is it safe to let puppies jump???

[yorkieskater]

Okay, I'm confused. I bought a "trick" and training book for my puppy who I will be getting in April. It says that we shouldn't let them jump more then their elbow height for 18 months. So does that mean I shouldn't let him jump on a chair or couch or even in place? My last dog LOVED to jump. He would stand in one place and jump. I am going to buy stairs (I bought some from this collections website for $14.99 and was disapointed in them not being stable so i have to get to UPS and return them).
Any thoughts?
suzie

[chachi]

It is probably best to have stairs. I didnt let my pups jump when they were little. But as they got older I let them jump from the couch and bed.
Some people put stairs by the bed so they dont jump.

[red98vett]

Lately I've been reading about LOTS of Broken legs - I never let my girls jump IF I would help it.... but they will when you aren't looking -

I advise keeping the stairs or getting something else if you have a very small puppy - their bones are pretty fragil and you wouldn't want anything to happen.....it's better to be safe than sorry....

[livingdustmops]

I agree that to many broken bones happen and also some members have said that dogs can get LP (luxating patella) from this also...better to be safe than sorry.

A number of members have these stairs (4 step set) and I have 4 of them in my house. They are just foam so if you stub your toe it won't hurt.

http://www.lakeside.com/details.asp?...&ST=KWD&SS=SOR

[schatzie]

If you can put yourself in your Yorkie's "paws" and realize the distance they jump from couches, beds, chairs, etc it is quite tall. I feel if us humans jumped often like our fur kids do it would in time take its toll on our joints.

I personally jumped (stupidly on purpose) a great distance and have never been the same, LOL

To me, it's just not worth it. There are so many products available (stairs) to aid them into getting onto/off of higher furniture it's worth the investment.

On the other side of this coin, there are many Yorkies who enter agility and seem to enjoy the running/jumping etc. However, I'm not sure just how high they are having their Yorkies "jump" so I cannot make an accurate assumption towards this. ?? Nor do I know if this agility takes it's toll on their little joints??

[red98vett]

When Chanel was little I rigged an upside down laundry basket with a towel on top for traction so she could step off my bed - it worked great for a year....you just have to secure the towel under the basket and Viola - steps !

[SissyRose]

From my experience, I would not let them jump from anything to high. My Ellie jumped down from a bed and tore her cruciate ligament and her patella is luxating now. She had no patella problems before this injury. These little ones can really get hurt jumping from high places. If they can jump onto it, like a chair or couch, they might be okay jumping off. If it is too high for them to jump on, it is too high to jump off. JMO.

[SissyRose]

I think that stairs are a great idea. Now that Ellie is hurt she should not run or jump for quite a while. I will be looking into getting stairs. Maybe the height that they can safely jump from is relative to the height of the yorkie.

[yorkieskater]

That one link looks similiar to the "doggy steps". I wonder if I should get those. Don't go and get the $14.99 at Collections because they are very unstable. Thanks for all the tips. What about if they jump in place though out of excitement? Should I stop him from doing this?
suzie

[livingdustmops]

I find that my gang will use the steps on their own. It didn't take long for them to learn and my little girl won't even try to jump anymore off of the bed or chair

I think it is very difficult to stop your little one from jumping out of excitment and all of mine do this. For the most part they are using my legs as a stabilizing force when they jump up. What I wouldn't encourage is having them jump up and down for treats.

I have not had any problems with these stairs being unstable.

If you do a search on YT for doggy stairs you will see innovatice ways members have made steps for their little ones.

Good Luck.

[Patti]

We trained Cali form the beginning to use the stairs by the bed and a stoll by th couch. She has never yet jumped off without using them.

[chewysmom]

Chewy jumps off the couch and the bed and I really hate him doing it. Every time he goes I hold a breath! It's definitely not good fo their little legs!

[heather_lathrop]

I agree, there little bones can be injured by jumping off the bed, or off of anything to much bigger than them. I also had a friend who's puppy jumped off her couch and broke his neck. It was so heartbreaking for everyone. The best thing to do is get some good stable stairs. One for the bed, and possibly another for your couch, til he/she is big enough to jump up and down from the couoch safely. As for the bed, I would keep the stairs there.

[Mignon's Mom]

I just had to "jump" in on this thread - after I stopped laughing ! We have a carpet covered ramp for Mignon to get in and out of our bed. She uses it going up and never attempted to jump onto the bed but has recently started taking a large leap off the bed. No amount of correction seems to help. So this afternoon my hubby and I decided to move the ramp away from the bed and indulge in some "afternoon delight". Mignon had her Kong and was quite content. After about 1 1/2 minutes she was in the bed with us - she found a way to go via chair to nightstand to bed. OK - we laughed and put her down and moved the chair. Less than a minute later and after only 2 tries she was in the bed again! It is a very high bed (approx 25 inches and she is about 7 1/2 inches tall) and we just couldn't stop laughing ! Needless to say the afternoon delight was postponed - but I told my husband of 29 years that I haven't laughed so much during sex in my entire life!! So jump they will - when and where they want !!!

[lil smokie]

so if it's not good for yorkie pups to jump, how can prevent smokie to stop jump'n whenever he see's me? i don't want him to break any bones...