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The Jumpo Trainer: Keeps Pets Away

jumpotrainer-1.jpgWe just posted about a reader whose dog had scratched their leather couch. And although we love our own pets, there are some areas of the house or furnishings we'd much prefer they stay away from (our own cats are fairly well behaved, but occasionally they find themselves where they ought not be). Maybe the Jumpo Trainer is what we need. See how it works underneath the cut....

 
 

jumpotrainer-2.jpgThe Jumpo Trainer is basically a loud noise maker that frightens animals into good behaviour (kind of like asian parents). The Jumpo reminds me a lot of those paper clip jumpers we'd make in class as kids...just a little touch and they spring up. At $5 a pop, these seem like both a furnishing protector and a home entertainment option. Because admit it, you'll be just waiting for your naughty dog or cat to find this.

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pets: dogs, cats, snakes, etc.

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Comments (22)

I have very naughty cats who like to scratch the furniture. I've tried everything but declawing. Squirting them with water, ugly scratching posts, cat nip, double sided tape, even cat pheromones that come in a spray bottle.... Perhaps this will do the trick. (and my boyfriend will get a kick out of torturing my babies.)

posted by emhoop on January 23rd 2008 at 10:25am
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They actually look rather painful to the cat / dog... I see that they're using cardboard to trip the mechanism, but what if they stepped on it - poor cat! And it's only going to make them scared of the Jumpo, not the furniture....

posted by kvh on January 23rd 2008 at 10:27am
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"kind of like asian parents" HHAHAHAH

posted by layke on January 23rd 2008 at 10:34am
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I don't really see how this is going to stop scratching unless you put a dozen of them around the entire base of the couch or chair. It looks like a bear trap only less sharp. I get the frightening part of it and the noise, but what if a snout, tail, or paw gets in there and snaps shut on the poor cat or dog? That could cause some serious damage! Looks more like cruelty than a training mechanism.

posted by Miss Pea on January 23rd 2008 at 10:38am
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Some people I know use something called "scat mats" (I know!) to keep animals off furniture etc. After a few warning clicks the animals receive a mild shock. When they recognize the plastic mats, you can replace them with "dummy mats" that have no current. I know, from experience, that it's almost painless but still question the method a bit. First of all, who really wants to shock their animals into submission? Secondly, who wants the ugly plastic mats laying about?

I have to admit, the Jumpo would be wildly entertaining in my house. Fortunately, the cats and dogs* stay off countertops (at least when we're home). Unfortunately, our furniture is their furniture. Lately though, with the temperature hovering in the teens, I wouldn't have it any other way.

*My friend has a bassett hound that climbs onto the countertops. True story.

posted by Swan on January 23rd 2008 at 10:39am
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Emhoop,

Try trimming the cat's nails. It doesn't keep mine from scratching my furniture, but it DOES keep the damage to a minimum. Also, pay attention to where and on what they do their scratching and try to replicate that as much as possible on the scratching post. My older cat likes a horizontal scratcher and pretty much leaves the couch alone now that I got her one of the cardboard ones (sprinked with catnip every so often, heheh) and left it on the floor near the couch. You might also try those large strips of double sided tape they sell at petstores. Those helped with my younger cat.

This looks too much like a bear-trap for me to be ok with it. I realized the two pieces aren't connected, but it still could hit the cat/dog or something fragile.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on January 23rd 2008 at 10:46am
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does this work on co-workers?

posted by I Love Upstate on January 23rd 2008 at 11:09am
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Don't you think the animals would figure out pretty quickly how to manoeuvre around them? Unless you had them literally covering your furniture, in which case, you may end up with your bum in a trap!

posted by lalaklass on January 23rd 2008 at 11:10am
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Unfortunately, this wouldn't scare my dog. We tried the scat mat, but we think it made him go nutso after he tripped it and then he would chew up things around the house. (He's very excitable). We've gone the route of clear auto mats turned upside down, so the pointy edges point up. Unattractive - yes, but they work and are cheap. We just move them when company comes.

posted by Sharon R on January 23rd 2008 at 11:54am
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That looks like it's based on the old traps used to capture coyotes for fancy hammocks.

posted by art on January 23rd 2008 at 12:34pm
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Is there an Asian parental stereotype I missed?

posted by hejiranyc on January 23rd 2008 at 12:35pm
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With the way they leap up, they look like they could hit an animal in their delicate little noses.

posted by pb on January 23rd 2008 at 2:50pm
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heijiranyc: please don't nag me like my korean mom; she even got the joke.

posted by gregory on January 23rd 2008 at 3:07pm
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This looks potentially inhumane.

posted by elizabet on January 23rd 2008 at 7:56pm
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I don't need this. I trained my cat from the first day she came to live with us. She knows what is not to be touched because I simply clapped my hands very loudly when she got into what she wasn't supposed to...like on the kitchen counters or the leather sofa (I cannot understand how some people allow their cats on the kitchen counters and such, YUCK).

posted by orangejuce on January 24th 2008 at 6:12am
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Coyote hammocks sound really cool! And fancy!!!

posted by Alan on January 24th 2008 at 6:13am
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P.S. If you have scratchers for your cat (I have use the cheap cardboard ones that my cat loves) You probably should move it away from the sofa.

posted by orangejuce on January 24th 2008 at 6:16am
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That they use the word "humane" on their website is really hypocritical.

This is basically a flying plastic beartrap that can jump up and snap on an animal's nose, paw, face, tail, etc.

A really bad design!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way to have a respectful relationship with your pet.

posted by Norathecat on June 3rd 2008 at 12:34pm
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"(kind of like asian parents)"

WTF?

posted by mfpants on January 27th 2009 at 6:33pm
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For those who say this is inhumane, look at the photos of it in operation. It looks like it doesn't actually clamp down, but snaps together to make a noise and releases. I have a dog who is avoids mousetraps just because he has seen them trip while I was setting them (for mice). He avoids gopher traps for the same reason. So this might work for some dogs, but I have no clue about cats. I would suggest setting it up while you are around to observe the animal's reaction to it. If you just set it and leave, the dog or cat could go bonkers when it releases and knock down a lamp or something dangerous, or get very depressed and scared. It depends on your pet's temperament. You should always be present to observe your pet's reaction to new training devices.

I have successfully used a plastic anti-jump mat like the auto mats Sharon R described. It had hard plastic points on it. My dog was a counter jumper!

posted by Forestdweller on January 27th 2009 at 7:31pm
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I gave up trying to keep my 2 cats off our sofa. I bought a sheepskin throw from IKEA -- thinking the cats would lay on that. One of the cats hated it, and would not even go close to the couch after it was placed. The other cat loved it! He -- ahem -- appeared to be living out his sexual fantasies on that thing. (Seriously! I didn't know cats DID that!?) Eventually we got rid of the sheepskin. The resulting sexual deprivation was probably more cruel than this device...

posted by arroyo on January 27th 2009 at 7:39pm
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OMG!!!!!! The comment above mine (from arroyo) made me laugh harder than I have in ages!!!!! I could barely read it aloud to my boyfriend because I was laughing so hard!

posted by Deidre88 on January 27th 2009 at 9:10pm
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