I could use a few suggestions here, please?

[atghylin]

Felix loves to sit in the window... ummm... well not the window exactly but on top of the couch which is backed up against the window and of course he has to be behind the curtain so he can see out the window, he ends up laying on top of the curtain and the couch at the same time. :roll: Last night he yanked the curtain down while barking at the nieghbors who just got home from work. He got over excited and in his haste to welcome them home he ripped the curtain down as a he fought it trying to get out from behind it. I've thought about moving the couch but there are only so many places I can move it to and none of them convient for the television (46" projection screen) or the front door. Either I block access to the door or I end up placing the TV where it can't be seen all that well. And I can't simply move the couch away from the window... I got kids and they would love the oppertunity to hide my hubby's or my belongings behind it. Plus the couch would end up being pushed back when people sit on it. So it comes down to a new curtain (which could get exspensive if he keeps this up) or methods of training him not to do this. I'd rather train him... if at all possible. Any suggestions?


Thanks in advance!

Amanda

[courtnek]

mousetraps on the back of the couch and the windowsil, covered with a sheet. when he steps on them they will snap, (fold the sheet a few times to make sure the moustraps dont come in contact with him) and usually the noise and the shock will prevent more attempts. you may have to do it a few times tho....also, this excludes you from the correction. it seems to the dog that couch is fighting back

[DogPaddle]

As an alternative - could you cinch up the bottom bit of the curtain so he can't get at it?

[Peng1zrule]

I would either alter the curtains so that they do not get laid on, buy some blinds (which could be raised and lowered) or get a squirt bottle or noise maker and institure a new "off limits" place. Or simply teach him to calm down on command, so that he does not get so excited he does it again...mine now to hush on command and they will look at each other, sneeze, and shake themselves when I tell them to cool it

[atghylin]

Blinds, unfortunately, are not an option. Kristopher discovered at an early age that the individual slats made the perfect lightsabers. :roll: Of course, that meant he had to break the string that held them in place first... he figured out how to break it only once to get at every single slat. Anyways... there are no more functional blinds in the house and I really don't want to go buy new ones so Kristopher can teach Kurtis how to break those too.

I will try to alter the curtains and see how that works. I hadn't thought of that... but then again I don't do a lot of sewing. The mouse trap idea, although I liked it, didn't go over too well with the hubby... said he didn't like the idea of possible injurying Felix. Guess he likes the dog more then he lets on. :wink:

Thanks again, it's nice to have friends like you. :D 8)

Amanda

[gooeydog]

Since I had to deal with this with Goo, I learned a good bit about keeping dogs out of windows. First, blinds or curtains will not keep out a determined window peeker. They simply become broken blinds and ripped curtains, possible (as you've seen already) pulled down onto the floor if they become too much of an interference. If you just want to keep him from pulling down the curtains, then as others have said, make them shorter (you could even use pins if you don't want to sew them). If you want to keep him out of the window entirely, there are various ways you can try, though not all will work for every dog, so you may have to try a few. The first one, not a good option if YOU like to be able to look out that part of the window, is to cover the part he looks out through with contact paper. It will still let the light in, but he won't be able to see things well, and will likely lose interest. Another is to buy one of those "scat mats" and lay it on the back of the sofa. Some just emit a loud, unpleasant sound, some give a little shock. It would be up to you which to use, though I would try the sound one first. It works by giving the "correction" (either sound or shock) when the dog steps, sits, or lays on it. yet another way is to set up a trip wire type thing across in front of the window, so that when they dog gets up there to peek out, he pushes the wire and sets off a correction of some sort. This is what I used with Goo, I used one of those things that give of a loud alarm sound when you pull the pin out, clipped it onto the curtain, and anchored a string tied to the pin to a hook in the wall. Goo got up there, went to push the curtain open, and set of the alarm, which brought me in to correct her verbally. It took about three times, and she wouldn't even go near the window. I left the alarm up for about two months, then took it off, and she hasn't bothered with the window since. There are a few more ways to deal with this, but I can't think of anymore right now :roll:

[atghylin]

yet another way is to set up a trip wire type thing across in front of the window, so that when they dog gets up there to peek out, he pushes the wire and sets off a correction of some sort. This is what I used with Goo, I used one of those things that give of a loud alarm sound when you pull the pin out, clipped it onto the curtain, and anchored a string tied to the pin to a hook in the wall. Goo got up there, went to push the curtain open, and set of the alarm, which brought me in to correct her verbally.

Hmmmmm.... I like that one. Thanks Goo. :D I'll set hubby's creative, tech oriented brain to work on it tonight. Though I think I'll ask for a mild shock that way Kurtis won't wake up if Felix tries to get up there while he's sleeping.