# How high can he jump safely?



## cindysilver (May 15, 2005)

Hi everyone again!









I have a question about jumping. Jack's 15 weeks old, weighs 5 pounds. He can jump down off the couch easily, but he has to get geared-up to do it before he will. 

Besides that small distance, will he be able to jump very far? Like, will he be able to jump ON to the sofa? Or what about jumping down off my bed? He sleeps on the bed with me, and he never even tries to jump down (it's a very high bed, about as high as my mid-thigh), but last night, he was licking himself and ROLLED RIGHT OFF!  I was so scared he would be hurt but he seemed fine, just embarrassed, and I checked him over for "ouchies" but no sounds emitted from him. He is fine today too. Will he be able to jump down on his own, ever? Maybe when he's bigger?

What do some of your babies do? Especially the bigger ones, as Jack seems like he might be in the 8-10 pound range.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

Kallie is 9 pounds and has long legs and a very sturdy build and she can jump fairly high. My bed is quite low (on purpose for my babies) and she jumps on and off. Catcher has not tried to jump on anything, which is sort of weird. He just seems afraid to. Neither of them goes up and down stairs. Kallie will go up a couple steps and then just sit there waiting for me to "rescue" her. That is just fine with me as I don't really want them running up and down the stairs. 

Personally, I think the less jumping the better.... for their health. My vet said that jumping is hard on their backs and I imagine not too great for their knees either. You can buy or make a ramp for your bed if you want him to be able to go on and off by himself.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Msloke_@Jun 18 2005, 01:23 PM
> *I read somewhere that they shouldn't be jumping on or off anything for the first year, something to do with the bones growth plates.    I tried to prevent Cassie from doing much jumping on/off anything til after she was a year old just to be safe.
> 
> Cassie is 6 lbs, over 2 now and acts more like Rocky the flying squirrel when it comes to getting on and off couch and bed.  She leaps the two steps from kitchen to patio and back but I'm trying to get her to take each step.
> ...


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Catcher does the leap also... but not when jumping... He'll be watching Kallie and then do a flying leap in her direction... it is amazing to see him leap like that....


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## joe (Jan 5, 2003)

Sampson is 9-10 pounds, maggie is about 5, both and can jump up and down about 3 feet


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Don't encourage them to jump. It's not good for their legs especially if they have luxating patella. I wish Alex would not jump. But there is no way to control him unless to put him in a pen and tho he might try to jump it. And for 8 years he has the run of the house, he would not understand why he would suddenly be held prisoner behind bars. We try to catch him before he jumps but are not always successful he is soooo quick. He will jump from one arm chair to the other and lately missed twice. Not good for his repaired leg. When he is on top of the bed and I want to get him to put him down, he thinks it's a game. He will run in circles on top of the bed and then suddenly take a leap and jump down (flying squirrel), ending at approx. 4 feet from the bed.







Forgot to mention he is only 5.8 lbs, not a big maltese.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Msloke_@Jun 18 2005, 07:24 PM
> *I know what you mean about flying squirrel.  I need to find/make a ramp/steps for my bed so hopefully she will use use that but something I won't trip over in the middle of the night.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Thanks.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=73704*


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Could you put the ramp on the other side of the bed or at the foot of the bed? The whole 12 years I had my first Maltese, Rosebud, I could never get a good night's sleep because she couldn't jump up on the bed, even though she could jump off the bed. So several times during the night she would wake me up to lift her back in to bed. I don't know why I never thought of having her sleep in her crate. And I really didn't even think of a ramp...







All that sleep I could have gotten!!


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## Bijousmom (May 29, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Msloke_@Jun 18 2005, 07:13 PM
> *I can put a ramp on the side of the bed but where does one get a ramp that won't look hideous in a bedroom?  And how do you keep her from faling off the side of the ramp instead of using the ramp?
> 
> 
> ...


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Hunter K9 Gear has some, but the wider short one is less expensive and it says that it is easier to use.


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## bellasmommy (May 8, 2005)

I bought Bella some stairs for the bed because I found some that are made of very dense foam. I was afraid to buy a ramp because they're plastic or wood and Bella gets carried away sometimes and I knew the foam would be safe. I can't remember where I found them, but Bella loves her stairs. I used to have to wake up three times a night to help her on and off the bed, but now she can do it by herself. The company I bought from lets you pick the fabric, but I can't find a brand or label on the stairs and my memory is not the best







but I'm sure you could find them online if you want. Bellas have a white shaggy covering and she loves to roll around on the bottom stair. Now I just worry about her jumping on and off the couch, she absolutely refuses help and I'm thinking about getting stairs for the couch too.


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