My dog keeps off the furniture until we go away then he won't stay down.

Dogs like to be where your scent is strongest. Chances are he only chooses the piece of furniture you like the best. When your not home being on this spot is the next best thing to being close to you. This is also why dogs and puppies will chew shoes, by ingesting your scent it is almost like you are there with him. One of the simplest ways to avoid this is to acclimate the puppy to accepting the fact that you cannot be with him constantly, at an early age. For the dog already established in the "furniture" habit you may need to purchase a few mouse traps. Carefully fold a 8 1/2" x 51/2" piece of cardboard around the wire of the trap and secure it with heavy tape. Lay the set trap upside-down on the furniture and let your dog train himself.