Below -15C I do not walk the dogs on leash. We do not go for our usual morning walk. We do not go for an evening walk and Kili and I do not jog. I will sometimes still take Kili for a hike or a quick romp in the park beside our house... but all outings are abbreviated as none of us can stand the cold for long.
To keep my sanity and Kili's we have been working on a lot of tricks. A few weeks ago we were working on perch. Basically asking her to stand on different objects. Once spring rolls around we will be able to do some fun ones outside. The idea is to get your dog to stand on objects with a small base. It's fun, makes for entertaining photos, and is also a good core workout for the dog. Oh, and it reminds the dog that she has hind feet and where they are... something I find greyhounds to be particularly bad at.
Here is Kili working on standing on a fairly small roasting pan.
And now working with some height on a small table and our overturned garbage can.
Like I said... entertaining photos:
Which brings us to our next proposition... can you teach a greyhound to do a back stall? So far no luck, but we will revisit this one in the future and I'm determined to at least try!
4 comments:
Very impressive, I like the idea of teaching balance and body awareness. Do you think this could inspire undesirable behaviors though? I would worry about counter surfing, jumping on places I would rather she didn't.. Just wondering, maybe I am over thinking this.
Yes, you absolutely should be prepared for your dog to try to climb up on things expecting a treat. lol. Anytime Kili sees a chair or a stool now she tries to climb up on it. However, that said she hasn't tried to counter surf or climb on tables. Depends on the dog I suppose!
Oh, OK, thanks, think I will stick with pivot practices low to the ground, ha,ha,ha. Chairs, sofa and beds (human) are out of bound at our house, so I won't want to give mixed messages. Thanks
BTW, wanted to tell you we have the same COLD weather you are experiencing, here in Kingston. Real pain in the butt. When we go out for a quick and very short walk, it is quite amusing to watch Lilly, she lifts a foot, hops along on three feet, then lifts a corresponding foot and hops along, and so on. Reminds me of a dressage horse prancing along. If anything fun about this weather, it is watching her dance along the side walk. And, Just to clarify I am not being negligent... I do use booties if we are going to spend anytime outside, this is usually a quick jaunt to the mail box and back.
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