# What age to start jumping?



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Well... open training includes retrieves, drops, out of sight stays, and off leash heeling in addition to the retrieve over high and broad jump. 

So definitely the majority of things your dog will do in Open - you can start now. 

The jumps - I've been asking people about and mainly it comes down to the heights/lengths. My instructor said 2-8 inches right now are fine for training the high jump and one board for the broad. As Bertie grows taller and gets out of the danger zone (past 12 months), then we are talking 12-16 inches.

And down the road you can bump that up to 24 inches for the high jump and 48 inches for the broad.


----------



## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Molly was introduced to jumps a few months ago (she's 13 months now). The broad jump boards were overlapped so she didn't jump the full distance. The high jumps were 4-8 inches high. I was worried and a bit hesitant but we don't do them very often. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I have shown my dogs to five CD 's ,three CDX's, and one UD, plus numerous rally titles. I only start jumping at two after hips and elbows are clear. I am not saying this to criticize anyone, just that it is simply how I do things. And forget the A frame until then....


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

@Janice - that's what I believed and adhered to with Jacks. He didn't go near the high jumps or broad jumps until after he was 24 months and I'd had his hips and elbows checked. 

The problems I've run into with him is that it took forever to build up his confidence level and courage when it comes to jumps.  

I definitely will not do full height with Bertles, but I've been asking and gathering information from everyone I train at to see what is the best way to teach jumps without causing problems. 

The information I got back was everything from putting a bar from a bar jump on the ground for the dogs to learn to hop over on command, to doing 8 inch jumps when the puppies are 5 months old or older. 

My one instructor even had her flatcoat puppy learning directed jumping before 5 months, and that was just on 2" jumps, if that. 

I'm smiling of course because if you've seen the pictures I posted in another thread or even my signature - both dogs absolutely LOVE jumping and you can't stop them from jumping when they are out and about - much more than just 8" off the ground too....


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

As I said, it is my own superstition. And each one of my girls who got a CDX was a fantastic jumper. My first, Sally,had to jump,thirty inches for the high and sixty for the broad! The jump height had just been lowered from 32 inches! Now, she would jump,24!


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

If they still had the jumps set up that high, I wouldn't have considered jumping my dogs - even if Jacks had excellent hips. Asking a dog to jump his height isn't the same as asking that dog to scale a wall....


----------



## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

What about the jumping Bella does running around in the back yard? Over stuff. Under stuff. Off the deck. etc. She does it ever day, and has been for a long time. I'm not sure how I would stop her from doing this.


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Jump heights and widths used to be crazy...but even my Sally, with her repaired patella could do 30/60...


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I don't generally have a problem with random anything... It is when it is forced or trained that it bothers me in young dogs... Having said that, dogs tear their,anterior cruciate ligaments chasing things in their backyards... Nothing forced about that, but I think it is more related to structure... Another controversial opinion.


----------



## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

This discussion makes me remember our Zeke. Never trained for anything but a natural athlete. I let him out in the backward one day to run some deer and he took off chasing them and jumped the wire fence in the back at least 3ft high with a wide stone wall behind it. Another time he jumped up on a stone wall at least 3ft. high from standing right next to the wall.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Oh - well Jacks jumped straight up 3.5 feet or whatever it was to the top of our kitchen table. 

But he freaked out about jumping over 16" those days when we were initially training jumps. 

I'm going to guess it was a case of "get the french baguette roll" adrenaline blowing his brain.


----------



## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

I was not aware and not told I couldn't jump Penny when she was young. I trained with a trainer who owned border collies, and Penny started agility before she was two. She did all of the equipment. It could of been structure, it could of been the early jumping and contacts, or both but she defiantly was not 100% her whole life. Actually I never went further then a CD and I retired her from agility because she would stutter before jumps. She never went smoothly over them, and had sore hips and elbows. Knowing what I know now, I am upset at myself for forcing her to jump. I didn't know at the time I wasn't suppose to. I wish I did. I would strongly suggest not forcing a dog to jump before it is two. In my case, it made Penny un-sound. 

Luna, who is just over a year in a half hasn't jumped yet, and will not until she is two. I have been training her in obedience and have been working on everything else.


----------



## Brelywi (Apr 5, 2013)

I know this is kind of forum digging, but I was reading through the training posts and came to this. This is probably a dumb question, but I'm very new to owning a golden and I would rather ask and look stupid rather than have my dog get hurt 

My Charlie is 13 months old, and he regularly jumps over our baby gates (his own choice, we don't make him of course). Two are 24", one is 36" (though he's only jumped over that one a couple times, normally he just waits for us to open it for him). Should I not be letting him jump over those, or are you guys talking about length rather than height? I just don't want him to get hurt inadvertently!


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I would discourage it - something that goes through my mind with Bertie (who also jumps over the 36" baby gate if I don't push his crate up against it) is that if he misjudges a jump, he could get hung up or caught at the top and get hurt.


----------

