Tips for Keeping Pets Off of Furniture and Counters

Loving your pets means creating safe boundaries for them in your home. Plus, not only do you need to keep them safe, but it’s also nice to keep your furniture and kitchen counters in good shape! Therefore, it’s worth taking the time to learn a few ways you can keep your pets off of these items and out of these spaces in your house for their good and yours! Your Pawz Pet Services pet sitter and dog walker will also help reinforce any tactics you prefer.

Use Positive Reinforcement

Your first line of defense when it comes to keeping pets off furniture and counters starts with training them on the spot.  Correct your pet in real-time as the undesired behavior is occurring, so they learn over time not to do it. Rewarding them when they get down with a treat reinforces the desired behavior of staying down. It’ll take time, but you’ll slowly be teaching them where they can or can’t go.

Put Out Aluminum Foil or Pans

You may also want to try gently discouraging your pet from climbing on your furniture and jumping on kitchen counters by lining the spaces with aluminum foil or pans. Pets don’t generally like these slippery and shiny surfaces and will deter them.  

Use A Spray Bottle

Finally, you can keep pets off of furniture and kitchen counters by filling and using a spray bottle when they try to climb or jump on them. You can fill it with water, apple cider vinegar, or citrus spray to achieve your goal. They may be thinking about jumping on the furniture or kitchen counters and then see the spray bottle and run the other way.  We advise using this option with guidance from your veterinarian as you don’t want to cause undue stress, but simple deter tactics can be safer in the long run.

We hope some of these tactics will work for you and your fur babies.  Creating those boundaries are a healthy way to maintain a safe and loving environment for your pet.  And, remember to share with us your house rules so that we can also reinforce the right behaviors when we come to house sit or walk your dog!