Hind and rear end awareness!

One of the foundation goals Mum has for Rach is to learn that he has rear legs and a hind end (because when pups are young, limbs aren't the first thing on their mind, and they kind of 'fling' them everywhere).

So Mum has been teaching Rach some new tricks to help him be more aware of his rear end and back legs, along with other tricks that help him better understand his body.

Rach loves these tricks and they are games to him, but they have hidden reasoning behind them.

The first 'trick' Mum taught Rach relating to his hind end was 'back'! Whereas I like to hop back, Rach is really good at stepping/waddling back. And since he's not as 'wacky' as I am, he's been really good at learning back at a distance.

Mum tried teaching me 'back' at a distance, but throwing the treat between my front legs from a distance (a tip we got from Daisy Peel way back at one of the first Silvia Trkman seminars) just made me wackier. But Rach isn't as wacky and in many ways, he is a lot easier to train Mum says. Pppffffftttt! I say!

So here is Rach learning back. Now he can do it up to about 20 feet away!


Another 'trick' exercise that Mum has been teaching Rach to help him learn more about his rear and back legs is 'circus dog.' That's when Rach has his two front paws on an object and turns around his back legs, basically pivoting on the object; in our case a big heavy bowl (which was key as it doesn't move when Rach is learning, like a book would..

Mum for the life of her is still trying to teach me to pivot without moving her body, but as I am so wacky it's a challenge. But Rach learned it really quickly with Mum clicking the instant Rach moved his back legs in the direction Mum was looking for. He learned to go to the right very quickly, learning to go left was a little more of a challenge until Mum used her other hand/arm and Rach got it instantly.

So here is Rach being a little 'circus dog'!


Other hind end and rear end awareness exercises you can do with your puppy/dog are:

• Walking through a ladder placed on the ground.
• Placing jump poles on the ground staggered in a row and having your dog walk through them.
• Using pods or other sturdy low objects and having your dog place their back legs up on them.
• Walking over uneven and safe cushiony items like long couch cushions (I did this a lot when I was rehabbing from my broken foot).
• Using bricks (for a little larger dog) to have your dog place a paw (their opposite front and rear legs up and alternating) on.

All of these 'tricks' are really fun for dogs and are not only great for hind/rear end awareness but are great for strengthening and conditioning, as well. Just remember that puppies are ready for some exercises but not all until their bodies are more fully developed.

Once Rach gets older Mum will be teaching him other body awareness exercises....more to come!