Root Beer Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 Those of you who have raised performance puppies, when do you start rear end awareness work with them? What have you done? I am most familiar with pivot disk, ladder work, and backing up as rear end awareness exercises. Any other good ones? I think it's time for Bandit to start learning that he has a hind end!! He is learning to trot in heel and I notice that his back end is flopping all over the place!! It's cute, but he's ready to start working on this!! I'd love a whole slew of ideas and exercises to choose from!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sekah Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 I swear by pivot. I looooooove it. It's one of the best things I ever taught my dog. On top of what you've mentioned, paw targeting (front and back), hip targeting, shoulder targeting, paws in a bowel etc all tie in to basic body awareness and compliment rear awareness. I would follow some (or all!) of Trkman's puppy tricks class exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smalahundur Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 "Rear end awareness" Sorry, but my imagination ran wild reading this term. It is a totally alien world for me agility.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted August 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 It's not that alien. Some of Tessa's stuff: Ladder: Pivot Disk: Definitely plan to do these with him, but would love to liven things up with more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 I've been doing some hind end work with Kolt for SAR prep work (climbing on a variety of surfaces) Backing up low steps, Targeting with hind feet, front feet on a brick and circling it with his hind feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 Oh man. I am seriously 'behind' with the rear end awareness work. I have done some of it - a little work on a cheap version of a Bosu ball, pivot work on same and some crawling. At one puppy class, the instructor brought out a small individual trampoline (~30" in diameter) for a new experience for the puppies. Since I had already worked with Kiefer on motion underfoot on the cheap version of the Bosu ball, he was not at all bothered by getting on it and walking around on it, even though it moved (a little). So I decided to get up there with him and bounce a little bit. He was still very calm and just stayed up there with me. The bouncing didn't bother him. One thing that is easy for me to do is to walk through the woods where he has to climb over deadfall. Other than that, the exercises mentioned above are about the extent of my knowledge about rear end exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Kylie seems to have no awareness at all that she has a back end - it's just that thing that follows her around. Working on ladders and the like sort of helped, but with things like hind paw targeting or perch/pivot work she just... did not get it at all. She wouldn't walk backwards at all, either, just got stuck. I started teaching her to 'hike' both her hind legs up. It'll eventually be a kind of funny trick, but right now it's the only thing I've found to get her to pick her feet up and notice them. I'll worry about teaching her to pay attention where to put them down next. Seriously, I have never seen a dog this completely oblivious to their own rear end. If she weren't tiny, she'd have killed herself on the dog walk or teeter by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jescano Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Teaching Jinx how to do hand stands and back up onto objects/up stairs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chene Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Teaching Jinx how to do hand stands and back up onto objects/up stairs I once met a dog that did hand stands all on his own. He'd be walking around and suddenly go up onto his front paws and walk around like that for a moment. I don't believe he'd even been trained to learn them. Sorry, just a tad off topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sekah Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 I once met a dog that did hand stands all on his own. He'd be walking around and suddenly go up onto his front paws and walk around like that for a moment. I don't believe he'd even been trained to learn them. Sorry, just a tad off topic. I've seen a few chis that do that. Was it a toy breed? I'm always jealous when I see it come naturally to dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chene Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Miniature poodle. Man, he was a weird dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Some hind end awareness with Kolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 He looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chan Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I've been working on the standard backing up and targeting a disc with Rook but I decide to up the ante today by elevating the disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Cute how he leaves his back paws on the disk while streeeettccchhing to reach the treat. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 A slight deviation from this topic, regarding an old dog (14.5) rather than a puppy: Anyone have any advice for hind end awareness training of an elderly dog with physical disability in one hind leg? I just want to get her using the leg better. In the four years since the original injury, she seems to have lost some of the awareness and therefore use of that leg. At times it's as if she completely forgets it's there (with results that would be rather funny if it weren't also rather sad). The original problem was a spinal embolism, and after recovery she had some weakness in that hind leg, but it seems to have gotten much worse in the past 6 months-a year. She's never going to be able to climb a wall--I really just want to get her using that leg better so she can retain some muscling and actually balance on it normally. Not looking for miracles, just some small improvement so that she struggles less. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted August 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 For a senior, I would probably go with a PVC "ladder" (like the one in my video of Tessa above). I used to flip that one over, so the "rungs" were flat on the ground, and have Sammie walk through it from time to time. You could start with something flat on the ground and raise it a half inch or more, gradually, if you see progress. Or keep it flat if not. That is made out of PVC pieces and "T"'s from Lowes. Another thing you might try is having her back up to a different flat surface - even if just a couple of steps. Back onto the edge of a carpet from a solid floor. Or onto a piece of foam on a carpet. I used to have Sammie do that, too. On the carpet onto a toe board (only about an inch high). Just targeting a difference surface with her rear feet (if she can) would help with awareness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 How about cavaletti exercises? Starting with poles on the ground (or over a ladder) and then increase gradually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chan Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 One addition to the other good suggestions above other would be pivoting. Like Root Beer showed in her video but instead of having her put her front feet on a bowl keep her on the ground beside you in heel position and you can rotate, using a treat to keep her head beside you and she should move her rear feet to keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chan Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Deleted duplicate post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 A slight deviation from this topic, regarding an old dog (14.5) rather than a puppy: Anyone have any advice for hind end awareness training of an elderly dog with physical disability in one hind leg? I just want to get her using the leg better. In the four years since the original injury, she seems to have lost some of the awareness and therefore use of that leg. At times it's as if she completely forgets it's there (with results that would be rather funny if it weren't also rather sad). The original problem was a spinal embolism, and after recovery she had some weakness in that hind leg, but it seems to have gotten much worse in the past 6 months-a year. She's never going to be able to climb a wall--I really just want to get her using that leg better so she can retain some muscling and actually balance on it normally. Not looking for miracles, just some small improvement so that she struggles less. J. A wobble cushion was suggested by the physio when Ross had his cruciate repair, hind legs on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Thanks for the ideas. She is very unstable in the rear (when the incident occurred she was completely paralyzed in her hindquarters; the left hind came back pretty quickly to full use, but the right hind never did). I like the idea of a wobble cushion because on that she's mostly just standing or walking a bit? I suspect (know) that trying to get her to go in a circle with her front feet up on something would just cause the bad leg to collapse under her, because that's what it does now, even if she's just standing, say, eating her breakfast or dinner). So I guess what I'm describing may really be two issues: there's her seeming lack of awareness of where that leg is and there's a significant weakness there as well. So, for example, when I feed her, if she's not standing, I will stand her up and position both hind legs in a normal stance. I can put everyone else's food down and come back to her and she will have rotated her body toward her weak leg so that she is now sitting (because, presumably, that leg wouldn't hold her full weight), with the bad leg twisted under her in what appears to me to be an uncomfortable position. But she doesn't even really seem to notice. That's where my thought about hind end awareness came in. It's possible she really just doesn't feel that leg normally (due to the old embolism) and training won't help. But I think she's stepped into a vicious circle of not using the leg as she should because it's weak or she doesn't feel it normally and then having the leg become even weaker because she's not using it. (FWIW, there was a period of time in the several months after the initial insult to her spine that I thought this leg might have to be amputated, but we did get her back to using it fairly normally and she could even work, as long as I didn't ask for anything really fancy--sharp turns for example. Over the 3.5 years since then, though, it seems to have grown weaker and now it's to the point where it causes her to flop over on that side, it drags and hangs on things, and yet sometimes she still uses and stands on it "normally.") I need to get her back to the rehab vet, but she's retiring and it's a real possibility that with the long wait to get in to see her that she will be retired before I can actually get an appointment. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickif Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 I have a older dog with severe athritis in hip area and a rear leg that just isn't working well as a result of. I also have been auditing a body awareness/strengthening class (for dogs...yes, I should be taking one for me ). Anyway, someone asked the question about using the peanut/balance discs for an older dog with weak, arthritic wrists, to build strength and it was suggested to use balance pads. I bought 2 at Amazon for my dog to stand on. I am lightly pushing against his hip/leg area so that he (is suppose to) resist against my pushing to build some strength. I have only been doing it for a few days and it is amazing how my slight pressure/push almost pushes him over because he doesn't have the strength on that side to push against my hand (he resists well on the other side). we are taking it slow. He also has one front side that is weak. Over time I am hoping that this slight resistance exercise helps him build some strength. I also see that just him having to stand on them is a balance exercise. As I am having all four feet on them, I do not think this will bring any rear end awareness, but maybe just having the rear feet on one might? I really like these pads, a very subtle, low impact balance exercise. Maybe I should go stand on one for a while . http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AWWTRZA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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