#1. There are a couple of different ways you can handle this. I'd consider it almost an inappropriate chewing behavior, and treat it as such. So, option # 1: you can give the dog something else do to with his face while you are getting a soda. If you don't have one, Kong toys are the best! It's like a big hollow rubber lumpy ball, and you just rub some peanut butter around the inside of it, stick it in the freezer, and voila: your dog will adore it. Providing an appropriate enrichment toy might help prevent your dog from licking the couch.
Option # 2: Alternatively, you can try and train him out of it. Are you familiar with operant conditioning training techniques? How did the obedience classes you took train? Operant conditioning works by having the dog associate a reward with a particular word - that word is used whenever the dog gives you the behavior you want.
Here is a very useful site for dog training information
http://www.dogtrainingbasics.com/teach.htm. There's a lot of information on that page, but just keep reading and it will make sense! Or you can read my very brief explanation of how I trained Nanook to recognize an event marker, (the word that means he did what I wanted him to and he's going to get a cookie),
here. But you guys should really, really, really try some more obedience classes. It makes it much easier to understand a lot of the training instructions if you've seen it all in action with a pro.
You can teach him the command "Place" or "Bed" which means "go to your place and stay there until I release you." Bring a dog bed or blanket or rug or something into the room and make that Harley's "place." Once you've trained him to that behavior, you can give that command during situations when you have to leave the room, and the licking of the furniture issue is solved. If he licks it when you leave the house for the day etc, and leaving him in a stay in his place isn't feasible in that scenario, then I'd work also on teaching him the command "Leave it," and use it every time you see him licking the furniture.
Here's how to train "Place" from
PupLife:
Walk your dog over to his "Place" and have him sit or stand on it. If you're using a crate then you'll have to get the dog into the crate. When the dog is in his "Place" say "Yes!" and give him a cookie. If you clicker train, then you would click and treat at this point. Release the dog with "Ok!" and walk him away from his "Place". Repeat this exercise several times, reinforcing your dog when he sits or stands in his "Place". Now you can introduce a verbal cue for "Place". Use whatever word you are comfortable with but make sure it's not a word that you use for something else. Many of my clients simply use the word "Place", although I've heard several creative variations including "Villa" and "Lounge".
Continue to work with your dog on leash. Cue your dog to go to his "Place", walk him over to it and reinforce him for sitting or standing on it. At this point you will need to work on distance and duration. If your dog tries to leave his "Place" without your releasing him then simply use your leash to gently stop him from going anywhere. If your dog tries to leave and then decides to stay in "Place" say "Yes!" or click and reward him with many
dog treats. This is because your dog has made a decision to stay in "Place" and is beginning to understand what you're teaching him.
Once Fido understands what "Place" is, then start working him off leash. You'll want to train him to go to his "Place" on verbal cue when there are very few distractions. Cue your dog to go to his "Place", reward him for doing so and then allow him to sit or stand there for several minutes. Be sure to release your dog with "Ok!" so that your dog knows when it's ok for him to leave his "Place".
Now it's time to introduce some distractions. Cue your dog to go to his "Place" then get out some toys or throw some treats on the floor near him. You may want to use your leash for this exercise in case your dog leaves his "Place" to go for the distractions. If your dog remains in his "Place" with the distractions tempting him, reinforce him with "Yes!" and lots of cookies. Your dog has made a decision that it is more rewarding to stay in his "Place" then to go for the distractions.
After you've worked this exercise several times then you can enlist the help of a friend to start ringing your doorbell. When the doorbell rings, cue your dog to go to his "Place". Again, because this is a new distraction you may need to use your leash to gently keep your dog in his "Place" when he hears the doorbell. Reinforce your dog with "Yes!" and lots of cookies for staying in "Place" when the doorbell rings. Practice this as many times as it takes for your dog to easily go to his place when you cue him.
Continuing on with your training, add more and more distractions. With your dog in his "Place" invite people in the house. When you are ready, release your dog with "Ok!" so he may greet your guests.
If your training your dog to go to his "Place" during mealtimes, basically follow the same instructions. One family member may have to keep your dog in his "Place" with the leash while the rest of the family eats for several training sessions until the dog understands that "Place" means stay there until released.
Remember to keep your training sessions short and fun. It's better to train 10 minutes at a time, several times a day than to insist that your dog train for 30 minutes to an hour at a time. Be generous with treats when your dog performs the correct behavior, but never punish your dog for making a mistake. Use your management tools: your
collar and leash, to help your dog learn to stay in "Place". Finally, practice makes perfect so keep on training!
#2. Prong collars are, in my opinion, safer for the dog and your wife than choke chains. Choke chains are very difficult for the average person to use - as they are not supposed to deter the dog through actual choking, but through the sound they make. A prong is gentler on the dog's trachea, and more effective immediately. Switch.
Make sure you get the fit right, and in my opinion the medium/large links are more effective, and much easier for a woman to put on and off, than the extra large links, regardless of the dog's weight/size. You can buy extra links from petsmart to get the size and fit right. The prong should not be choking your dog, but it should fit snugly.
In addition to the prong, Harley, you,
and your wife, all need to be attending obedience classes together. Generally speaking, 8 weeks of class isn't enough for these dogs. They can take up to 3 years to fully mature, so unlike a lot of other puppies they stay mentally immature for a good long time. Expecting him to have learned everything he needs to in one set of classes is like expecting a kid in the 2nd grade to be able to learn college level physics. They're just not ready for the information yet. They need consistent training for a longer period of time than most other breeds of dog.
If the classes where you went didn't help, you need to find a different trainer. There is NO WAY that our obedience trainer would have let us leave class without some benefit, and yours shouldn't have either. A lot of the problems we were having with our newf, were in the end our fault, and not his, and classes made that very obvious to us. I took classes with Nanook, and that helped, but it wasn't the solution we really needed because while I was obeying our trainer's directions in class and at home, my husband didn't know the new rules. Once both my husband AND I went to classes with Nanook, we were all on board, and the issues practically resolved themselves.
