Q: I am having a problem with one of my male Boxers. He is neutered, and about 3 years old, and continually lays on my furniture. I'm assuming his prior owners allowed him this luxury. I have had him since March of 1999, and I correct him every time he gets on the couch, but it's not working. He jumps at every opportunity to get on the couch even if I'm right in front of him. He is a wonderful dog otherwise. This is the only issue that I have with him and I need help. I'm planning on getting new furniture in about 6 months and I want this behavior stopped by then. I have resorted to putting hard-cover books all over the couch when I go out, but even then, it doesn't really deter him.
A: This can be a hard habit to break, once it has become established. I think dogs enjoy furniture for the same reasons we do. You're not going to find me lying on the floor!
Also like us humans, some dogs have joint problems that make lying on the floor very uncomfortable. If you're not going to allow the dog on the furniture, you owe him a bed with just the right padding and warmth for his needs. It doesn't have to be expensive. You can buy egg-crate foam intended for human mattress pads, cut to the right size, and wrap with an old sheet for a cool-seeking dog, or an old blanket for a warmth-seeking dog. For a Boxer, you might need warmth for part of the year and coolness for part of the year.
Some people find a Scat Mat (you can buy it through pet catalogs) will keep a dog off the sofa. It gives the dog a shock. However, if you're using the sofa, obviously you can't have the Scat Mat on there. Another thing some people use is a plastic carpet runner--the kind intended to lay over the carpet to protect it, like at an open house, when a house is for sale. They turn it upside down, so the little points that were intended to grip the carpet are instead pointed up, making an uncomfortable surface for a dog.
Some dogs like to be up high to see better. If this is the case, it could help if you either block the dog's view when he gets up on the sofa, or provide him a better view elsewhere. Maybe move the sofa.
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. Then, go ahead and allow the dog on the furniture. I know someone with a heavily-shedding breed who has taught her dogs they have to wait for the sheet to be put on the furniture before they are allowed to get up there!
Another solution some people and their dogs agree on is a compromise. You get him his own piece of furniture, and that's the only one he's allowed to use. You could keep the old sofa for this purpose. The rub is, it has to be in the area of the house where he WANTS to be. Not tucked away somewhere that would mean he is isolated from his pack when lying on his sofa.
I hope you see a solution here that appeals to you. More class obedience training could help you get enough control over him that you can stop him from getting up on the sofa with just your voice, when you are there. But when you're not there, training isn't likely to solve this, once it has become such an important habit to the dog.