This is a branch from another thread.
I realise that (as someone said) it's horses for courses, and no way is right or wrong. It is what is right for your household.

What limitations do  you put on your dogs?
I'm afraid my dogs lead a miserable life ha ha They have free run of the living room and kitchen but are not allowed in bedrooms at all. They usually sleep in the utility room unless someone is in season which throws the whole system into chaos lol
They are not allowed on furniture, but do have a selection of beds in every room. This is mainly because they spend a lot of time outside and our place is often a sea of mud, they also have access to a pond and come into the chicken runs with me. Since dogs cannot differentiate between clean and muddy, it is less confusing to just not let them on the chairs at all.

We have two areas for when they are unsupervised, one area in the backhall and shower/utility room.
The other area is in the front hallway. When we are about they can go into both those areas and also the open plan lounge kitchen diner. During nice dry weather they have the backdoor open and have fee run of the fully enclosed front and back gardens.
Upstairs and bedrooms are out of bounds unless it is change of bed clothes time and so they are allowed to all come for a snuggle !

Our last dog (lab cross) was allowed up stairs at will, I'd often wake in the middle of the night realising the reason I couldn't breath was becasue he was laying on my chest! As he got older it wasn't safe to allow him upstairs (bless, him he was getting 'doddery' and would stumble on the steps :( ), so a baby-gate was put at the bottom of the stairs for his safety. Then pup (Mastiff) joined us.

Pup was't allowed to climb the stairs due to being a giant breed, with the baby gate there he was never tempted anyway, so he has never wanted to go up them! Also, he's too large to be wandering around upstairs as we only have a small, 3-bed, house.

We only have the Mastiff now & he has free-run of the ground floor (livingroom, kitchen, hallway). He is allowed on the sofa, but not during the night or he'll wee on it I have a supply of throw-overs, so if the dog gets on the sofa with muddy feet, the throw-over can be changed.

> I'm afraid my dogs lead a miserable life ha ha

Not at all. Whatever rules you have in place, the dogs will not feel hard done by :)

When left alone mine are allowed in the living room, kitchen, and hallway stairs and landing (I have no way to block off upstairs). All the bedroom and bathroom doors are closed so they cannot go in those rooms and when i'm in those doors are usually closed anyway so its much the same. They have beds in the kitchen, living room and conservatory (they are not allowed in the conservatory when i'm not in as their barks echo loudly in there and I don't want to upset any neighbours!)

They are allowed on the furniture as i figured they'd just go on it when i'm not in anyway!

Ours are in the kitchen/hall/garden when unsupervised. If we are there they have the run of the house but are really only in the bedrooms if someone is there with them. It's not unusual to find a dog on each sofa and chair in our house - thank goodness for black leather!

One of ours sleeps in the kitchen, the other in the garden room (it's cooler in there). During the day, they are restricted to these rooms. In the evening they are allowed in the sitting room. One never goes on the furniture, the older dog is allowed on the sofa for a cuddle IF the throw is on and if given permission :) :) They are allowed up on our bed in the morning while we have a cup of tea, but again, only after a throw is put on the bed :) If we go out they are in the kitchen/garden room (and hall in the summer when the doors are left open) Like Lucy, the doors are open into the garden in nice weather, although they both often choose to lie out in the garden when it is cold :) :) :) Neither of the dogs chews and we could happily leave them unattended in any part of the house - we just don't choose to do so :) :)

Daisy

Mine is (the same applied when we had more than one!) allowed free access to all downstairs rooms during the day, whether we're in or out. He sleeps in either the kitchen or the back room, depending on his mood - the doors between them and the rear hallway are left open. Upstairs is a dog-free zone.

> Upstairs is a dog-free zone

:) We got into a bad habit letting Bramble upstairs in the morning - my daughter (when younger) thought it funny to have the dog jumping onto sleeping father :) It was not helped by us living in our bedroom for 2 years :) :) :) Now he is getting old, he would be devastated if we stopped him having his morning cuddle :) Upstairs will definitely be out of bounds for a new dog :) :) :)

Daisy

Ours are only allowed upstairs by invitation in theory, though they generally do follow us if we go up for any reason - unless they think there might be a bath in the offing! At the moment we have a stairgate up because the puppy isn't 100% reliable and also because I don't want her galloping up and down stairs too much at her age. They have free run of the downstairs though, including sofas!

I think this question needs to be phrased differently. The real question I want to ask is, how much of the house do our dogs share with us? I'm very lucky--I get to share the bed, no one fights me for the computer chair or the laptop, the kitchen is a very congenial experience when we are all in it together but the boys start barking if I absent myself to go feed the hens without them....once they have finished their breakfast, of course.

I'm so pleased our dogs are generous enough to share with me. There are only two things they have excluded themselves from: the grooming table and the bath :)

Mine are allowed in the downstairs of the house only and not on furniture.
They sleep in the porch / utility room with the cats at night (unless it gets really cold) but are usually in front of the fire or radiator in the daytime.

The main reason I don't allow upstairs is that I have wooden stairs and am worried that this may be dangerous for them - oh and the OH would go nuts!

Mine has the run of downstairs when we are at home, but not on the furniture or upstairs. Then kitchen and dining room at night and when we are out.

Regarding going upstairs. I used to allow my dogs upstairs, then when 1 of them was old and arthritic she could not manage the stairs. So I ended up carrying her up and down and she was no light weight, she got very upset if she couldnt come upstairs.
So after she died I made it a rule that no dogs upstairs and that works fine for me.

Ps forgot to add , then we moved to a bungalow.!!!!

Mine are allowed all over the house. when we are out they are locked in the house. They sleep on my bed but dont go in either sons bedrooms as the doors are shut

My old girl is allowed anywhere.  She has never thought about jumping on anyones bed as she has her own upstairs by my bed.  And during the day she plods about behind me.  But the younger 2 are not allowed upstairs at all.  The pup tests the water every few weeks and tries to follow the old girl up but she soon gets put in her place as the old girl likes to think she's special by coming up so she'll chase her down again.  As for downstairs, they can pretty much go anywhere/sit anywhere.  I have laminate and leather so easy clean and have you seen the colour of my kids?  They get on the sofa so do my muttleys!!

Mine can access all areas unless I am out when they have the dog room or the older ones have the lounge.
They are allowed on furniture and my bed. Guest room is out of bounds if we have people staying but thats not often.

> I'm so pleased our dogs are generous enough to share with me. There are only two things they have excluded themselves from: the grooming table and the bath 

Ours is a house for humans and we allow our dogs to live here :) :) :) :) :)

Daisy

Mine are allowed all of the house, they are a clean breed that tend not to chew or destroy (their only vice being toilet roll) but they hate to sleep on the bed and are scattered round the edge of the room where there is drafts. They are very much people dogs and usually suffer anxiety if seperated from their human pack but as they are no trouble i don't mind at all.
My cousins Lab has to be contained at night or if no one is in, as she will eat anythink and everything in sight so i can see why she needs to have her in one place that is dog proof :)

When I moved house I chose this one because it had a garden big enough for the dogs with enough space for some agility equipment. The living room is at the back so the dogs don't bark at people going past and it is big enough to fit several cages and a settee. I wanted a garage for the large freezer for the dog meat. And it is within walking distance of several nice dog walks and close enough to a couple of good training clubs. There are good road links to motorways which is good for shows.
I did originally plan to have the upstairs for me but when I had my last litter the best place for the pups to be born was my bedroom. and strangely since then my girl has not gone back to sleeping down stairs again. The dogs do let me have the bathroom to my self!

I live in a bungalow, when supervised the dogs are free to go where they like, unsupervised they are able to go in the kitchen/living room and the hallways. We are lucky to have a large garden that is mainly for the dogs with an area that is fenced off for us to enjoy.

Ours is a house for humans and we allow our dogs to live here

I think I had one of those once, but the arrival of children transformed it into a zoo. Since they have left home I have been privileged to upgrade to a doghouse :), which suits me rather well.

Our three are allowed anywhere they like at all times, although Ben never comes upstairs, which he learnt from his previous owners, which is quite good as I think I'd be struggling with two Staffies and a Tibetan Mastiff on the bed lol. 

> Since they have left home I have been privileged to upgrade to a doghouse

LOL :) Since our children left home and I let my husband talk me into moving and doing a major house rebuild, I'm just enjoying having luxuries like heating and a kitchen :) :) The dogs know their place (so does my OH) :) :) :)

Daisy

Ours are mostly in the kitchen through the day, but in the evening they go into the dog sitting room, they can access our bedroom when were there, as the Danes love too spread out on our bed! But the rest of the house is off limits!

> Ours is a house for humans and we allow our dogs to live here
>
> I think I had one of those once, but the arrival of children transformed it into a zoo. Since they have left home I have been privileged to upgrade to a doghouse :-), which suits me rather well.

LOL!!!
My kids are still at home, so I am at 'zoo' status here - looking forward to upgrading to doghouse :-D

My two have the run of the house but are not allowed on the furniture apart from Foxy who is allowed two paws on the side of the bed for my morning wake up snuggle.  She is a fantastic alarm clock! :-)

We do not let them stay in the house when we go out and they would not want to, and get put to 'bed' in their kennel. They quite often go in their kennel voluntarily when we are home anyway.  

My lot don't have access to the attic. That's only 'cause they can't manage to pull the door & ladders down :-)

> My lot don't have access to the attic. That's only 'cause they can't manage to pull the door & ladders down

ROFL :)

My lot sleep in the utility, Halway, but have access to all of downstairs when i'm around. But they don't go upstairs unless they are ill and i need to keep a eye on them.

My girs have all of the downstairs while I am around (Or OH). That is conservatory, kitchen, dining room, office , lounge, bathroom and hallway. They do not go upstairs as stairs are not good for my large breed. They come up to the bedroom on Xmas morning as a real treat!!!
When I go out they have office, hall, kitchen and conservatory, but I close the dining, bathroom and lounge door because pup is still not 100% and though she is good she has been known to see what various things tast like (Remote! Leather coasters, toilet rolls) The 2 older girls can be left with the whole run no problem and hopefully pup will in time. The door to the garden is open in all but the foulest of weather so they can come and go as they please unless I am out then it is shut unless NDN is keeping an eye on them. They are convinced that there is an escape hatch in the bathroom and I will never come out so I sit on the loo with 6 big brown eyes watching me!!! Mine lay in doorways and everyone is expected to step over them....why should they move?? (Very un-PC in some dog trainers eyes but we manage without leadership disputes!!!!)
The favoured place is under OH's office desk....it is a bit of a squash but as long as we realize that typing on the computor IS possible at arms lengh then thay are happy to let us share!!
It is OUR home..that is Girls, OH and the housekeeper (Thats ME).
Aileen

> Mine lay in doorways and everyone is expected to step over them....why should they move?? (Very un-PC in some dog trainers eyes but we manage without leadership disputes!!!!)

It's an odd one, that, isn't it? I'd never heard of it before a few years ago, it wasn't something people were told about 25+ years ago. I admit I do make mine move out of the way, especially as he does like his doorways, but for purely practical reasons... I've known someone stepping over a dog to end up on the floor when the dog decided to stand up at the wrong moment!

As to the house, my dog is limited to the dining room, hall and living room. He's allowed upstairs occasionally but tends to bark at people passing, from the front bedroom window. When we are out he is on his bed in the dining room, which is where he is at night, or he barks at people passing, from the living room window!

My gang are allowed everywhere, the little one sleeps on my bed and the others have their beds on the floor around the sides of the bed, they are my companions, my family and my best friends since my OH died, so they go where they like when they like, the housework will still be there when I'm 6ft under.

if I'm in the house then they have the dog room and kitchen if I'm out they have the kennels and the oldies have the  dog room- in the evening everyone piles in to the living room where they can lay in front of the fire or on the sofas - three of them sleep upstairs in our bedroom and the others sleep downstairs in the dog room - I do try and keep the living and dining room dog free during the day especially during this horrble wet weather -and  although they can go upstairs in the evening none of them ever do-  being a 'velcro' breed they all want to be downstairs with us !

When left alone, my two are crated separately.
We now live in a single storey house, so at times when I'm at home they're allowed everywhere except bedrooms.  Though really according to our lease agreement they shouldn't really be in the house at all!  Eek!
When we lived in a two storey home they weren't allowed upstairs, but had free run of the entire ground floor.

When I lived in my previous house with my mum we had 7 dogs so they couldn't really have a free for all but were allowed anywhere.  They had to be invited upstairs though and quite often I would have one of mine sleeping on my bedroom floor.
I've now moved in with my OH (who only ever lived with one small dog and he now lives with 3 large breeds!) so we have slightly different rules :(  We rent the house so I understand he doesn't want them on the carpeted parts etc so they don't go upstairs - unless they sneak out lol.  When I am out they have a huge conservatory split into 2 - one side for my Rotts and my Akita has the other side plus the kitchen.  When I am home they have the kitchen conservatory, frontroom and garden...generally they just lounge around my feet and sleep!  These are the main rooms we use apart from sleeping.

Diffecult we started with the decision that we did not want lap dogs -HA HA my OH has a huge Collie on his lap most evenings.

The are having their suite built as we speak - crate room, walking room (wet room floor shower ect and store for coats and boots! )  stable door into the kitchen so I can get the shopping in first before they are in the kichen (all open plan).

They will have full run of the house with the exception of the bedrooms, they do go in the bathroom but mention "do you want bafies??" and there off! I have on the odd occasion had a pee with a cocker sat on my foot!!!

I dont like dog hair in the bedrooms or on the quilts, but all else is fair game. We have just got a new leather suite but I will invest in some leather wet wipes to clean it regularly I would miss the cuddles. When I was ill last week I took WQhistler home layed on the sofa with a cover and my dog and we slept I felt comforted having him there - better than OH any day!

When we are in, in, if you know what I mean in the spring & summer they will have access to the gardens but I will have a self closer on the bottom stable door so at least they are stopped before I get dirt all over the show, both bark if they want our attention! and once clean there in with us. Both are crate trained and have an area with no U/f heating so they should stay cool and an overhead opening roof light with a rain sensor which will close to keep them dry at night.Talk about spoilt - OH then walks then 3.5miles to work and they are with us 24/7 in the office.

Very much beloved members of our family now the boys have left home (and a lot cheaper)

I'm replying to myself here! lol
It could be read incorrectly where I have typed 'at times when I'm at home they're allowed everywhere except the bedrooms', I should clarify I feel.. what I mean is WHENEVER I'm at home they're allowed everywhere except the bedrooms.. I feel really mean now! lol
I can't have Alfie in the bedroom, because he pees up my curtains! 
Tess is as good as gold, and just lays two feet away from wherever I am and waits patiently....

(p.s. If I didn't have a neurotic husband... they'd be everywhere - including bedrooms! tee hee).

During the day and supervised  - conservatory, dining room, kitchen, utility and hallways.  When unsupervised they don't get the conservatory as its at the front and they could get vocal if people approached the house.

They only get to go in the lounge in the evening when we go ithere after evening meal.

Not allowed upstairs and have a gate to stop them. 

If I'm doing a job upstairs - paperwork in the office - I might let two of the older one up with me,  but not the youngsters or I'd never get anything done!

My dogs have the free run of the house when we are at home, when we are out they have the hall, stairs, landing and kitchen - but Henry has just realised he can open doors so none are out of bounds at the moment!  And they can usually be found in our bedroom - I think we will start using the doggie gate again :)

> but Henry has just realised he can open doors

LOL :) Like Whistler, we designed this house with the dogs in mind and one thing we have done is to put round door handles on all the doors :) It's amazing how Bramble used to open doors in our old house, even those opening towards him :) The second night, after we adopted him from Battersea, he opened the kitchen door and appeared in our bedroom :)

Daisy

A friend had 2 Dobies that had the run of the house and they spent most of the day asleep on his bed. he discovered that they were so comfy and slept so soundly that they didn't hear the door or anything. So when they were out they started closing the bedroom door. A very brave burgler broke in through the bedroom window and emptied his wife's jewellery box and took various ornaments with the 2 dogs hurling themselves at the bedroom door trying to get through.
You can't win sometimes

> but Henry has just realised he can open doors so none are out of bounds at the moment!

Lol.. We used to have a Lab, Bentley who was a dab hand at opening doors, we had to place handles upside down to prevent him from opening them.. Even my old cat could open the windows too

As it is now the dog depending on who is in what room have access to the lounge, kitchen, hallway and computer room. Also the dog part of the garden with direct access to the summer house which is kitted out for them too. We have a dog flap in the outer back door for them too for use during the summer as and when.
We have a dog gate for the stairs, I don't have them up there, big dog and stairs are a recipe for disaster.. They get walked up on a lead for 'bath time', which isn't their fav pastime so not that keen on going up..

Bo has full run of the downstairs of our house, she does if the opportunity arises ( if someone fails to shut the baby gate ) clambers upstairs, takes position on my bed and refuses to move without a bribe of cheese or some sausage.

When our heating broke down she came and slept with me on the bed, big mistake!!! she takes up far to much room hogs the duvet and snores far to loudly and on the odd occasion also moos, yes I mean like a cow!

When Fudge was with us he wouldnt go upstairs at all even if Bo should wagg her bottom from the topstep he would be scared.

Both were allowed on the furniture and both had lovely beds too. They slept on the sofa at night and we have throws on them.
Bo now spends her days lazying on said sofa and shows her distaste should visitors come, you mean I have to get on my bed what a cheek sort of look, excatly who are these people ha ha !

She sleeps full stretch on the furniture at night, barely bats an eyelid when you get up until she hears the clatter of her bowls then Bo is your very best friend.

Mine is a home for the dogs and I am allowed to live in it!

> Mine is a home for the dogs and I am allowed to live in it!

Ditto!!

I have cleaned house from top to bottom today, much to the dogs annoyance. Tomorrow my son is getting wed :-) :-)  He and 4 other's will be here in their No 1's, so dog hair will not be appreciated ...but Sunday," home has hair on the sofa" ;-)

Fantastic, bilbobaggins, hope you have a wonderful day at your son's wedding. Then you can get back to normal collecting all those felty bits in the corners :)

anywere down stairs ,but having the pups at the mo its the kitchen and hall and living room for mum and pups xx

mine are never allowed upstairs and are never allowed on furniture although they are straight on the sofas if our backs are turned so we shut them out of the lounge when we are out but have the full run of downstairs when we are in. I'm fairly house proud but a clean house and huskys are not a good combination! By limiting them to downstairs seems to keep the dogs happy and my cleaning manageable!

Our dog is wherever we are in the daytime. She is not allowed in bedrooms. She is allowed on one covered sofa. At night or when we are out she sleeps in the garden room. She likes to have the outer door open!!! If we shut it because of the weather it is very rare that she has not opened it in the night. The inner door is locked so that she cannot get in the house.