How to Prevent Dog Hair on Your Couch

Dogs are part of your family. And family members sit on the furniture, including your couches. At many homes, dogs take over couches and humans are often found on the floor so as not to disturb the sleeping dog.

Making Your Couch Fur-Free

If you are in a family who allows your dog, just like any other family member, to relax on the couch, you are probably dealing with fur on your couch. You may notice it more when you go to sit down all by yourself. You may notice it when you have company come to visit, and suddenly the amounts of dog hair almost always found on your couch seems to have tripled. Cleaning dog fur off furniture is one thing. Preventing dog fur from being all over your furniture and taking over your household is something completely different.

Teach Your Dog

The absolute most effective way to keep dog hair off your couch is to keep your dog off your couch as well. However, this does not always happen. After all, what's the point in having a dog if you cannot cuddle and watch a movie together? But you can teach your dog to lay on a particular part of your furniture. Give your dog a special chair that only belongs to him. Place a blanket on one end of your couch and teach your dog that that is his spot and he is not to lie anywhere else. This way you are only washing the blanket and not your entire couch or furniture set. Give your dog special blankets and pillows for their special spot to help keep him in one particular area, confining the fur to those blankets and pillows and preventing it from clinging to your couch. Avoid having people with in your household invite your dog to any other place except for your dog’s very special place you have reserved for him to lay when he is on your couch.

Tackle Shedding

Obviously, the key to minimizing dog hair all over your furniture is to prevent your dog from shedding as much as she currently sheds. Depending on your dog's breed and type of fur, your dog may shed a little, or she may shed a lot. She may drop fine tiny little hairs everywhere, or she may leave huge clumps of long fur on every surface she touches. Either way, keeping her well-groomed and maintained will help prevent dog fur from clinging to your couch when she is either lying on top of it or up against it while she is lying on the floor. A dog who has been brushed and bathed on a regular basis will shed a lot less than the dog who is not maintained each week.

Another way to prevent excessive shedding also prevents other things such as disease and parasites. Keeping your dog healthy overall with a top-quality high lean protein diet is crucial to keeping her healthy across the board. If her skin and her coat are healthy and well maintained, and she is eating meals with and healthy, proper balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids, she is less likely to shed as often as a dog who is not as healthy. The condition and the health of her skin and her coat will highly depend on what she puts into her body. Keeping your dog on healthy foods is key to her overall health. And her overall health includes how much she sheds.

Dress for the Couch

Some pet parents dress their dogs for every occasion. Their dogs have T-shirts and sweaters depending on the weather. They have outfits with hats for every holiday. Whether your dog is large or small or if your dog is not even used to the idea of wearing outfits out of the house, you can treat your couch as a special treat for your dog and dress him for the occasion. With one of your t-shirts or with a cute, fashionable doggy outfit, you can dress your dog simply for the occasion of lying on your couch. If you pull out his particular outfit, your dog will not only be excited knowing it is a special time he gets to be on the couch, but you can also protect your furniture and prevent the dog hair from taking over your upholsteries. This trick works for any breed of dog, large or small. You do not have to have a high-priced fashionable doggy outfit for your dog. You can buy a unique t-shirt or have your dog don one of your own. Dressing your dog for a special occasion may not be something you do all the time, but if dressing your dog for sitting on the couch becomes a habit within your home, your dog will look forward to movie night with you.

Is it Worth the Effort?

Removing dog hair from your couch is time-consuming. It is also embarrassing when you have company in your home, and they cannot find a clean place to sit. Preventing your couch from becoming constantly covered in dog fur will certainly ease some tension in your house and make you and the other people in your home much happier. If you allow your dog to be on your couch with you, she will be happy to be a part of the special occasions you might call ‘couch sitting.’

Good Care and Compromise

Obviously, the simplest way to keep dog fur off your couches to keep your dog off your couch. However, if your dog is an incredibly fun and loving family member, you may not be able to control where your dog chooses to sit. There are steps you can take to make your dog think couch sitting is a special occasion and requires certain materials such as clothing they must wear or special blankets and pillows meant just for them. Reducing shedding with grooming and good nutrition is a basic responsibility of being a pet parent that is important for your dog’s overall health. Caring for your dog in all of these ways will make you not only a fantastic pet parent but you will also have a happy and healthy dog in the end.