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Woof! Bark! And also Whiiiiiiiiiine.

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Dave A Feb 2016 9:15pm, 2 Feb 2016 21,243 posts	0 Dave A We have very light nylon lines, about 2 metres long, with very light clips attached (house lines is the technical term). When they do something they shouldn't, for example go upstairs, put paws up or nuzzle for attention and ignoring doesn't work, take the end of the line and firmly lead them back to a part of the house they can be in. Don't say anything or touch them when they do this. Then ignore them when they are in the correct place. The pull on the line has to be firm a enough to startle them into moving, but not cruel.
Dave A Feb 2016 9:15pm, 2 Feb 2016 21,244 posts	0 Dave A It's surprisingly effective at moving them.
Sharkie Feb 2016 9:18pm, 2 Feb 2016 8,573 posts	0 Sharkie Good luck Dave! I'm glad we don't have to use nylon lines with light clips with 30 kg of muscle Jess! NOT that she's an angel of obedience by any means.
Sharkie Feb 2016 9:24pm, 2 Feb 2016 8,574 posts	0 Sharkie Our house is built over three floors and Jess has access to all three. She is only allowed in 'my' room (ground floor front) and the gym/guest room (top floor front) by invitation but otherwise goes where she pleases. Shepherds are such 'family' dogs she likes to be where we are most of the time. (It's borderline cruel to use them as guard dogs - they are very anxious when separated from their families) Raffo allowed her on his sofa. End of story. 'MY sofa - you can share' says Jess somewhat grudgingly before taking herself off to the floor when she gets fed up. She never stays anywhere that long.
Dave A Feb 2016 9:33pm, 2 Feb 2016 21,245 posts	0 Dave A At the moment it's ground floor only, apart from at night. Their beds are on the landing. They will be moved to the kitchen for overnight in about 10 days. When we go out they stay in the kitchen. We are trying a routine where every hour for 5 mins they get left in the kitchen on their own. When we let them out we say nothing. I think it's meant to be I show them that it's not that bad. The problem with letting them upstairs can be dominance because they can feel higher than you. The issue we had was dogs whizzing past us upstairs, stopping at the top, then looking back down on us, suggesting to them they are above us. Likewise with jumping on the sofa and giving a 'cuddle'. They end up on your level then above you during the cuddle. It gives them a feeling of being above you.
Sharkie Feb 2016 9:33pm, 2 Feb 2016 8,575 posts	0 Sharkie Our bed was another story. No way we said originally and this continued for about nine months. Then Raffo 'let' her, and eventually every night she would bound upstairs ahead of us and leap onto the bed looking extremely pleased with herself. But she is just too big, heavy and hairy and it had to stop. Even when it was cold and a Three Dog Night. It was surprisingly easy to get her back out of the habit. Sometimes she comes up at bedtime, pads round the bedroom and settles down on the landing all night. More often she doesn't. I tend to get up early but if I don't she will gently wake us up one at a time. But she doesn't get on the bed. I don't think she's ruined, she doesn't rule the roost - but of course the bed thing should never have happened in the first place.
Sharkie Feb 2016 9:37pm, 2 Feb 2016 8,576 posts	0 Sharkie It's different when you have two or more dogs. They DO have each other for company!
Dave A Feb 2016 9:37pm, 2 Feb 2016 21,246 posts	0 Dave A I don't think that there is a problem with where the dog goes, as long as it's managed. We didn't manage it and the dogs have thought they can take over. It's not actually as bad as it sound. But we didn't want it to get like the bad pet documentaries on the tv. We just got a bit of guidance on how to manage the dogs.
Sharkie Feb 2016 9:40pm, 2 Feb 2016 8,577 posts	0 Sharkie Also, Dave, different breeds - and individual dogs - have differing personalities and needs. I don't think one size fits all. Bit like running training - more miles made me SLOWER not faster! Sometimes the conventional wisdom is a bit broad.
LazyDaisy Feb 2016 9:48pm, 2 Feb 2016 13,165 posts	0 LazyDaisy Dogs will also know and accept different boundaries with different people. I've mentioned before that Flossie sits and whines politely (honestly, it's very quiet and diffident) if she wants me to wake up in the morning. If it's OH who's still in bed, she jumps on him. Serves him right.