Jumping off couch, won't use ramp...

NicoleMD · Jul 11, 2019

Typical stubborn bully behavior going on in our household. My husband built Minnie a ramp to get off and on the couch, and she uses it to get up...but not down. Any tips on what I can do to help convince her the ramp is the way to go? I've tried a breadcrumb trail of treats but that only works some of the time. Just trying to prevent back issues for little miss in the future!

mattcantwin · Jul 11, 2019

Frenchies seem to love to jump off things.

If it is high enough to be a concern, how about one of those protective bed rails where the supports could slide under the couch cushion along the couch away from the ramp?

That won’t work if you are also sitting on the couch.

Cbrugs · Jul 12, 2019

I have little stairs at my couches. Sometimes Jax uses them and sometimes he doesn’t.

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2bullymama · Jul 12, 2019

Maybe set treats on the ramp and call her down... or have a treat in your hand and call her down the ramp, but don’t give treat till she is at the bottom

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Mechadogzilla · Jul 13, 2019

Cbrugs said:
I have little stairs at my couches. Sometimes Jax uses them and sometimes he doesn’t.

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I also used to have dog stairs next to my couch. The stairs might be less intimidating than a ramp. I had decent success with the stairs.

james1991 · Jul 17, 2019

No offense but I don’t get the whole my dog can’t jump or it will break their backs . Does your dog have existing back issues or genetic abnormalities. If you want your pup to use the ramp you have to give them a reason to use it you might have to leash them and lead them up and down with a treat reward. Some of these dogs can be so stubborn.

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Cbrugs · Jul 17, 2019

james1991 said:
No offense but I don’t get the whole my dog can’t jump or it will break their backs . Does your dog have existing back issues or genetic abnormalities. If you want your pup to use the ramp you have to give them a reason to use it you might have to leash them and lead them up and down with a treat reward. Some of these dogs can be so stubborn.

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Frenchies are known to have spine/disc issues and jumping on/off furniture can exacerbate that.

james1991 · Jul 17, 2019

I can understand not jumping off walls and stuff like that .... I get that but my couch is maybe 40 cm high max . I think if my puppy couldn’t jump he would die. I know it can be a problem with IVDD and other problems but I thought that was more like a genetic condition.

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NicoleMD · Oct 13, 2019

Thanks for the question [MENTION=2465]james1991[/MENTION]

While it's true that most dogs can jump off stuff with no problems, and our couch isn't abnormally tall, my dog is abnormally short, lol. She was a mill rescue and is pretty petite even by frenchie standards, weighing only 17 lbs at 2 years old. She's very healthy now, and like any paw-parent, we'd like to keep her that way. A jump here or there wouldn't hurt her, but years of jamming the back and shoulders from a jump from the couch to the floor might. Just taking precautions.

To everyone else that suggested the stairs, we have had success!