# How high can you go?



## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

pting619 said:


> She is extremely agile and can leap so high from a sitting position. Her head and upper chest reaches over counter height! It's a bit disconcerting that she may yet be able to jump up on the counter.


These Havanese are amazing!

I always hide Ricky's food bowl when time to eat so he can play the "find it" game which he loves. Yesterday I hid in a chair and pushed the front of the chair against the wall. Well, when people go low, Ricky goes high! He was able to find the food bowl by air scenting but the entrance to the bowl was blocked. So he jumped straight up vertically to clear the arm of the chair without any of his four paws touching the arm and made a soft landing in the cushion on the other side and was rewarded with his find. He is familiar with that chair and knew there was a cushion and likely food on the other side of the arm. I have seen Ricky do a lot of amazingly agile things but this made me go "WOW!" :surprise: I measured the height of the arm and it is 24" off the ground. Ricky is an 11" tall dog and weighs 15 pounds and he cleared that 24" height without a running start with no problems, from a standing position straight up.

I caught Ricky on the kitchen counter once. He had jumped onto the seat of a barstool and then up to the kitchen counter. EASY PEASY. We now are very careful about where we leave the barstools!:wink2:

Ricky's Popi


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## Jeanniek (Mar 20, 2018)

That would have been fun to watch!!

I am very careful about picking Zumba up and taking her down from high places because I did not want to have to worry about her jumping too high before her plates closed. However, through her plays with the cats, I have found her in some surprising places. Yesterday, I inadvertently left the door to the guest room open, and Zumba and the cat were on top of the mattress playing. That is a 28” from the floor pillow top mattress set! I made a mental note to self that that door must stay closed when not in use! I’m not ready for her to be jumping too much - not for another year!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Pixel is my "high flier". The others can jump, but not like her. She's another one who can get on the kitchen counter if the bar stools are left pulled out. The idea of what could happen to her little bird bones if she then jumped down onto the tile floor horrifies me, though, so we are REALLY careful to keep them tucked in. Mostly she wants to jump up to be cuddled, though, so I don't THINK she's get up on the counter without us present.


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## pting619 (Jul 18, 2018)

Jessie is definitely a “high jumper”, but is smart so she uses props when available. We have to keep our chairs at the table pushed in, or she is perusing whatever is left on the table. We don’t keep stools by the counter, so hasn’t mastered a jump to the counter. But she can jump and grab anything close to the edge. We are careful, but she always discovers whenever we mess up and forget to move something. She has to keep us on our toes! It was suggested I look into agility training...don’t know what that would be like??


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I guess I’m lucky, because my Hav will try to jump off of things, but he definitely needs a good running start to jump up so I can control the environment pretty well. 

He does this super funny little hop when he’s trying to get up on the sofa, it’s like stretch-stretch-UP! more like a hybrid climb-jump. He’s definitely a climber, though. He’s also climbed the barstools but then he was stranded on the counter and cried for help. I think we’re lucky he hasn’t figured out how to climb the ex-pen, and I’m pretty sure the only reason he hasn’t is because it’s free standing and he’s afraid of it tipping over. I set it up so he can’t knock it over, but he hates the sound it makes and runs from it when we’re moving it around. 

I had to move my daytime ex-pen setup because he figured out how to escape by jumping from one sofa to the other and climbing to the back of the arm where he can jump off the back. The first time he did it he came and found me so proud and happy, and I couldn’t figure out how he got out for the longest time! 

I’m still trying to figure out a better way to gate the area to give him more space, since he’s a year old and pretty reliable, but I want to keep him out of the kitchen. I knew there was a reason I didn’t want an open floor plan - It’s for the sake of our dog, it has nothing at all to do with messy kitchens


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

Jeanniek said:


> However, through her plays with the cats, I have found her in some surprising places.


We don't have cats, I am allergic to them, but Ricky can behave very cat-like. He frequently will walk along a 5 feet long, 3 inch wide, 3 feet off the ground window sill to get from one chair to another. He is a big, bulky Havanese and really can't center himself on the sill because of the window on one side. He has incredible balance. He also likes to lay on the cofeve table under the front picture window in the sun and take a nap, curled around the vase of flowers there. Neighbors see him there and have asked, "did you get a cat?"

Now that I have lost some significant weight through Weight Watchers, (you wouldn't recognize me Karen), I am looking for a local trainer to coach Ricky and me for agility competition.

Ricky's Popi


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I’m going to play “hide and seek dinner” tonight, it sounds fun!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

pting619 said:


> Jessie is definitely a "high jumper", but is smart so she uses props when available. We have to keep our chairs at the table pushed in, or she is perusing whatever is left on the table. We don't keep stools by the counter, so hasn't mastered a jump to the counter. But she can jump and grab anything close to the edge. We are careful, but she always discovers whenever we mess up and forget to move something. She has to keep us on our toes! It was suggested I look into agility training...don't know what that would be like??


They really don't have to jump very high to do agility... Most Havanese jump 8" in Agility. the really tall ones jump 12".  So any sound dog can play the game. The dogs who do well in agility are those who want to run and work with their owner!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ricky Ricardo said:


> I am looking for a local trainer to coach Ricky and me for agility competition.
> 
> Ricky's Popi


Yay!!! You'll have a blast!!!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Our Birdy is not named that without good reason. Her registered name is First In Flight, also not without good reason. I think she was 14 weeks when she was jumping onto, and off of the sofa. Her jumps off the sofa were not always only from the seat either. Sometimes she would fly off the arm, landing at least 5 feet away, going into the kitchen.

We tried keeping her from jumping off of high things, but it was hopeless trying to. She's nothing like a heavy boned, or tall for a Havanese either.

Our house has 2' baby gates blocking various rooms. Birdy sails over them like it's almost no effort, and goes where she pleases. She jumps them either from a standstill, or in stride. She doesn't even have to think about it.

We have several who can jump head, and shoulders above counters, and one, Dapper, who can pull stuff off a counter if it's left too close to the edge.

Posh was the first with such breakout, athletic movement, and he has passed it on.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Many small dogs are injured each year from jumping off furniture. They say a small dog jumping off a sofa is like a person jumping off the house. Going down steps is also bad for them. I learned this the hard way and one of my dogs eventually got hurt. You may get away with this when the dog is young but over time constant jumping from high places adds up and when the dog is old they are more likely to be injured. This is what happened to my dog. You may luck out but in my opinion it is not worth the risk. They have pet ramps for furniture and some dogs can be trained to use them. In our house, the stairs are blocked and the furniture is as well. Sometimes you can just overturn the cushions at an angle to deter them. We have ramps on the front porch. My dogs do not lounge on the furniture and they do not sleep in our bed. They have organic dog beds that are super comfy and support their spine. Please google small dogs jumping off furniture if you don’t believe me. I want to pass this on because if it can save one dog from what my dog suffered, it is well worth it.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Scout has never been a jumper. Truffles is very bouncy and fast. When she gets excited she will run downstairs, jump up on the back of the sofa and take a flying leap off the back and then run around the house. She also leaps off the back of chairs. It really scared me when she started this because she is short, but it was impossible to stop.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Wow Truffles does sound bouncy! Some dogs may be more prone to injury than others from jumping and it is hard to control them. We cannot have them live in a bubble. I feel lucky that I have been able to keep my dogs from jumping off furniture and running down steps. I feel that this along with walking properly on a harness can help prevent some injuries. Some Havanese are also prone to IVDD and if that is the case, they simply must not jump. No jumping had an added benefit for my yorkie. He had a luxating patella that was getting worse and now has not had a symptom in 3 years. Wonder if Truffles will slow down as she gets a bit older. Mia is going on 11 and I want to help keep her joints and spine as healthy as possible. She still pulls on the harness if she sees a rabbit or deer, but the jumping has subsided.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

My dogs are not asked to jump more than they should and never on hard surfaces. And I am EXTREMELY careful about them jumping until fully mature. But I am not going to worry about or limit their freedom unnecessarily as adult dogs. Could they hurt themselves? Sure. It's possible. But all have good straight limbs and sound conformation. That is why I bought dogs from reputable breeders, and assessed the conformation of both the parents and the puppies before I purchased them. Just as I would when buying a horse. I wouldn't have bought any of them if they had crooked legs or loose patellas. If you have a dog with one of these problems, you will have to assess risks with those issues in mind.

Will I be careful not to let my dogs jump from 4' off a slippery granite counter onto a tile floor? You betcha! (I didn't let my sons jump out second-floor windows either  ) Will I worry about my dogs popping down off the couch or navigating my (carpeted) stairs? Not in the least. Life will bring what it brings and I want my dogs to experience life with all the athletic joy they bring to it. Not dodder around like fragile old couch potatoes while I worry about them every second of the day.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I do not feel that my dogs freedom is limited in any way. I have hardwood floors throughout the entire house and I do not want them jumping off furniture onto them. They have comfy cozy beds near kitchen and living area which they freely choose to lounge on. I walk my yorkie 4 miles per day and my Hav 2 miles. They get lots of play time and exercise. They are likely not genetically perfect, however my Yorkie is 10 and Mia almost 11. Neither has had any health issues or allergies except Mia hurt her back a few years ago jumping off the love seat. She has great hips, no luxating patellas and straight legs. They think she may have IVDD, although they never tested her for it. We just played it conservatively and treated it as such. Havanese can get IVDD and any breed can get it as they age. I am not sure if breeders check for this or not since it does not show up often until they are older. Although supposedly jumping on hard floors cannot cause IVDD, it can trigger a disc episode. I am not taking any chances especially since they are both getting older. Another advantage of a dog having its own sleeping areas is fighting fleas. I choose not to use toxic flea and tick medications and fight them naturally by cleaning their bedding often.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Our rule of thumb is simply that they are never left on anything higher than they can jump onto themselves. Puppies have no fear of heights, so we always warn new owners not to leave them, unheld, on furniture that they can't jump onto themselves. They do learn what their capabilities are by the time they are fully grown.

We have wood floors thoughout our house, and no carpets anywhere. Puppies are raised on smooth vinyl floors. We have been raising, and breeding Havanese for 23 years now. Not a single one has ever taken a lame step, that I can remember. We have been involved in, and taught, conformation for both horses, and dogs, for over 40 years, and selected our breeding stock with conformation in mind. It does make a difference. Pam taught AKC judges how to judge the first seven years after Havanese went with AKC. We drew up the 40 points of conformation for Havanese, back when breeders cared about that sort of thing, and invented soaped pictures to study conformation. It does make a difference.

Ones like Birdy, would have to be caged to keep from going aerial. She will rest on the top of Pam's chair, and it the dogs take off to go outside, which there is a door behind that chair, Birdy will often just sail off the back of the chair. There is no stopping her. She lands like a cat.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Thank you Tom for this information. I love the Havanese breed and glad that you can breed them to avoid the risks of IVDD. My Mia is a breeder mistake and is half Papillon so likely she has inferior genetics. She does have shorter legs than some Havanese I have seen. No one wanted her and I took her in. She has been an awesome dog. She did hurt her back a few years ago and they suspected IVDD. However, we just crated her for 6 weeks along with anti-inflammatories and she has been fine since then. In her case, I cannot risk her jumping. If I ever get another dog, I will be sure to go to a reputable breeder. I also have read some articles where they did a study and found that early spay and neuter can increase chances of IVDD. I would not wish IVDD on anyone. It is very terrible. However, there is hope if it is caught early and often can be treated conservatively without surgery. Dodgerslist.com is an awesome resource. I do however feel that all dog owners should be aware of IVDD and recognize the signs because immediate treatment is critical for a good outcome.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> Thank you Tom for this information. I love the Havanese breed and glad that you can breed them to avoid the risks of IVDD. My Mia is a breeder mistake and is half Papillon so likely she has inferior genetics. She does have shorter legs than some Havanese I have seen. No one wanted her and I took her in. She has been an awesome dog. She did hurt her back a few years ago and they suspected IVDD. However, we just crated her for 6 weeks along with anti-inflammatories and she has been fine since then. In her case, I cannot risk her jumping. If I ever get another dog, I will be sure to go to a reputable breeder. I also have read some articles where they did a study and found that early spay and neuter can increase chances of IVDD. I would not wish IVDD on anyone. It is very terrible. However, there is hope if it is caught early and often can be treated conservatively without surgery. Dodgerslist.com is an awesome resource. I do however feel that all dog owners should be aware of IVDD and recognize the signs because immediate treatment is critical for a good outcome.


I think it is always important to look at your particular animal and take into consideration any weaknesses that animal may have, whether they are conformation related or age-related. Obviously, if a dog has a predisposition toward a problem, you should keep that in mind. It makes me cringe when I see people doing agility with dachshunds for this reason.

Another thing that we can ALL do for our dogs of ALL ages, just as we can for ourselves is to keep our dogs lean and fit. If you can't feel your dogs' ribs pretty easily, they are carrying more weight than they should. More weight means more wear and tear on their joints and on their spines. I see an awful lot of over-weight Havanese...


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

This is great advice. I am 64 and no longer doing high impact aerobics for example! And I do not think my 11 year old Hav needs to be jumping off the back of a sofa, even with perfect conformation. Not worth the risk in my opinion.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Our really old ones don't jump onto furniture any more, so maybe the same rule of thumb about not jumping off of anything they can't jump onto still applies. Razzle, Karen's Kodi's Mother, is the oldest one here who still jumps into, and out of chairs, but you can tell she's careful about it. I think she's 13, but I lose track.

Only the young adults fly at abandon.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tom King said:


> Our really old ones don't jump onto furniture any more, so maybe the same rule of thumb about not jumping off of anything they can't jump onto still applies. Razzle, Karen's Kodi's Mother, is the oldest one here who still jumps into, and out of chairs, but you can tell she's careful about it. I think she's 13, but I lose track.
> 
> Only the young adults fly at abandon.


Likewise, Kodi is now retired from agility (he is approaching 10). Interestingly, not because of jumping (which still doesn't bother him in the least) but because even though he will still enthusiastically try if they are out there, it is painful for ME to watch him do the weaves. I can see that it is a lot of effort for him to twist his middle-aged body back and forth through them at speed. No need. It's not a "real-life" skill, and he has so much more to offer in obedience and rally, that I want to preserve his soundness for those venues. When/if he shows me that those are effortful for him, he will retire from those as well. But so far, his biggest issue in obedience is (still) that he tends to anticipate rather than wait for my cues. (after all, he's ONLY ten... he may slow down by the time he's 20... ya think?  )


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

It is good to know that dogs have some natural instincts regarding what they feel they should jump on. My Mia never jumped on anything that she could not jump down from, however she still wound up getting hurt after 7 years of jumping without any incident. For me, it is not worth the risk, especially as she is now a senior. I don’t think it is something that really provides any benefit and could hurt. However, I do feel it is good for dogs of all ages to get exercise. I just avoid the high impact kind. Everyone needs to do what they feel is right for their pet. I am known as an over protective dog mom...but so be it. I guess that is what I am.


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## JulieBrynn (Jan 23, 2019)

Hi everyone so I have my Mr boomer and he will be three years old in may. I think he may be "defective ", lol. He is not a jumper at all. He doesn't try to jump on the bed. He used to never jump on the couch. My daughter recently "trained" him to be able to jump on the couch. Otherwise, he would just put his front paws on the couch and whine till someone picked him up and put him on the couch. He doesn't sit on back of sofas, doesn't climb on anything. He does, however, go up and down stairs. I'm not complaining. I really don't like the whole jumping thing. Its just odd that he definitely doesn't do that and supposedly, jumping is a havanese thing. Poor Boomer, lol


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

JulieBrynn said:


> Hi everyone so I have my Mr boomer and he will be three years old in may. I think he may be "defective ", lol. He is not a jumper at all. He doesn't try to jump on the bed. He used to never jump on the couch. My daughter recently "trained" him to be able to jump on the couch. Otherwise, he would just put his front paws on the couch and whine till someone picked him up and put him on the couch. He doesn't sit on back of sofas, doesn't climb on anything. He does, however, go up and down stairs. I'm not complaining. I really don't like the whole jumping thing. Its just odd that he definitely doesn't do that and supposedly, jumping is a havanese thing. Poor Boomer, lol


My Hav does this to get up on the bed when he's tired  Sometimes he won't even do that much - he'll just sit and look at me and cock his head like, "I'm waiting nicely here!"


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

I have a High Jumper, too. Flat footed she jump straight up to the top of a two foot kitchen stool ... TWICE! To get to the top of a kitchen counter top where food was being prepared. It's nothing for her to jump three feet across from chair-to-chair.


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

Kati is definitely a jumper. And a climber. I have footage of her jumping from the top of a ladder back chair (which she had climbed) onto the counter from 2+ feet. As a puppy she could climb a 6' high chain link fence. Boy was I glad when she became too heavy for that. She use to jump into my arms to be held but one time she 'over' shot and sailed over my shoulder (I'm 5'2") she quit jumping at me after that (good thing, relieved mama) and I trained her to come and turn in the same direction as me to be lifted up safely. She jumps less as she is now over 7 and I never make her jump. But she will still climb whatever she can to find a snicky snack 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Walt Watson (Mar 20, 2019)

It is a very lucky thing for older dogs to have a healthy body, but it is best not to let them perform strenuous exercise such as jumping, which will cause great damage to their joints.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Walt Watson said:


> It is a very lucky thing for older dogs to have a healthy body, but it is best not to let them perform strenuous exercise such as jumping, which will cause great damage to their joints.


I agree with this. However, dogs are creatures of habit and if they are allowed to jump from little on it is hard to train them later not to jump. I do not think dogs wake up one day and think "Today I am now old so I better not jump off the sofa anymore". I thought restricting them from jumping would be difficult but for me it wasn't. They mainly went on the sofa to lounge. I simply gave them more desirable places to lounge and just turn the cushions on an angle when we are not sitting there. If I had this to do over again, I would have done this from the beginning or trained them to use pet ramps. Others here totally disagree with this but it is something I wish someone had told me.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

mudpuppymama said:


> I agree with this. However, dogs are creatures of habit and if they are allowed to jump from little on it is hard to train them later not to jump. I do not think dogs wake up one day and think "Today I am now old so I better not jump off the sofa anymore". I thought restricting them from jumping would be difficult but for me it wasn't. They mainly went on the sofa to lounge. I simply gave them more desirable places to lounge and just turn the cushions on an angle when we are not sitting there. If I had this to do over again, I would have done this from the beginning or trained them to use pet ramps. Others here totally disagree with this but it is something I wish someone had told me.


I don't think I disagree with you, you made the best decision based on your experience and knowing your dogs to keep them safe and it took some discipline to train them that way, so good for you. I just can't tell if you're saying that all small dogs shouldn't jump and those who let their small dogs jump with safety measures in place are doing something wrong. Especially when expert breeders of Havanese and Havanese organizations state that in certain situations it is okay for Havanese to jump. Or that there is shame in sharing the jumping mischief they get into. The internet confuses me that way sometimes when it comes to tone. Maybe that is what you are picking up on? I'm choosing to assume that is NOT what you are saying because I respect you and I know you have a lot of valuable insight to share  And all of the healthy Havanese in agility and dog sports would be so sad :crying: What I am getting from what you have posted is that allowing dogs to jump isn't a given, and there are situations where it would be better to be cautious from day 1. It's a good point, because it's much easier to start out cautiously and later decide the dog is healthy enough to jump, but it's a lot harder to start out allowing jumping and then have to restrict it.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I don't think I disagree with you, you made the best decision based on your experience and knowing your dogs to keep them safe and it took some discipline to train them that way, so good for you. I just can't tell if you're saying that all small dogs shouldn't jump and those who let their small dogs jump with safety measures in place are doing something wrong. Especially when expert breeders of Havanese and Havanese organizations state that in certain situations it is okay for Havanese to jump. Or that there is shame in sharing the jumping mischief they get into. The internet confuses me that way sometimes when it comes to tone. Maybe that is what you are picking up on? I'm choosing to assume that is NOT what you are saying because I respect you and I know you have a lot of valuable insight to share  And all of the healthy Havanese in agility and dog sports would be so sad :crying: What I am getting from what you have posted is that allowing dogs to jump isn't a given, and there are situations where it would be better to be cautious from day 1. It's a good point, because it's much easier to start out cautiously and later decide the dog is healthy enough to jump, but it's a lot harder to start out allowing jumping and then have to restrict it.


I did not mean to imply that agility is bad for dogs. I assume that those teaching agility would not expect dogs to jump more than they should. I am mainly talking about jumping off furniture which can sometimes be very high depending on what it is. And once a dog starts doing this from little on it may be hard to retrain them later and they may get hurt when they take that same jump a few years later. Everyone's household setup and situation is different. For some dogs maybe it is impossible to keep them from jumping off furniture. However, maybe it is worth a try. For me it was very easy and I wish someone had told me about this when my dogs were puppies so that my Mia did not hurt herself when she took that jump off the same sofa many years later that wound up hurting her. I also do not mean to imply anyone is lazy or any other such thing. I am merely passing on what I wish someone had told me so they do not have to go to the vet and hear the vet tell them how many dogs they have seen who have been injured jumping off furniture. That made me feel horrible and made a lasting impression on me.


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

Dogs jump and run. Animals jump and run. Adults and kids jump and run. Typically, animals and people don't jump or run more than they're capable of doing. It's easy to train dogs not to get on furniture, if you don't want them there. Furniture is only a few feet high off the ground. Otherwise, it would be difficult for humans to sit and use the furniture. Beds are sometimes higher than furniture. I have an ottoman my small dog uses to get up and down on the bed. Although, she occasionally jumps down and up. My previous dog, a poodle, was 17-years old when she died and jumped on and off the bed all those years. Never had a problem or ever thought it was a problem.

My Havanese like the majority of all of them runs like a bullet and jumps off the patio to play. Havanese were once circus dogs who love to do tricks. Running and jumping is their nature. Of course, jumping off five foot kitchen counter tops is dangerous and bad idea for many reasons.


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## Walt Watson (Mar 20, 2019)

*you are right*



mudpuppymama said:


> I agree with this. However, dogs are creatures of habit and if they are allowed to jump from little on it is hard to train them later not to jump. I do not think dogs wake up one day and think "Today I am now old so I better not jump off the sofa anymore". I thought restricting them from jumping would be difficult but for me it wasn't. They mainly went on the sofa to lounge. I simply gave them more desirable places to lounge and just turn the cushions on an angle when we are not sitting there. If I had this to do over again, I would have done this from the beginning or trained them to use pet ramps. Others here totally disagree with this but it is something I wish someone had told me.


I agree with your thinking. We should provide our older dogs with pet furniture that is more suitable for them, such as memory foam beds, pet stairs, etc., which can protect their joints and back muscles and thus stay away from pain.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

mudpuppymama said:


> I am merely passing on what I wish someone had told me so they do not have to go to the vet and hear the vet tell them how many dogs they have seen who have been injured jumping off furniture. That made me feel horrible and made a lasting impression on me.


That is what I thought, but when you said others disagree it kept confusing me because I couldn't see much disagreement, just a different perspective/insight on the same thing! I'm glad you clarified.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> That is what I thought, but when you said others disagree it kept confusing me because I couldn't see much disagreement, just a different perspective/insight on the same thing! I'm glad you clarified.


Thanks EvaE1Elizabeth. I probably did not communicate clearly. I am glad we are in the same page.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

We only have about 300 Havanese dog years of experience. That's not a joke. We spend a lot of time with them from birth, to about 18 years. Here, they are allowed to run, and jump as much as they want to. As they are growing, they are never allowed to jump off of anything that they can't jump onto, and that's about the only rule.

Once they get up to about 13, or 14 years old, they are more reluctant to jump up onto something, than to jump down. One that age now, I forget her age exactly, likes to spend time in the rocking chair beside my recliner, and back and forth to the raised footrest on the recliner, when it's up. She's the Mother to Karen Randall's Kodi. 

She jumps up, and down off of both, until late at night, when I understand the look that she gives me when she wants me to pick her up. She doesn't have any trouble getting down, especially any time someone is headed into the kitchen. I also understand her look when my footrest is down, and she wants me to put it up for her to jump onto.

Typically, after around 15, they like beds on the floor, and don't even ask to get in a chair any more. So they really do self-regulate their own jumping. The really old age problem we see here ends with dementia before the bodies play out.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Tom King said:


> We only have about 300 Havanese dog years of experience. That's not a joke. We spend a lot of time with them from birth, to about 18 years. Here, they are allowed to run, and jump as much as they want to. As they are growing, they are never allowed to jump off of anything that they can't jump onto, and that's about the only rule.
> 
> Once they get up to about 13, or 14 years old, they are more reluctant to jump up onto something, than to jump down. One that age now, I forget her age exactly, likes to spend time in the rocking chair beside my recliner, and back and forth to the raised footrest on the recliner, when it's up. She's the Mother to Karen Randall's Kodi.
> 
> ...


Thank you Tom. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to thoroughly explain this. Sorry for the confusion in some of my previous posts.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

Tom's experience means a lot to me. Ricky means a lot to me. I am always trying to educate myself how I can take better care of Ricky. I want Ricky to grow old with me while both of us still being as healthy as possible as our bodies succumb to the inevitability of physically aging. I would never do anything intentionally to harm Ricky or allow him to harm himself. And I am convinced that everyone on this chat list feels the same way I do. 

One thing I have learned is that breeds have certain characteristics yet every dog is unique within those characteristics. Ricky is an athletic and acrobatic jumper. It is part of his DNA. I have talked to his Vet about this from the time he was just a puppy. The Vet laughed and said, "well, he is a Havanese!" The Vet gives Ricky a thorough physical exam checking his bone structure, joints, muscle mass, weight, etc. once a year. He gives him a quick physical exam every time I take him in, which is about every three months (annual vaccinations, international health certificate for travel to Mexico, and an occasional "something doesn't seem right" visit). The Vet says that in Ricky's particular, unique case he sees nothing physically wrong with Ricky enjoying life and jumping to his hearts content, AS LONG AS I MONITOR HIM AT ALL TIMES AND DON'T LET HIM DO ANYTHING TOO STUPID. Yes, Ricky could injure himself while jumping, yes, Ricky could eat something out in the wild that is poisonous, yes, Ricky could get away from me and run into traffic, yes, Ricky could be snatched from our fenced yard by a coyote (and that has happened in our neighborhood). Yes, all those things could happen and I take reasonable precautions to prevent it - supervise his jumping with continuous obedience training, taught him the "drop it" and "leave it" commands, always put him in his harness when outside our home and yard (he can easily slip out of a simple collar), and NEVER let him out into our fenced yard unless Momi or Popi have "eyes on" at all times while in the yard (no doggy door for Ricky, we have to physically open the door for him). Beyond that, we don't stress too much about his well being. Bad things can happen to all of us at any time, but I'm not going through life worrying about it.

The Vet said that, in general, he sees more physical problems with dogs that are overweight than anything else, for instance jumping. He says that Ricky is a perfect weight at around 15 pounds for his build, stature, muscle mass and bone structure. I take Ricky into his office once a month for a courtesy weigh-in. Ricky is always 1/2 pound within 15 pounds. The Vet says to let him jump within reasonable limits (which he doesn't define) but always be vigilant. He said his recommendation may change as Ricky ages up, but for this time in his life, jumping is fine, stimulating, and in Ricky's unique case, healthy.

YMMV

Ricky's Popi


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

When the vet told me she sees lots of small dogs get injured jumping off furniture, I am sure she was not specifically talking about Havanese and she just sort of lumped all small dogs together. Havanese seem much sturdier than a lot of small breeds. Plus, the vet only sees the rare instances because that is where we go when a pet is injured. Since Mia is my first dog and the vet told me this, I got all paranoid I guess. I feel better now that Tom explained this.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I caught this video last night when Dinner was ready.


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

Tom King said:


> I caught this video last night when Dinner was ready.


:bolt: Funny! That was a quickie.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

That is pretty cute!


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