I do everything i can to keep Oscar from jumping off the couch, bed, etc! I don't know how big/small your puppy is, but jumping from any height can hurt them if their small - and if he's just 4mths I really wouldn't encourage it. They have such tiny bones in their legs that it doesn't take much to cause a fracture or break. I'd rather have Oscar wait until I put him on the floor than have him jump and hurt himself and have to pay a hefty vet bill. Oscar is 3lbs and at that size, I think he's quite fragile - so jumping is a no no. I've read posts on here about dogs who have jumped off couches and broken a leg - it happens... so I wouldn't fret too much if your dog seems afraid - he probably knows better!
Here's a long story…
I got Oscar when he was 4mths - he wasn't even 2lbs yet, just a little gaffer - and a week after I had him, he jumped off the couch. I was sitting on the couch with my bf and I was doing work - my bf was watching Oscar who was at the end of the couch. I had warned repeatedly "never let him jump down - if you see him close to the edge, pull him back because he WILL jump - they don't judge distance well and he WILL jump". Anyways, I'm focusing on my work, next thing I hear is this godawful crying/squealing/screaming sound over and over - and Oscar is on the floor and comes running over to me. My bf had been watching him and "didn't think he'd actually jump" and he did and slammed his nose into the floor when he landed. He ended up being fine after some cuddling - but now my bf understands why he's not to jump EVER if we can help it. We were lucky, it could have been so much worse than just a bump on the nose. I'm sure you can understand the heart attacks we both had when we heard the sound that came out of that dog! |