Dogs are very nice pets because of their friendly nature. It is usually fun to keep them around as their presence can almost seem like a companion from a human friend. However, they can go outside boundaries and get on your leather furniture at any time.
When your dog gets used to lying or playing on your leather couch, they can easily damage the leather with their claws. When a dog uses its claw to puncture a leather couch, it begins to tear until it is completely ruined.
Fur and dander from dogs can also mess up leather furniture and alter its scent, as well as its beautiful surface. So, it is crucial to find out how to protect leather couch from dogs to enable you to prevent your precious leather couch from early and uncalled for damage.
How to Protect Leather Couch from Dogs
Protecting your beautiful leather couch from your dog can be pretty easy. Any of the following approaches can help you achieve the result successfully.
Proper pet grooming
Dogs are unique among other domestic animals for their ability to learn and understand their masters. Proper grooming or professional training is one of the most significant approaches that help to protect leather couches from dogs.
When dogs are trained to steer clear of leather furniture in a living room, they can adhere to the instruction with time and patience. So, you may want to try this approach as a strategy on how to protect a leather couch from scratches.
Fur control
It is crucial to protect leather couches from pet hair. A dog’s fur can mess up leather furniture if the dog is a regular shedder. In that case, you can take the dog out for treatment frequently.
You can get rid of frequent shedding of fur with tools designed to help pull loose hair from a dog’s body during treatment. This is most especially for dogs with very high shedding of fur.
Neatly trim claws
Long, sharp claws can easily puncture leather. So, it is important to take out time to monitor your dog’s claws to ascertain whether it’s time to trim them or not.
To prevent your leather sofa or couch from being ruined, you must schedule an interval to always check, neatly trim and file your dog’s nails to keep them short and blunt always. This will help protect the leather upholstery of your lovely furniture.
You can also opt for a scratch-resistant leather couch as you persist in trimming your dog’s nails consistently. To ease your concern, the scratch-resistant couch will remain undamaged while your dog learns to refrain from scratching your leather couch.
Apply repellent or anti-chew spray
If your dog is fond of licking or chewing your leather couches and you want to keep the dog off the leather furniture completely, apply some harmless anti-chewing spray or dog repellent on the couches.
The repellent or anti-chewing spray can be produced with apple cider vinegar and white vinegar (1 cup each). So, mix both substances in a disposable spray container and shake rapidly to mix properly.
After producing the repellent, spray the mixture on your leather couches regularly. It will deter your dog from licking or chewing the leather. The repellent can also prevent the dog from getting on the couch as usual because dogs hate its unpleasant smell.
Choose the best dog breed.
Lastly, if you have beautiful leather furniture in your living room and intend to buy a pet, it would be best to get a breed that will give you less concern over any form of damages that dogs are known for.
Dog breeds like Shih Tzus, Maltese, and Poodles shed their fur at the most minimal rate. In contrast, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Poodles, Golden Retrievers, and Border Collies are known for the best aptitude to adhering to training and instructions.
All of the approaches outlined above can help you prevent your dog from messing up your expensive leather furniture. However, you must find the best approach for your dog and stick to it. The result can be really remarkable over time.
How can I protect my leather couch from my dog?
Letting your dog into your leather couch is a matter of preference; if you are okay with it, it’s fine. However, you must apply a leather protectant on the leather couch to prevent it from being damaged by the oil in the fur and paws of dogs.
It is pretty easy to protect your leather sofa from your dog. Some of the ways to protect your precious leather couch from your dog are as follows:
- Groom the dog to understand that the leather couch is off-limits and that the floor is the right place to stay and play.
- Trim the dog’s claws nicely to avoid it from scratching or damaging the leather couch with nail marks.
- Get a leather couch cover for dogs and put it on all your leather chairs to prevent your dog’s fur, dander, and odor from entering the couch.
- Shut the door to your living room and other rooms when you are not around to monitor the dog properly from messing around your lovely leather couch.
If you were wondering how to protect leather couch from cats, one or more of the recommendations above should work. However, it is important to find the one that works best for you and stick to it.
FAQs
Q: Can dogs ruin leather couches?
If you are wondering, “Can dog nails puncture leather?” Well, it depends. Some leathers are relatively soft compared to others, and as such, it will be easy for dog nails to puncture the leather.
Meanwhile, a genuine leather couch is usually covered with a thick leather material that makes it practically impossible for dogs or cats to damage them with their nails.
So, when it has to do with the issue of dogs ruining leather couches, it is important for pet owners to find solid leather materials that are extremely thick to replace the light ones on their couches.
Meanwhile, if you have a pet and you are considering buying a leather chair, ensure to buy the one with a thick leather cover.
Q: Will dogs destroy leather?
Whether dogs will destroy leather furniture or not depends on the material used on the furniture. Soft leather can be easily destroyed with marks from dog nails, fur, and dander.
Meanwhile, furniture with thick leather material cannot be easily destroyed by your pet’s nails, dander, or fur. In that case, you should consider the quality of your furniture before allowing your pets on them if you wish to. Kindly check out the best leather couch for dog owners.
However, it would be best to properly groom your dog to know that the couch is for its master, their family, and friends; so that the dog can maximize the floor and not tamper with your precious leather furniture.
Q: Why does my dog lick a leather sofa?
Dogs lick things for different reasons. But this time, when a dog licks your leather sofa, it could be that it is suffering from stress or a medical issue. In some cases, it can be due to anxiety.
Other times, a dog can lick a leather sofa to ease boredom because there are no stimulating factors to engage his body and mind at the moment.
However, a dog can be used to licking your leather sofa as a way of relaxing due to the release of endorphins resulting from constantly repeating the act.
Q: Do dogs like the leather smell?
Of course, dogs find the leather smell very appealing because it is pretty neutral. So, they enjoy smelling the leather and possibly chewing it if not properly monitored. If you own leather furniture in your living apartment, kindly take note of this, especially when your dog lives within.
However, giving your dog a different leather to play with (smell or chew) and rewarding the dog for the exercise is the best way to prevent the dog from getting on your beautiful leather sofa or couches to smell or chew the leather.
Q: Why does my dog eat leather?
Leather seems to be quite appealing to dogs because it is usually attractive. In most cases, dogs like things that cause obstruction. Obstruction usually occurs to dogs when they come across things that cannot go through their digestive system.
Getting your dog to stop eating leather can be both difficult and, at the same time, easy; it only depends on the approach. Instead of getting angry and coercing the dog off the spot, you can do the following:
- Remain calm.
- Correct the dog about the act.
- Claim the object from the dog.
- Instruct the dog to do something else.
The simple steps above can help you prevent your dog from eating leather. However, if the dog insists, get a safe leather or any other toy the dog can play with and chew.
Q: What can I spray on my dog to stop licking leather?
If your dog is addicted to licking your precious leather furniture at home and you want it to stop, being aggressive may not work. It could be that they smell food spills, drinks, or a scent that appeals to them on the leather.
To stop your dog from licking leather simply requires applying harmless anti-chew deterrent spray or dog repellent to the leather surface. The repellent or spray usually gives off an unpleasant smell, which helps deter the dog from licking the leather.
Q: What will dogs not lick?
Dogs lick substances or the surface of things that appeal to them, usually because of the smell. Dogs hate the unpleasant smell.
So, get some anti-chew spray and apply it on the leather surface if you are ““trying to figure out what dogs will not lick to help prevent your dog from licking your beautiful leather sofa.
Dogs will not lick a mixture of ammonia, citrus, and vinegar applied on the surface of a leather sofa or couch. The mixture is a dog-repellent substance, and it is harmless. It will only prevent your dog from licking your leather because of its unpleasant smell.
For those asking, “Do leather couches hold dog smell?” yes, it does, especially when your dog leaves fur all over it frequently. So, you should consider spraying some go repellent on your furniture to prevent your dog from getting on it subsequently.
Q: Will Apple cider vinegar stop my dog from licking?
Apple cider vinegar is very effective in helping to stop dogs from licking. If your dog is used to licking or chewing its paws, get some apple cider vinegar and soak the dog’s paws in them for a while. When you do this, it will deter the dog from licking its paws.
This preventive measure can also work for your preventing your dog from licking your leather furniture. Simply prepare a mixture of apple cider vinegar and white vinegar (1 cup each) inside a spray container. Then, shake the container rapidly to mix the two substances properly.
After that, spray the surface of the leather sofa or couches with the mixture. It will automatically stop your dog from licking the sprayed surface. You should do this often until the dog stops the habit of licking your precious leather furniture.
Takeaway/Wrap Up
Understanding how to protect leather couches from dogs will help maintain your expensive leather furniture to live up to its lifespan. It can also help you keep them in good shape until there is a need to change them.
Find the best approach that works for your dog among the outline given above to enable you to protect your leather couch from being ruined by your pet. Meanwhile, you can also opt for any of the best couch for dog owners in 2021.
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