I LOVE my greyhounds like any other dog lover...however...letting them up on my furniture? Imagine a 60-80-pound speed machine with legs of steely muscle and claws like a hawk. A creature has to be powerful to break 45 miles/hour in a race, and the toes on those paws are made for digging traction. Unfortunately, in the process of "nesting", my two hound girls have ripped through bedsheets and a protective cover I placed on the sofa. I tried several techniques to discourage them from getting up on the furniture. The most successful was spreading the dining room chairs on the bed and sofa whenever I left the house. That was a chore! I then researched ordering the strips of porcupine-like material used to keep birds from landing on buildings---as shown in the first two photos below...
Just before placing the order, I got a somewhat more...natural idea. I had a couple of dozen tree branches a friend had given me when he cut down his ancient willow tree. I had planned to use them for a little veggie garden fence. I pulled a couple from the cache and draped them across the bed...
and draped one branch across the sofa...
Now the pooches (45 m.p.h. couch potatoes, as greyhounds are called) stay on their own comfy beds...or halfway draped across the carpeted floor...
When I'm ready to go to bed, I just place the tree branches in a corner of the bedroom. They aren't so bad to look at, in themselves.
This is working well for my big dogs, however, a miniature breed would not be discouraged from leaping right up between the branches. They probably wouldn't be capable of ripping through upholstery-grade fabric, however. ;o) P.S. The branch as a motif is not foreign to our little house. Starting with the front porch mailbox with a bird on a branch...
Just before placing the order, I got a somewhat more...natural idea. I had a couple of dozen tree branches a friend had given me when he cut down his ancient willow tree. I had planned to use them for a little veggie garden fence. I pulled a couple from the cache and draped them across the bed...
and draped one branch across the sofa...
Now the pooches (45 m.p.h. couch potatoes, as greyhounds are called) stay on their own comfy beds...or halfway draped across the carpeted floor...
When I'm ready to go to bed, I just place the tree branches in a corner of the bedroom. They aren't so bad to look at, in themselves.
This is working well for my big dogs, however, a miniature breed would not be discouraged from leaping right up between the branches. They probably wouldn't be capable of ripping through upholstery-grade fabric, however. ;o) P.S. The branch as a motif is not foreign to our little house. Starting with the front porch mailbox with a bird on a branch...and leading into the foyer...
Hi Toni,
ReplyDeleteI've just accepted the fact that I will never have nice upholstered furniture because of my cats as they shred everything to pieces. Bumbee, the min dacshund is actually pretty easy on the furniture. She tries to "build a nest" but she's so puny it does no damage.
That blog, Pets on Furniture is pretty amusing. Thanks for the link.
Have a great weekend and wonderful Easter Holiday!
Kelly
Second Hand Chicks