Another cause could be that for reasons I can't begin to guess at, Peggy Sue might be challenging your authority by sleeping on the couch she's been trained not to go near.

Whatever the cause, the solution is the same. Peggy Sue needs a brush up in her training. This isn't uncommon in dogs. Just as you did when you first got her, you need to supervise her, and when you can't, she needs to be prevented from going in the room with that couch since you can't trust her not to jump up onto it. The re-training period should go faster than it did the first time around.

You can't punish Peggy Sue for going up on the couch if you weren't around to prevent it, or offer a "correction" the minute she tired to get onto it. Be consistent in your training, and Peggy Sue will be back on track very soon!

Best of luck,
Patti