My Maltese digs at my sofa. The sofa is maybe three years old and it's ruined and has been for a while. I'll post a pic later. It's really bad! But I'm hesitant to get another one because I don't want to have the same thing happen. I'm just wondering if anyone has a dog that digs and has a type of sofa that it won't tear up. This one had a striped pattern on it so there's more to catch with her nails but I'm wondering if I got a leather one if that would just get torn up too. Some suggested microfiber might be good. I tried putting a big duvet over the sofa and tucking it in and she just digs it away and starts tearing up the cusions again.
Anyone have a dog that tears up the sofa?
- Thread starter Zophie
- Start date
I have a chihuahua and he would go under the couch and scratch at the lining underneath. He can bearly fit under there anymore so I think that is why he stopped. Maybe someone spilled something and your dog smells it. Since he/she doesnt care about the duvet, I think it has something to do with the sofa itself. I don't know much about this kind of thing. Maybe someone else has more advise.
My dog dug up my bed and my sofa. Is your doggie a *****? The digging is nest-making behaviour and my doggie would do it when she was going through fake pregnancy phases after she was in heat.
The only thing you can do is to not let the dog on the sofa while you are not there. I put a chair on the sofa to avoid the dog going up there when I was not at home. Another thing you could try is aluminum foil (this works with cats, I am not sure about dogs) that you could spread over where the dog lies.
Leather will get ruined too, so no need to invest in that.
The only thing you can do is to not let the dog on the sofa while you are not there. I put a chair on the sofa to avoid the dog going up there when I was not at home. Another thing you could try is aluminum foil (this works with cats, I am not sure about dogs) that you could spread over where the dog lies.
Leather will get ruined too, so no need to invest in that.
I think I beat everyone regarding dogs eating sofas, I use to have 6 dogs, one day when I was out, and I would only leave my dogs for 2hrs max at a time, came home and they had attacked my Chestfield leather sofa, rip all the leather in shreds got all the foam out that was everywhere and had got down to the wooden frame. I came in and was in a state of shock you have never seen anything like it. They was all quite young at the time and must have thought this was a brilliant game.........
I think some dogs just do this. Some dogs bark a lot, some splash water out of their bowls, etc. I suspect your dog will outgrow this behavior (hopefully). I know when my dogs were young, I sprayed Bitter Apple on things they would chew and it worked. You can get it at the pet store and if I remember correctly it didn't smell bad to humans or stain the furniture.
Yup. i got one of those sprays so you just spray this thing on whatever you dont want your dog to be near to.
Two of our dogs like to "fluff up" wherever they are going to lie down, whether it is the sofa, the bed, or the floor.
We try to have lots of blankies for them to fluff.
Do you think that if you put more blankets on the sofa you could teach her to only scratch on the blankets?
We try to have lots of blankies for them to fluff.
Do you think that if you put more blankets on the sofa you could teach her to only scratch on the blankets?
No, my dog is crate trained, specifically to prevent that type of behavior. A lot of dogs have destructive behavior like that if they're left alone too long.
Ditto. Your dog could be frusterated and/or bored as well. Does he or she like toys? Going for walks? Playing ball? Being groomed? Just ideas.
I have a leather sectional that has scratch marks from my pup jumping on the couch. She dosen't do it on purpose. She is a "fluffer" when she's on one of her pillows or beds, she'll paw, paw and circle around until it's fluffed just right. One time she pawed/circled 20 times before resting LOL.
Well, she is a female but she's fixed. She must be "fluffing." I've never heard of that before but it's like she'll dig and dig and then get comfortable. She does it in the bed too but the sheets don't get torn up. My comfortor is suffering a little though because there is a pattern on it.
She does it whlie I'm home too. If I'm working on the computer sometimes she'll go in the living room and sleep on the sofa but even if I'm standing in the next room I'll hear her digging. Blocking her from the sofa is not an option. She's too spoiled.
She's 12 years old so I don't think she'll outgrow it. I think she digs at the duvet too because she digs at the bed and it's just that the duvet will eventually move and she'll get down to the sofa. Maybe I should just try a slipcover first before I buy a sofa and see if that helps.
She doesn't like toys at all so that's not an option either. The only thing she likes to "play" with is to dig at the sofa or bed and nibble on cloth like the sheets or my clothing. However, the nibbling never does any damage. She just takes a little tiny edge and nibbles but never chews through. It's almost like a thumb sucking type thing or something I think.
She does it whlie I'm home too. If I'm working on the computer sometimes she'll go in the living room and sleep on the sofa but even if I'm standing in the next room I'll hear her digging. Blocking her from the sofa is not an option. She's too spoiled.
She's 12 years old so I don't think she'll outgrow it. I think she digs at the duvet too because she digs at the bed and it's just that the duvet will eventually move and she'll get down to the sofa. Maybe I should just try a slipcover first before I buy a sofa and see if that helps.
She doesn't like toys at all so that's not an option either. The only thing she likes to "play" with is to dig at the sofa or bed and nibble on cloth like the sheets or my clothing. However, the nibbling never does any damage. She just takes a little tiny edge and nibbles but never chews through. It's almost like a thumb sucking type thing or something I think.