How to Protect a Suede Sofa From Pets

No matter how well-trained your pet is, there's always a risk for furniture damage. It's a small price to pay for the joy you get out of a furry friend, so many pet owners just accept furniture damage as inevitable. However, protecting your sofa is relatively simple. Sofa damage is one type of pet damage that virtually any pet owner can prevent. With the right techniques, you can splurge on that new suede sofa without worrying whether your pet will destroy it.

Things You'll Need

Masking tape
Scratching post
Catnip

Sofa slipcover
Pet treats

Instructions

- 1
  Mask the sofa's arms with tape if scratching is a problem. Pets only scratch on surfaces that they can easily get their claws into, such as fabric. But a slick, masked surface is not appealing.
- 2
  Place a scratching post next to the masked suede arm. Once the sofa arm is uncomfortable for scratching, your pet will look elsewhere for new places to scratch. Further entice cats to nearby posts with catnip.
- 3
  Move the post and remove the tape after a few weeks. Once the pet grows accustomed to the new scratching item, chances are it won't go back to the sofa arm.
- 4
  Scold the pet whenever it jumps onto the suede sofa and use treats to reinforce positive behavior when the pet lays on the floor or a doggy bed instead.
- 5
  Place a slipcover on the sofa. Slipcovers are not ideal for everyday use, as they cover up your couch's soft suede exterior. However, before taking the dog for a walk, throw a slipcover on the sofa; you never know if the rascal will run right to the sofa after traipsing through mud on a walk.

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