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How to stop him from pushing toys under the couch?


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I need your help. Ouzo is a quick learner, as most BC, and this one thing he learned months ago is proof that being a quick learner is sometimes a bad thing.

 

He figured out that if he pushes a ball (then he moved on to other toys) under one side of the couch, the ball comes rolling on the other side. We are guilty for encouraging this behaviour when he was 3-4 months old. By now it's annoying as hell!

He would intentionaly push his toys under the couch and expect them to appear on the other side. Well, not all toys roll the same. Some get stuck in the middle of the couch, out of his reach. So he sticks his head under the couch and barks at them. He knows he's not supposed to do that, after neighbours complained of his barking. So not so much barking now, as whining and pulling the material that covers the inside of the couch till it's ripped into pieces. He almost stopped pulling pieces of fabric 'cause there's not much left. The couch itself is intact (Thank God - I'm still paying for it ).

We took away all his rolling toys - but occasionaly he gets a hold of one and he pushes it with both his front paws straight under the couch. If it doesn't come out the other end, he gets crazy and we have to get it out of there before he goes beezerk.

We keep telling him NO! every time he pushes a toy under the couch, and all he does is sulk a little and then shows you again where his toy went and asks for help to get it out! Kindda saying "I know, I know I've done something wrong. Now get that toy out of there!!!!" If I leave the toy under the couch, the craziness can go for hours, and I cannot afford (noise/damage) it.

We tried to block the couch by stacking telephone books under it. Very classy, I know. Well, he simply pushed them in the middle of the couch

The only thing that works is confiscating his toys and putting them out of reach. If they're still in his sight (counter tops, top of TV, etc), he stocks them for hours and whines. If they are totaly gone, things get back to normal.

 

Am I not to allow him any toys in the house?

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

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Jack does this also and you have to admit, that muffled bark from under the couch is funny to hear. But I understand that you can't upset your neighbors. Jack only does this at night when everyone has flopped down to watch TV. It's not an every night thing, probably once or twice a week. It's usually fairly close to his bedtime and he almost reminds me of my sons when they were younger. They would be so sleepy, but they would do anything to try and wake themselves up!

 

Usually someone will go outside with Jack while the other person collects and hides the toys. I give him a Chewee or something else to work on and it seems to relax him which leads to him getting sleepy.

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Anda, I would try to fashion a block--like a two-by-four or board-that prevents the toy from rolling under. I don't know how high your couch sits off the floor, or if it has a skirt on it. If you secure the board to the legs on either side with bungees or twine to keep it from tipping, that might work. If the couch doesn't have a skirt on it, it might not look too pretty, but I have found that Polly loses interest in some games like that if the "melodrama" factor is taken away. Good luck! This stuff can be so stressful--especially if neighbors complain...

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I use huge floor pillows to block off the underneath part of the couch. I just stuffed them under there and filled in the vacant spaces with old towels. Tess does not put things under there on purpose, but Kipp rapidly learned that if he can find a sucker to get the stuff out, he can push it under there over and over and presto--A GAME!! :rolleyes:

 

So I just tell anyone who sees him struggling to get a toy out from under the couch that he put it there himself, on purpose, and he can get it out again. Further, if they get it out for him, he will just do it again instantly. If he can't get the toy, he will give up and go find a new toy to stuff under there. He can't do it here anymore, since I blocked everything off. But he does this all the time at my parents' house.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

http://weebordercollie.com

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I'm a fan of plywood. Cut it to fit under the bottom of the couch to block off access. This works well if your couch has legs and that little dust ruffle thing. If your couch doesn't have that, construct a box that fits under the couch, inside the supports, to prevent things from rolling under it. You can make one out of 2x2, 2x4, 2x6, whatever fits your couch. The finished effect is kind of like the bedframes in hotels - solid so nothing can roll under it.

 

The plywood worked really well when I had houserabbits. The bunnies were quite fond of chewing the fabric off the underside of my furniture. Plywood isn't necessarily classy but we were going for utilitarian anyway...

 

Lisa

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So I see I'm not the only one with this problem

 

When we had our Guinea Pig, Ozzy (before Ouzo), my husband had to block the couch with all sorts of materials, including duct tape, but that couch had a skirt, so it wasn't visible. It was funny to hear sometimes a quick and high yap when Ozzy would get his fur stuck in the duct tape but still managed to push his weight to get under the duct tape obstacle Lots of lost hairs on our poor G.P.

 

Now this couch does not have a skirt, but I predict a trip to Home Depot and a new summer project for Chris that would involve plywood and other building materials

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To give you an idea of "the move" that lands all the toys under the couch, take a look at this short video, taken last week when we went fishing. He kept pushing his tennis ball in the water so we would pick it up and throw it farther.

 

He does the same thing in the house as well, with his toys. If he doesn't get you to play with him, he would throw the toy at your feet and then run and place himself in position to catch, and if you still ignore him, he comes back, grabs the toy and positions it closer to you, saying "Here it is, can't you see it? There, now I put it closer! Com'on, throw it!"

 

 

th_00635427.jpg

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"he almost reminds me of my sons when they were younger. They would be so sleepy, but they would do anything to try and wake themselves up!"

 

OMG, I say that about Jacko all. the. time! Just last night he was doing it, so frustrating.

 

Jacko's play with the couch doesn't involve toys. Instead he sticks his head under the couch and then thinks, because his head is hidden, you can't see the body sticking out from under it. Weirdo. :rolleyes:

 

The thing we've had problems with is roughhousing in the living room. Jacko is allowed to roughhouse outside, in the laundry room, or in the kitchen, which is connected and open to the living room, but not in the living room itself. That is the room for relaxing and he has a rug that is his special place and a bone he can chew on. We started off allowing him to play with toys in on the rug but found that he got too hyper when doing that and couldn't calm down, so now he's restricted to bones. Perhaps that would solve the problem if you can't break him of the pushing under the couch habit.

 

Good luck!

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