We had some success with using a throw chain as a correction with Sophie. I wanted there to be a "weapon" that could be used to correct her when she is guarding an object, since the citronella is not effective enough to stop her from doing that. We wanted her to hate the correction, and she did. Now, the faint sound of the chain is enough to make her refocus. She has to come to know that being aggressive brings about this reaction: the dreaded chain noise and possibly chain-to-butt contact. If it's done irregularly, she won't figure out how to avoid the chain. She has to come to the realization that all aggressive actions make the chain fly out. Get it? Also...

Dad was feeling heavy guilt about not letting Sophie on the couch uninvited. He had some doubts to whether she'd be clear about the rule (only when invited!). He felt like he was confusing her and that she'd never actually realize that there even was a rule.

A few years back I saw some random documentary on people with multiple personality disorder. They were filming this dog on a couch by himself, minding his own business. You see someone walk by the camera for 2 seconds. A few moments later the dog's body language changes drastically, ears down against its head, and, crouching down, he creeps off the couch. Guess what? The guy's personality switched right there and the dog knew it instantly. Obviously the one personality let the dog on the couch, while the other one didn't. Moral of the story: if you set rules, no matter how specific, AND you consistently enforce them, the dog will respond consistently. In this case, the rule was that the dog wasn't allowed on the couch when the owner had a certain facial expression or body language. Talk about specific!!! So, even if you decide that the rule should be that your dog's not allowed on the couch when a person is on it, if someone is eating, if you're nursing the baby, or any other little clause, you can expect the dog to respond ONLY IF YOU ENFORCE THE RULES CONSISTENTLY!!! Dogs are way smarter than alot of us think. They are capable of learning a ridiculous amount of stuff, way more than the average person makes their dog do. So be specific! See how far you can refine your dog and remember to look for the times when the dog thinks about going on the couch, but chooses not to. Throw the equivalent of a superbowl party on them if they do that. I know it's annoying and inconvenient, but do it anyway.