Yikes!  Yaz is used to having the recliner and couch pretty much to herself all day. Today they have both been filled with kids. She is trying to claim them as HERS anyway. So far she has bit me once and Kailey 3 TIMES! She tries to push them out and when they push back she bites. I keep pulling her down with a forceful "OFF!". WTH!? She has NEVER done this. What am I doing wrong?

MARY!

Don't be sorry Mary. You gave me a good belly laugh over it. I mean really it IS HER furniture. Darn dog! I am just really freaked that she bit us. She has never done that. NORA!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!

I tried Nora...really I did!

Kailey and Jenna were in the recliner together which leaves no room for Yaz. Yaz jumped up and tried to push them out so Kailey pushed back. That's when Yaz bit her hand. Happened 3 times. The fourth time I stepped in and she bit me.

Well that's what I figured too Mary but..........#1. Why now? The kids have been here all along. Just not everyday, allday. and #2. I though that she had a good understanding of pack order. Mommy/Daddy, kids, then her. So why the territory issue.

Nora?

Okay, I'm not Nora, but let's see if I can help. I really think this is a dominance issue that Yaz is dealing with. She has a routine, and she is with you more than she is the kids. So, while you think that the pack order goues You--> kids--> Yaz, she may think otherwise and think that she has rights to the recliner over the kids. They pushed her back, so her next response was to bite. The reason she may have biten you is that she was already in an unstable state of mind from battling with the kids, that she confused and tried to display dominance over you as well.

To me, you were doing right by taking her off of the recliner and telling her "off" in a firm manner. You just have to be consistent and not let her on the recliner when you have cleary signalled that she should not be up there. I know this may sound harsh, but since the kids are home, I would restrict Yaz from the recliner at all times until you feel that she will respect that the recliner is the kid's space and not hers. Also when she complies, and does not show dominance over the recliner, I would reward her with a "Good Yaz/Good off" and a treat, that way she doesn't think of the correction as a punnishment. I would also see if you can find Yaz and alternative space that she can call "hers" so she does not feel as though she is entitled to the recliner.

I hope this helps, and sorry to all if I just got this completely wrong.

Hey Maggie, thank you. you got it ALL right. It makes sense the way you put it. I was kinda there in my head but not ALL the way. After our battle she did stay off. She went to get her blankie and bone, dragged it over in front of the chair and laid there chewing the bone while growling. Kind of like she was saying, " Well OKAY, but I am NOT happy about it.". After a couple minutes of that she pulled the blanket away from them and laid down on it. I then told her good girl but forgot to treat her. Oops. She does have a new bed. Something new for her. She always ate them before this one. She will only go in it at night after the kids have gone to bed. I CANNOT get her to lay in it during the day. Anyhoo....we'll see how this goes. I was just SO shocked by the biting, ya know?

Although that behavior cannot be tolerated.... please understand that you unknowingly CAUSED it, by giving her free reign. So yes indeed... she does see the furniture as hers because she hasn't been taught that they are NOT hers. There are lots of other behaviors that annoy us - the escape artist or the digger - but the most serious and necessary behavior to address is biting. Dogs may bite out of fear, to guard what they consider to be theirs, either because they are aggressive (I don't think this is the case with Yaz) or because they have learned that they get their way if they intimidate their owners. (I'm thinking THIS may be what's going on with Yaz). Yaz has to learn that she does not own the toys, dog bowls, kids or furniture.

I think consistency is the hardest thing for both parents and pet owners. If you don’t want your dog on the furniture, you can’t let her up on the sofa to cuddle when you’re feeling lonely, then turn around the next day and yell at her when she jumps up next to you. Neither dogs nor kids understand gray areas.

I mean, you tell your kids over and over and over to look both ways when they cross the street, right? You don’t want them to look both ways half the time, or even 90 percent of the time. You want your kids to look both ways ALL the time. If you’re consistent, maybe they’ll be consistent—one day.

Also... please try to understand motivation. Rewards are powerful motivators, whether they be food, toys or praise. You can tell your dog “no” all day, but it will only confuse her. You have to show Yaz what you want and then reward the right behaviors. Sound familiar? So you reward the behaviors you want and ignore the ones you don’t. This is harder than it sounds. You have to remember to praise your kids when they make good choices (like putting their clothes in the laundry basket the 800th time you’ve asked them to). And you have to ignore them when they’re throwing a temper tantrum because you’ve put a pencil-point-sized piece of broccoli on their dinner plate.

Lure Yaz off the recliner/sofa/chair with whatever she loves ... treat? toy? Once she's off the furniture... praise her BIG TIME. As she's jumping off the furniture, say "OFF" to validate with a verbal command what you are asking of her behavior-wise. I don't usually "bribe" dogs with treats, but in situations such as these it may be necessary in order to get her attention. I prefer to reward the behavior with a treat rather than "bribe" the behavior with a treat -- BIG difference.

Yaz should learn in time what "off" means. If you walk up to a chair and she's in it... you should ultimately be able to say "OFF" and she will jump down and relinguish her seat to you. That is the ultimate goal. In the meantime, I'm not sure I would allow her on ANY furniture for the time-being... instead put a bed on the floor and teach her to go to her "place". You train this initially by leading her by her leash to the bed... and say "PLACE". Teaching her "off" and "place" will give you much more control of the situation and give her an alternative place she can really call her very own, and your children need to respect her "place" and not bother her when she's on it.

Gosh... I hope some of this makes sense! I feel like I''m rambling... so ask questions if you don't understand something, ok? Good luck!

Hey Nora! I'm just now getting back to this. I know that I shouldn't let Yaz get on the furniyure but it's SO HARD! She has been allowed on it for 2 yrs now. Will she really take to this. I just feel so bad. Iknow, I know.....she's a dog. I just feel like it's punishing her. She does have a bed in the living room underneathe a table and she does seem to like it. She has been going there when she is scared, like during storms so I know it's a safe place for her. The only other time I see her going in it on her own is at night once the kids are in bed she seems to lose her interest in the furniture. Yesterday afternoon Kailey and Jenna were in the recliner again and Yaz jumped up. This time she seemed content to lay on Kialey's lap which Kailey said was fine with her. I said no to Kailey and told her to tell Yaz "off". She did and it worked. Then this morning Yaz was already in the recliner when Kailey got in it and Yaz growled and bit her. To be quite honest, I have no idea what transpired after that. I hadn't had my coffee yet. Ugh........can I start tomorrow?LOL.......no really I will honestly give this my best shot. Wish me luck.