Q&A for How to Keep Pets off the Furniture

Yes, but you have to teach them not going on the furniture is wrong, as opposed to giving them a treat after they climb off. For instance, you might keep your dog on a leash in the house and then pop on the leash when they try to jump.

Keep your dog in a crate when you're away so they safe and off of your furniture.

The chances are he associates any punishment for jumping up with you being present rather than the action of jumping on the sofa. This is why he jumps up when you're not there. Consider if it might be simplest just to put a dog blanket on the sofa when you aren't there. Alternatively, teach him two new commands: "Up" for jumping up on the sofa, and "Floor" for getting off. By putting the action on cue, you can then 'forget' to give him the "Up" command, which means he's a lot less likely to do so of his own accord.

Some people recommending daubing furniture with essentials oils that cats dislike the smell of (such as eucalyptus or lemon). Always test the furniture for color-fastness first. Otherwise, a remote deterrent such as motion-activated compressed air is the best thing, as this gives the cat a remote punishment that she won't link with your presence and is therefore effective at all times, not just when you're around.

This depends on how well socialized the cat is and their individual personality. But as a general rule, a cat that likes people will love the warmth and comfort of sleeping next to their owner.

Train the dog to jump down on command. The "Floor" cue works well. If the dog is on the furniture, lure him off with a treat. As soon as his paws hit the floor, say "Floor" and give the treat. Keep practicing this. You can also teach "Up" for him to jump onto the furniture. Although this sounds a bad thing to do, by putting "Up" on cue, it does help with the "Floor" training and often lessens their spontaneous jumping up.

This is tricky if you allow the dog to get up there when you're home. It is too confusing for the dog if he's allowed up when you're home, but not when you're out. So the first step is to have zero tolerance of the dog getting on the couch at all. If you can't trust the dog while you retrain him, then consider crate training to keep him confined (and out of trouble) when you aren't home.