The cats go just about anywhere they want. I have very limited counter space so they rarely jump up there so that is really not an issue. I also have no kitchen or dining room table so nothing to worry about there either.
The dogs are not allowed on the couch and that is only because two of them are diggers. They want to try and dig a hole to lay down in which tore up our last couch.
The dogs do come into bed when I am in it alone but the BF shoos them out when he comes to bed. There is really no room for them anyway with both of us in bed.
The late great Whitey The Wonder Cat had equal status with the humans in the house, possibly a bit more than the children. At one time or another he touched every horizontal surface in the place and was a frequent table centerpiece during dinner.
These days, I have a new and improved husband and two lesser felines, so the kitties are restricted to certain areas of the house, which do not include the table, kitchen counters, or beds. When the evil cat wishes to express his displeasure with me, he waits to catch my eye, then deliberately jumps up to the counter and back down again.
Just to add on, my cats have never really been “get on the table” cats (except for that one I mentioned above), and I never proactively taught them not to get up there. They just didn’t, even the ones who are like to be up high. (Cat owners know what I mean: some cats like to be up high, peering down like a vulture as they plot their next move; and some like to remain low to the ground where they can carry out their sneak Ankle Attacks and/or blend into the rug. I’ve got a mix of both.) Even the one who does get on the kitchen table only lies in one specific corner.
I admit that although my own animals on the furniture or the table doesn’t bother me at all, I would be a bit grossed out to see a cat on the eating table at someone else’s house. On the bed or furniture wouldn’t bother me but the table/counters would. Yes I know that is hypocritical.
I used to have two Labs, about 60 pounds each, and they both often slept on the bed–a twin bed–with me. My mom couldn’t understand how I ever got to sleep. I thought it was comfy.
My cat is allowed on my sofa and my desk. Dining table and counters (bathroom and kitchen) are off limits. The shelves for towels in the bathroom are off limits. He knows…every now and then I’ll come home and find stuff that was on the dining table on the floor…but he knows he’s not permitted.
He’s not allowed in my bedroom because that’s where my birds are kept. If I didn’t have any birds, I would still keep the door closed because I can’t stand cat fur in my bed, getting into my eyes and nose while I sleep. I try to keep my clothes as hair-free as possible too.
Baron is allowed on the couch, and on our bed (sometimes). My son won’t let him on his bed. He is not allowed to put his paws on counters, tables, etc.
Bottom line - Baron does what Baron wants to do anyway.
My 2 cats basically make the rules. They don’t tend to jump up on the table during meals, which is the only time I’d shoo them off. Tables, counters, on top of the frigde, wherever they like.
My dog is allowed on the beds, and even allows me to sleep in her bed when I’m home from college. (It should be noted that this used to be my bed, but somehow she took over while I was gone.) She’s also allowed on the couches, but only on top of a blanket. She doesn’t have much interest in chairs, and is too little to jump on the counters.
But if you don’t let your pets on the furniture, how can they reach to stare out the window? Jimbo (70 lbs of pit bull love) has his favourite chair which is the only vantage point from which he can keep an eye on the street, which he needs to do to carry out his duties (keeping big game away - I haven’t had a single hippo attack since he arrived). The chair is not comfortable at all; previous to the arrival of the dog, the chair was used only for holding clothes, so I don’t mind surrendering it to a permanent state of dog hairyness.
We both like hanging out on the couch together. In the beginning I tried to keep him off the bed but my bedroom is so small there’s no room for a dog bed on the floor. And he’s alone all day so I don’t want to lock him out by himself all night too. And he gets delightfully snuggly in the morning. So yes, I’m always covered in dog hair, but I don’t mind, as he’s a pretty colour and coordinates with almost everything.
He likes to climb on the kitchen counters (and even the fridge) when I leave him home alone, which is why he’s always crated when he’s home alone.
Dogs are allowed on the couches, the chair, and our bed. We keep the guest room door closed to keep them out of there, so that room is always as clean and neat as possible.
They’ve never been all that fond of the leather furniture, but the cloth loveseat is a favorite (DH refers to it as the “$700 dog bed”). It has a slipcover and a blanket on it that go into the wash whenever necessary. The new Surefit slipcovers with the spandex in them are the bomb!
Since my dogs are short-haired and single coated, keeping up with the hair is easy. Their coats also aren’t oily, so they don’t get stinky either. My hair is far more of a problem - I shed like crazy and the hair gets wrapped around the beater bar in the vaccuum, requiring a cleaning every time I vac. Makes me want to shave my head.
Keeping our dogs off the counters, etc. is not an issue - when a dog is tall enough to stick his snoot on the dining room table and take what he wants, jumping isn’t the problem! We teach them not to take anything that doesn’t belong to them. I still keep an eye on the dining room table when we have guests over, though - all that yummy food sitting there can be verrrrry tempting.
Dogs are allowed on the bed unless/until someone tries to use his or her legs as pile-drivers to push the humans off. Then it’s time for their own beds. They don’t come up on the bed much when we are in it.
I’ve had cats forever and long ago gave up keeping them off anything. I have plastic trays I use for food prep and these are stored in the cabinet, safe from cat germs. The dog is also allowed anywhere but I keep the bedroom door shut so she doesn’t stay on the bed all day. I have a spray bottle of water to keep the cat from laying on the keyboard when I’m on the computer.
Edited to add that I too keep blankets or sheets over the “good” couches.
