The problem is that she thinks our couch belongs to her.   Most evenings, she tries to climb up and we tell her 'off', but she gets quite "territorial" - she jumps up onto me and tries to 'nip', when I tell her to get down.  (I saw the breeder's husband, sitting on the couch with one or two of the other puppies on his lap, so I think maybe its a habit she acquired early). 

I take her firmly - but gently - by the scruff of her neck and put her in the (enclosed) back porch for 10 mins. 

When I go out to call her back in, she refuses to come in, so I leave her there and check on her every 20mins or so.  She eventually comes back in.  We did that routine last night and today she was as good as gold all day long, until about 8pm tonight when she tried to get up on the couch and I told her 'off'.  And we're now back to square one!

Obviously I need to get her out of this bad habit as soon as possible.  If she's like this at 13wks, what's she going to be like when she's 60lbs or so and got a full set of adult teeth?!!

HELP!!

I think you need to buy a book about puppies, and the one that is recommended very often and is very good is "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey.  You can get it on amazon and sometimes on ebay.

My pup is a different breed but the same age, and is doing exactly the same thing ... it's normal puppy stuff, and I really don't think the way you are 'punishing' her is going to teach her what you are trying to teach :(  Think of it like this...
1. Does she understand what "Off" means?
2. If she doesn't understand it, how is she supposed to obey it?

When my pup tries to get on to the sofa like this, it generally means that he's either tired and wants a cuddle, or that he wants to play.

Thanks, Topsy, but YES, she does know what 'Off' means.  She knows to get off the stairs and off the chair - its just the sofa she is territorial about! 

I know she's only a baby but she's housetrained already, and she knows Sit, Come, Heel, Give etc so I'm really pleased with her - except for the 'nipping' when I tell her to get off the couch in the evening.  When I tell her to get off during the day, she's fine! (Well, she gives me the usual sad face but no jumping up and growling and no nips etc.) 

I just don't want it to escalate. 

I'll have a look-out for the Gwen Bailey book - I've seen it recommended many times, so it must be good.  I've got 2 of Jan Fennells and found them very interesting.  Shame I don't see anything in her books about my current problem.

I agree with Topsy too.

You say your dog knows what 'off' means.... Well she obviously doesn't or she would get off.  Perhaps she knows that 'off' means get off the stairs or the chair - but not the sofa.  Dogs dont' generalise from one thing to another - the command needs to be taught again from scratch in different locations.

Ask yourself these questions:

1.  What reward are you offering your dog when you tell her to get off?  Praise isn't enough - you need to reward IMMEDIATELY with food - hotdog sausage or cheese are good ones.

2.  Is the reward greater than the pleasure of sitting on the sofa with you?  If not, make the reward bigger or she will prefer to stay on the sofa with you.

3.  If you 'call' her back inside and she doesn't come in afterwards, what does this tell you?  I'd suggest it potentially means she is afraid of you and afraid you are going to punish her again so prefers to avoid you.  This, in itself, tells you that she doesn't know what she is being punished for and believes it is random.  Therefore you are damaging your relationship with your dog and you are not solving the sofa problem at all.

4.  What is she learning when you call and she doesn't come?   You are actually teaching her to ignore you and not to come when called.  Good luck when you start going out on walks with distractions and other dogs around and you call her - if she won't come in her own house, I doubt very much she will come outside.

Kate, dogs don't deliberately try to outwit their owners.  They don't sit up late at night planning rebellions.  They don't go in for revenge.  If a dog doesn't obey you, it is ALWAYS because either 1. the motivation/reward is not enough (your fault) 2. the task is too difficult and the dog doesn't understand (your fault again) or 3. the task has not been proofed in different environments and against different distractions (eg like she knows it for the stairs but not for the sofa) - (again, your fault).

So you are effectively punishing your dog for something which is your fault. 

Firstly I'd suggest you think long and hard about whether you never want her on the sofa.  It's no good allowing her on the sofa sometimes (like when you're away) and telling her off for it at other times (like when you're on it), because that will just confuse her.  Either she is NEVER allowed on it, or ALWAYS allowed on it.  Choose one and stick to it and be consistent. 

If you decide not to let her on, I'd suggest you get a load of treats, put the dog on the sofa, say 'off' and throw a treat on the floor.  When she jumps off to eat the treat, praise.  Do this 3 times, then stop throwing the treat on the floor and just say 'off' and give her a treat when she gets off.  Do this a lot.  Get on the sofa yourself with her and tell her 'off', throw a treat on the floor a couple of times, praise when she jumps off.  Then lie on the sofa and tell her 'off' and just give the treat once she has got off. 

For this behaviour ONLY, once you've trained it like this, I would stop using treats - because dogs are v clever and they will get on the sofa, IN ORDER to be told to get off, so that they can then get a treat!!!!!  So I'd then start just praising if she does as she's told.  (With any other behaviour, you should continue to use treats occasionally, on an intermittent reward schedule, so that the behaviour is maintained.)

Hi i agree with Topsy post, she's only a baby and your punishing her a little harsh at the moment without training her that you dont wont her to get on the couch, i'd definitley recommend Gwen Baileys book she is excellent and i feel you'd find it quite informative. You need to learn her to settle when you watching the tv by this i mean stick her bed next to the couch and learn her that that is where she sleeps and when she settles in it give her a treat, also when she's asleep on the floor go up and say good girl and give her a treat, she'll soon learn that when she behaves in a positive way you will reward her, i'd ignore the unwanted behaviour and just praise the good, she will soon get the jist of it.  Also with her being so young it would be a good idea to provide her with bones or stuffed kongs just something to keep her occupied also for when she starts teething.  You yourself also need to learn about bite inhibitation which i'm sure one of the other posters will help you with or i'll be here all night. It shouldn't esculate she's only a baby and your doing the right thing by finding out what you can about puppies, so well done.  Have you thought about doing socialisation classes with her? Good luck with her.

Susan

Kate,
My advice is much simpler. Dont let her get away with it. I would say off in an 'I mean it voice' and if she refused she would instantly be taken off and then praised immediatly she was down. I am never keen on the isolation thing if they have misbehaved, I dont think they understand what its for. IMO a dog that age ( or any age) should never be allowed to growl or nip but pups will 'try it on' just like children and need to know their bounderies. 
Amos

Hi there

I just wanted to add that, generally speaking, The Perfect Puppy will give you some good advice.  However, it would appear that there is a section in this book that relates to pack theory and rank reduction methods i.e. you are the pack leader and the dog is at the bottom of the pack.  I only found this out when I recommended the book to a new puppy owner that I know and wondered why she was telling me that the puppy was pulling on the lead because he was being dominant etc.,  I had not read the book - and it is something I really never do i.e. recommend a book without reading it!  Now I have and now I recommend Preventing Puppy Problems by Dee Woodcock.  You can also get this on amazon.  It is much cheaper and in booklet format which means it is easier to carry.  Gives lots of useful advice on training new puppies and all in a very positive way.  I hope this helps.

Annie

PS:  Jan Fennell's books are all about rank reduction too and best avoided.  If you would like to get a good book on dog training try books by Jean Donaldson and always check to see if any author you are about to buy follows positive reward based methods of training.

Good luck with your new puppy.

A command should be followed by an action , the moment you tell her off or down physically lift her down until she get's the point. My boys OWN the couches and they even have one all to themselves , but that's just my household i understand why others would not allow it.

The dog will learn much quicker if it voluntarily moves itself.  If I tried to physically move you to jump a hurdle, without telling you what I wanted you to do, how quickly would you learn?  And how much quicker would you learn if I threw something you wanted to the other side of the hurdle, and you had to jump to get it?  The muscle actions for being lifted and jumping are entirely different.  One is passive (allow yourself to be lifted) the other is active (voluntarily jump) - the two behaviours are different and by picking the dog up you are not communicated as well as you would be if you threw a treat on the floor to start with.

Lol... your going to yell OFF OFF at a dog who's never heard the command before in its life , basically like saying roll over and get me my coat. It'll be funny when your puppy is lounging on the couch and your yelling OFF OFF OFF , he just stares at ya. Theres no difference if you lift her off and give her a treat once she's on the ground.. little to defencive there huh.

There is a difference - the dog who has to move itself will learn that when the owner gives the command 'off' it has to get off!  If you pick the dog up while saying 'off' the dog learns that when the owners says 'off' it's going to get picked up!...........

if a dog sees you threw a treat on the floor he'll get on the couch again so you'll throw another.

It's actually an excellent way of teaching what 'OFF!' actually means.

i guess everyone has different ways ..

Absolutely! :) And as you know, the quickest way for a dog to learn what a sound (word!) means if for it to be repeated when the dog's doing the required action. Then the dog gets the reward. So, you throw the treat, say 'OFF!' at the same time as the dog is jumping off (this is critical) then the dog gets the reward (the treat) and praise.
:)

I too have the same problem but with jumping up to the counter in the kitchen or the table. She knows off when i say it and click my finger to get her attention and point to the floor, she gets off straight away and i give her a treat. Only problem is she will jump back up again straight away. What i have been doing is when she gets off and has her treat i then tell her to wait which she does but i have to have a hand signal too (one finger pointing upwards), she then gets a treat after either a few seconds or i have got her up to a minute. now this is great but if i am in the kitchen doing something its quite hard to do it one handed. What is the second stage for making her get down and stay down? Do I carry on with what I am doing? Or should i make her wait slightly longer before giving her her treat when she gets off? It just seems she is getting wise and realises that if she jumps up then gets down she will get a treat. Either that or i need to move onto a second stage and im getting paranoid she is getting wise! I think she jumps up on counter and table to see if any food has been left lying around. Or maybe its because she knows the kids always forget to take their cups out and she loves watching me running to get a cloth to mop it up!

I forgot to say another thing i do is give her an ice cube to chase around or a carrot to munch on, but it would be nice to be able to get her to do it without giving her something every single time to keep her off.

I'd say the next stage is to teach her to lie in her bed when you're busy in the kitchen.
:)

yeah im doing that too jeangenie, only cant leave her alone for long at the minute as she gets very upset, we are getting there though. She now doesnt make a sound when i go up stairs and leave her, where as before she would bark constantly. And i dont really want to put her in there every single time i have to go to the kitchen, she would end up being in her bed for half of the day!

What about a crate in the kitchen?  (If there's room?)  That way she can watch you and be with you but not get into trouble....

Like I said above, at the end of my 1st post, for this behaviour only, I phase out treats and use lots of praise when the dog gets down.  Otherwise, you're right they get clever and jump up in order to be told to get down, so that they can get the treat.