Nero likes to cuddle with us on the sofa but when he is playing he often jumps onto the sofa and back off again. The sofa is about 2 foot high. He is 3 and a half months old Will this cause any harm to his joints?
Re: Nero jumping off sofa [quote author=Deano82 link=topic=4044.msg47238#msg47238 date=1389729044] Nero likes to cuddle with us on the sofa but when he is playing he often jumps onto the sofa and back off again. The sofa is about 2 foot high. He is 3 and a half months old Will this cause any harm to his joints? [/quote] Whats he landing on ? I know young dogs can do without any hard impacts on their joints
Re: Nero jumping off sofa I'd lift him down if possible, when you start to see him wiggle... I know it's tricky - Brew and I don't always agree on what is good for her joints! I do cautious, she does ambitious and athletic... Clare
Re: Nero jumping off sofa [quote author=ClareJ link=topic=4044.msg47253#msg47253 date=1389732594] I'd lift him down if possible, when you start to see him wiggle... I know it's tricky - Brew and I don't always agree on what is good for her joints! I do cautious, she does ambitious and athletic... Clare [/quote] i agree with clare! i've been doing scads of reading on lab puppies and their joints.... their growth plates don't fuse properly till they're a year old or so, and it's unwise to allow them on long structured walks, lots of jumping, or rough/uneven terrain (serious hiking conditions, for example) till they're a year of age. that said, i've no earthly idea how i'll keep orion from doing the same - he's already trying to jump ON the sofa and he's barely 2 months!!!! luck - and keep an eye on nero and grab him soon as he wiggles.
Re: Nero jumping off sofa A 2ft jump down from sofa onto padded carpet probably isn't the worst thing in the world. Of course, if you can lift them down particularly when very small, so much the better. But I found this level of supervision too much. So I concentrated on things like not allowing Charlie to jump out of the back of the defender (much higher) at all, or out of any car onto concrete or hard surfaces.
Re: Nero jumping off sofa I'm lucky that Harley didn't attempt to jump off the sofa until she was about 3 months old. We have wooden floors so were very aware she may try so we put her small bed up against the sofa and she always either jumps into that or slides off the sofa into her bed You can't always stop them, but as Julie says, concentrate on the higher jumps.
Re: Nero jumping off sofa [quote author=Naya link=topic=4044.msg47494#msg47494 date=1389815371] so we put her small bed up against the sofa and she always either jumps into that or slides off the sofa into her bed [/quote] That's a good idea. I read an article the other day about training steps or a ramp up and down to furniture. I wish I'd done it, now I've got a dog that is not allowed to jump (nothing to do with his elbows!). It's a bit late though. Although big canvas pad mats as steps help a lot.
Re: Nero jumping off sofa We do try to pick him up when we see he wants to jump down but its very hard to watch him all the time. We do have a thick rug next to the sofa so he mostly lands on that