How Do You Teach Your Puppy To Jump?

[jezebel]

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

[mirawee]

From an agility jumping point of view you actually don't want dogs to jump much until they are a year old, however it is usually hard to stop them.

If your girl is a maltese then it is quite possible that the jumps you are asking her to do are too big. I can safely say a maltese type dog would have a hard time jumping on to my bed!

However, if you want to teach her to jump up on things then the easiest method I can recommend is to lure her up using a treat or toy. Start with something small (about half her height possibly a seat cushion if they come off your sofa) and gradually work your way up. Pillows probably aren't the best thing as they are small and aren't solid enough.

Hopefully if I haven't been clear enough someone else can help :p

[Nekhbet]

a pup that little shouldnt be jumping to heights like that. And YOU should control when the dog gets up on items not let it run around doing what it wants. As for jumping down I think 8 months is too little to jump from a bed or couch too she could injur herself if she falls.

Give her a little bed as her own or a mat. When you invite her up on the couch/bed pick her up and set her down dont let her continue or she will hurt herself. She cant make it she's still a baby structure wise, its like teaching a toddler to jump up and down on furniture. When she is ready she will do it.

Edited August 23, 2006 by Nekhbet

[jezebel]

a pup that little shouldnt be jumping to heights like that. And YOU should control when the dog gets up on items not let it run around doing what it wants. As for jumping down I think 8 months is too little to jump from a bed or couch too she could injur herself if she falls.

Give her a little bed as her own or a mat. When you invite her up on the couch/bed pick her up and set her down dont let her continue or she will hurt herself. She cant make it she's still a baby structure wise, its like teaching a toddler to jump up and down on furniture. When she is ready she will do it.

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?

Edited August 23, 2006 by jezebel

[mirawee]

Since a maltese isn't meant to be much more than 25cm high you are asking your dog to jump over double her height!!!

To give you an idea, dogs doing agility are asked to jump less than 1.2 x their height... and they are not allowed to do this in training until they are at least 12 months (usually) or compete until they are 18months!

Please for the sake of your puppies future soundness do not ask her to jump until she is an adult, and even then I wouldn't be allowing her to jump on and off the furniture all the time due to the height difference.

Buying her her own bed if you don't want to pick her up is probably the best idea.

[jezebel]

Since a maltese isn't meant to be much more than 25cm high you are asking your dog to jump over double her height!!!

To give you an idea, dogs doing agility are asked to jump less than 1.2 x their height... and they are not allowed to do this in training until they are at least 12 months (usually) or compete until they are 18months!

Please for the sake of your puppies future soundness do not ask her to jump until she is an adult, and even then I wouldn't be allowing her to jump on and off the furniture all the time due to the height difference.

Buying her her own bed if you don't want to pick her up is probably the best idea.

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...

[Borders On Insanity]

I think what everyone is trying to tell you is that she will do it only if/when she is ready. By trying to force your girl into doing this you run the risk of creating ongoing medical risks for her, hip and spine troubles for example. Wait until she is at least a year old and then try to gently encourage her into jumping up a little distance at a time. By buying her a bed that she has to jump into you are probably going to do more harm than good. I have a 4 1/2 month old Border Collie that stands probably twice the height of your girl and he still sleeps on a folded up doona in his crate on our bedroom floor because I don't want him to do any jumping if I can avoid it.

She is a dog so I'm pretty sure she doesn't care if she has to sleep on the floor from time to time.

[ReXy]

I think what everyone is trying to tell you is that she will do it only if/when she is ready. By trying to force your girl into doing this you run the risk of creating ongoing medical risks for her, hip and spine troubles for example. Wait until she is at least a year old and then try to gently encourage her into jumping up a little distance at a time. By buying her a bed that she has to jump into you are probably going to do more harm than good. I have a 4 1/2 month old Border Collie that stands probably twice the height of your girl and he still sleeps on a folded up doona in his crate on our bedroom floor because I don't want him to do any jumping if I can avoid it.

She is a dog so I'm pretty sure she doesn't care if she has to sleep on the floor from time to time.

good advice i aggre 100%..... a dog that young and small breed shouldnt be jumping on and off a bed..,as it could do more damage to a growing pup..

[Dogsfevr]

Some dogs are jumpers some arent but i would also say as shes picked up all the time she just thinks thats the normal.

But at her age jumping isnt disreable & the more you make off it the more reluctant they can be,also the floor surface,previous attempts which may not have been good can create a small fear.As to being able to place her feet up means nothing in getting the whole body up,i can reach high doesnt mean i can jump over it.

[BasTyra]

I'd be really careful.

When my Griever had his spinal injury he was trying to jump onto my bed while I was lying in it. We never really found out what caused his disc to rupture so violently so the Vets pretty much came to the conclusion that it was the act of trying to jump that did it... and bad luck. I personally think it was a combination of the jumping exertion and a stupid doggie door that did it.

They told me that because the small breeds have been bred in a way to have such short legs, they really aren't made for jumping about. They also said they see a lot of ruptured discs, though not to the extent Griever's had ruptured.

Seriously, take it easy. If bella can't jump, don't make her, the last thing you want is to hear your dog screaming because she's broken her back

Edited August 24, 2006 by BasTyra

[t-time]

And I'm just curious - if she's a Purebred malt, she definitely should NOT be 4kgs at 8 months of age You may find that she is too heavy to jump

If she's a cross, then 4kgs *might* be acceptable. Not trying to slam you here, just trying to work it out 'cos most pups would at least try to jump up (regardless of whether they actually should or not )

But all that said, I agree with the others and you should wait to train her to jump up on anything. The height you're describing is still way too high ;) It just would LOOK daunting from way down there

[sidoney]

If you have things you really do want her to get on and off, a safe way for her to get on and off things would be to give her a non slip ramp.

[BasTyra]

I have to build one of those for Griever so he can get up onto the bed