# Jumping up/off things. When?



## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

I see in some pics puppies up on couches. Evye is too small to jump up on the couch (she tries) so I assume she is too little to jump off without getting hurt. When is it okay to let her up on the couch or bed? Are they good jumpers and I just don't know it? My bed is very high and I'm afraid she'll fall/jump off and get hurt. I don't know too much about puppies so I was going by the philosophy if she can't jump up on it, she can't jump off it. Or, am I being toooooo cautious and missing out on a lot of puppy fun.


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Evye is so adorable!!!!!! That was a good question, and I have been wondering about that myself. I let Marble jump on the couch when he could jump up, but like you, I'm worried about the bed. We have a few beds that are very high, and I don't know what height they can safely jump from without injuring themselves and their hips, knees, etc. Perhaps some of the others will know.
Gina


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Evye's Mom said:


> going by the philosophy if she can't jump up on it, she can't jump off it.


I think that is perfect to go by. Mine are now adults but I always think of what could happen to my adult body if I jumped off something 10x my height... not good. We have a little footstool near the couch the dogs use and we have one for the bed too. But as puppies, I really try to not let them jump period. They can really hurt their growth plates.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

Personally you shouldn't allow your puppy to jump off the couch unless it's on some very soft carpet. Their bones are still developing and jumping from a couch onto a hard floor is definitely not good. I made sure my guys didn't jump off the couch until around 6-8months.


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## Perugina (May 28, 2008)

Sophie is a great jumper...but I do worry about her jumping down from the bed onto our hardwood floors. I really need to get her some steps...


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Our rule of thumb is that they are not allowed to jump off of anything that they can't jump up on to. It's especially important that children understand this because sometimes they forget.

Yes, they are very good jumpers.


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

*The First Jump*

Evye is so pretty. You have to be careful until their bones are strong. I was very careful until they were 10-11 months old. If you don't mind them jumping on the sofas or beds, you can supervise their jumping activities and let them enjoy, explore, be adventurous. It is a lot of fun to watch all the "Firsts".

I supervised Benji and Lizzie when they started to jump at about 4 1/2-5 months. Jumping on hardwood / laminate floors is a NO-NO at our home. Benji is very agile and jumps fearlessly. He once jumped almost 6 feet (from our deck onto the lawn to herd puppy Lizzie back into the house, my heart was in my mouth when I saw that !) Lizzie is not as adventurous in jumping, she hesitates even jumping from familiar sofas and our bed.

Here is Lizzie's first jump. She was so smart to realize that she couldn't jump on the couch from the floor. So she had a plan....


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

Poornima, that is so cute and what a cute little butt!!
I remember how excited I got when Cicero first learned to jump on the sofa, but he was afraid to jump down. He learned to use his nose to push a pillow off the sofa, them jump down on it. It's fun to see their little brains working.


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## CaseysMom (Jun 10, 2008)

When lil' Evye is big enough to jump up on the coach/bed, don't forget to train her to only do so when invited! Casey is very obedient in this regard and I love that. (It makes her seem so 'polite' -- LOL!)

Have said that, my goodness your little pup is the cutest little thing EVER!


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

My rule was also jump off when you can jump on. However, we still let him on the couch when he couldn't jump onto it himself (the first time he ever did it was 6 months!), we just made sure to watch him very closely and if he even LOOKED like he wanted to get off, we'd set him down ourselves. It worked for us.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Same rule, when he could jump on he could jump off. The only exception is our bed since it's very high. We're having trouble with him growling when he's up there so he's not allowed to be up there at all right now. We may have to keep it that way.


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## mellowbo (Aug 12, 2007)

We also have the rule of when you can jump up you can jump off. However when it comes to the bed we have an ottoman for Lulu. Our breeder told us that the up/down rule should last until they are at least a year old.
Carole


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*Six months...at least*

Our havanese mentor recommended no steps or furniture for at least six months due to growth plates as was recommended before.

Riki didn't even know he could jump on furniture or a chair until he was a little older when he saw an older havanese jump up at the pet expo. He watched and then he realized he could. He still hesitates when he jumps up on the bed or the couch.

Daisy, on the other hand is my jumper. She came home the first day at 11 weeks and jumped on the couch before she saw Riki do it! His x-pen was useless for her because she can jump right out of it. She needs one at least 36 inches high...but even that she could climb. Escape artist!

When they were young and they did agility, Sue Nelson barely had them step over a pole to protect their growing bones. Funny how both of my dogs leaped way over it. I had to be careful when the bigger dogs would run a course at another agility class for all breeds because Riki would jump over them with ease. His nickname was Mexican jumping bean!

The challenge with little kids is holding them high and the puppy wants down and jumps...that can be dangerous. I asked all kids (even now) to sit on the floor and call the dogs to them so it is their choice. This way they won't struggle to get away or accidently jump.


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Thank you all for such good information. I swear, I cannot believe that I have kept her alive for 5 whole weeks !!!! I think we have a long way to go and have to do everything I can to discourage her from jumping. But I am still so looking forward to the day she can cuddle beside me at night in bed.

On a very positive note, in 3 days' time, we had 2 full days with no pee/poop accidents but today sort of blew it with 2 poopy accidents (ate 1 of course).

Thanks again for all your wonderful input.


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