hey, sky! :--)

please don;t touch a sleeping dog - its safer to wake them at a distance; kissy noises, say their name, etc.
touch can startle them into a reflex-bite, which can be damaging (more force than when awake / inhibited)
cuz they aren't even awake properly before they are biting!

make Getting Down *his choice* -
call him off the sofa -
lure him off the sofa - (treat in hand)
toss a toy for him to pursue
or some other version, where HE gets off willingly.

spend time teaching UP + OFF - make it a game; he jumps up with a hand-cue, TREAT;
he jumps off with a hand-cue, TREAT.

U can also use UP + OFF for park-benches (home-made agility), car-seats (loading + un-loading), etc.
they are helpful cues, and the more CONTEXTS the dog is taught, the more he has the chance to generalize -
actually understand the concept of Up + Off.

being confrontational is really not a good foundation, and picking him up bodily is needless -
he is a big boy... if he can get up, he can surely get off
just ASK him - and reward him.

all my best,
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

This is hand targeting explained in the context of fearful dogs: Boulder Dog » Blog Archive » Magic “Touch” for Fearful Dogs (watch the video linked at the end)

But it's a great tool all around for positioning your dog. For instance, if you want him next to you (perhaps for walking or heeling?) then getting him to target your hand will almost automatically put him there, and you can work from there.

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It's not easy for a monkey to think like a dog

My cat Tijgje shows off his tricks

Hiya Terry,

I didn't really think about what might happen when waking him up. So I'll remember that in the future.

That was really well explained so thanks. Makes a lot of sense doing it like that. As of tomorrow I'll spend time with him with the on/off command and hand signals. We have a nice walk here round a big lake just right at the back of the house and were going tomorrow for a picnic, weather permitting there are loads of benches there so that's great.

Lol at he's a big boy, he really is getting big. We were all laughing the other day saying when he's fully grown you'd need a crane lol.

Thanks Arwen i'll have a look as i'm starting to train Diesel to heel so that would be very helpful.

This is why i love this forum, and the people on it of course :P