jen said...
Sorry. I'm a little slow with the homework. I will admit that I wasn't quite sure how to do it, so Melissa showed me the other night. I tried it on Kali, my BC. At first she would turn and try to bring her head to me. About the third time I have did it she stood for a bit and then just wanted to sit down. Tonight she's pretty tired out from agility class, so she just stood there, turned to look at me and then laid down.
Jen, Thanks for commenting. I can appreciate that you weren't sure how to do it. I usually teach face to face with my students. That's why I need feedback, so I can be sure you're understanding what I mean.
Kali bringing her head to you makes perfect sense, it's the end you usually touch.
Some dogs will sit with their backs towards me. The traction loosens and relaxes the lower back.
I always love it that first time when they turn to look at me. Some have a surprised look, others look happy or even grateful. Some dogs will give me a good lick.
Wrap your hand around the base of the tail, tell Kali how good she is. The tail is an extension of the spine, so you want to pull it straight not up or down or off to the side. Slide your hand the entire length of the tail. As you do this, take a nice deep breath and slowly exhale.
When we do something new with our dog, some happy talk is most reassuring to them.
So she stood there and let you do the tail pull?? Were you comfortable with it? Are you going to try it again? What do you think?
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She doesn't stand real still. She has a tendency to just sit down. So, I keep one hand under her just in front of her hind limbs to hold her up. The more that I try it the more comfortable I feel with it and the more comfortable she gets, I think.
ReplyDeleteOn another note. We had a bit of a breakthrough with the barking yesterday! We had a quiet shaping session with her not barking in frustration when she wasn't sure what I wanted!