jezebel

Well when she stands on her hind legs her front legs easily reach the top of the couch and her shoulders are above the height of the couch also, this is why I didn't think that it would be that much of a problem for her to jump in the first place. The bed is a little higher but I've seen tiny dogs like a minature poodle jump much higher than this (although she was much older). This is why I thought the jumping would be feasible. So if this isn't a good idea for now, will she ever be able to do it or do you suggest that she won't ever be able to jump that kind of height at all? I think I will consider investing in a bed with a little bit of height for her for now...

Well the couch and bed really aren't that high, they are actually probably the same height and is about a 60cm jump. And I do control when she gets up on items and she does get down when told to do so. She is a very well behaved and obedient dog and I would just love her to be able to be a little more independent. She does have a pillow in front of the couch and a mat beside the bed that she also sleeps on a lot of the time. She jumps from the couch and bed many times in a day without any problems and sometimes she opts to jump straight onto the cushion. There are other chairs and beds in the house that we just do not let her go on because they are definitely way too high and too dangerous for her should she jump off them. So this is something that will just take some time? I guess I'm only comparing to some of my families dogs who are all the same kind of size in a poodle and maltese cross and they are all jumping up on couches and beds quite easily. Do you think it would help if I got her a bed that was off the floor a little? That way she would get practice at jumping up onto something with a small height first?

Hi All I am the owner of a beautiful maltese girl named Bella. She is now 8 months old and is very healthy and happy and we can't imagine life without her. Her training has been going well and although she is a timid thing when out in public, she seems to save her personality for us at home as she just goes crazy when we pick up her ball or her teddy bear. She's such a happy puppy and we all just love her to bits. We are becoming a bit concerned because she doesn't seem to have a handle on the whole jumping thing. She can sit, drop, fetch, shake, speak on command and many other cute tricks but she just doesn't get jumping. She is an inside dog who goes for walks every day and sleeps on my bed at night and we sometimes have cuddles on the couch during the day. We have tried and tried and tried again to teach her to jump up by giving her something to jump from like her pillows or a step up from a coffee table or something like that so she can just get the hang of it but to no avail. She is a very well behaved dog and jumps off the bed or the couch when told to and she certainly knows her place in the household. We are very reluctant to pick her up to get on the couch but sometimes we just can't resist, and I do pick her up every night to get on my bed. When we don't pick her up, she just tries and tries and will just stand with her front paws on the couch or bed doing little spring jumps with her back feet until she wears herself out. We've tried to teach her to have a little run up and jump but she just doesn't seem to get it. She's not an overly big dog but she's not that small that the bed or couch are too high, weighing approximately 4kgs. Is there anything that anyone can suggest as to how to teach Bella how to jump? Every dog I've ever had or seen has just picked it up themselves and has never had to be taught so I've never been in this situation before. Is this a normal thing that a dog needs to be taught how to jump? We would just like her to have a bit of freedom in the house and not depend on us if she wants to sleep on the bed or lay on the couch. Can anyone help us??? :p

Thanks sas I read over that but there isn't anything really different to what I'm doing. Sleeping at night is a little different but she copes well at night and doesn't have any accidents as she is forced to go on the newspaper. I'm thinking that I have to move her newspaper further away from her crate than it actually is ie. other side of the laundry. This may help! Other than that I cannot see anything else that is different. Has anyone found success with the puppy housetraining pads? I considered those before we got Bella but thought they were quite expensive when you could just use newspaper and the housetraining aid drops. Any advice would be appreciated

Hi All I have a new wonderful Maltese girl named Bella. She is just gorgeous and we all adore her, even people who have just met her adore her, she has the sweetest nature. This weekend she will be 10 weeks old and we would have had her for 2 weeks. When we got her from the breeder she told us that she was newspaper trained and that proved so for the first few nights. Then she got to know us a bit better and has had a few accidents on the carpet in the loungeroom which is the only place (except for the laundry) where she is allowed to go at the moment. I cleaned these accidents up with a urine absorber powder, then clean the spot with white vinegar, then spray a pet repellent over that after it has dried. (pet repellent is able to be used either indoors or outdoors and is supposed to stop animals going to the toilet in that spot) After cleaning like this she still continues to want to go on the carpet. I have set up her room in the laundry and she has plenty of space apart from her crate and the newspaper. I have also put drops of a House training aid on the newspaper to get her to go there. It seems she holds during the night as the newspaper is bare in the morning. I feed her breakfast then leave her in the laundry for another half an hour hoping that she goes to the toilet. Of course she doesn't and then when she goes into the loungeroom, it only takes about 5 minutes and she has done no 1 & 2's while some one else is watching her! This is getting very frustrating as I thought that this would work. I watch her constantly and as soon as she squats on the carpet I pick her up and take her to the laundry newspaper. She just doesn't seem to get it. We don't let her outside at the moment because we have a lot of stray cats that roam the garden and we are worried that she could pick up any kind of disease as she is not fully vaccinated yet. Does anyone have any suggestions? If she can just get this right then she will be perfect! :D Jez

Thanks again! I was just wondering if I should start training Bella pretty much the first day we have together. Obviously very short training sessions. Tristan's training is amazing in what Flossie has learned in just 1 week! I am picking her up on a Friday night after work so I have the whole weekend to be with her. I am presuming by Tristan's post I should probably start on the Saturday. This isn't pushing her too early before she has even had a chance to get used to her surroundings??? Jez

Thanks for all that info! It is so great that everytime I've had something I'm not quite sure about I have used this forum and have always had a super helpful and friendly response. I am so glad I have found this site and its friendly community. I will definitely be using it more and recommending it to others! Jez

Hi all, I am planning ahead before my puppy arrives and am looking at different training techniques. I will be going to puppy training school but am thinking of things in the mean time. I have come across clicker training but have not found much explanation of exactly how it works. Has anyone used it and how effective can it be? Is it a suitable method to start with an 8 week old puppy?? Jez