Cookie's muscles are healing well but it seems we run into problems because they haven't been used all that much for quite a while because of the forced rest.
After last evaluation by her physical therapist, Cookie got a few exercises to do for her homework.
We've done exercises in the past but we never had much of an actual equipment to do them with. I mostly used my body to do things like weave between my legs or cavaletti exercises over my legs when I was sitting on the floor.
This time the therapist lent us actual cones and cavaletti poles.
Cookie likes doing some exercises more than others. Of course, her willingness to do some of these things depends on value of the treats I use but there is only so far one can upgrade.
The hurdles didn't look like something worth doing to her.
It was strange, weird, and why go over them when one can just easily go around them?
One trick Cookie always loved doing is a play bow.
I taught that as a trick fairly early on when we were just messing around with things to do. I thought that putting play bow on cue would be the most awesome thing of them all. I knew that there were certain times when she was very likely to offer play bows to solicit play. I was ready for it and when she did, I marked and treated. To encourage the n
ext one I did a bit of open mouth panting, because I knew that to her that also communicated playfulness. Indeed, she responded with another play bow which I marked and treated.
Already that night, play bow was on cue.
I was extremely excited about that which might have influenced how willing Cookie is to do them when prompted. It makes us both very happy.
Already in the past I noticed that throwing a few play bows in between other tricks got Cookie in a more compliant mood. She became much more excited about doing whatever was to come next.
To tackle our hurdle with the hurdles, I decided to try having her do some play bows throughout the session.
What do you know, it worked! She is much happier to go over the hurdles if she can do something she considers fun as well. So we mix it up a little, to a bit of this and that, some play bows and we get the exercised done merrily.
Whatever works, right?
Little tricks can go a long way.
Related articles:
From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed
Who's Training Whom? Stick And Treat
Observation Skills Of Dogs
If You Want Your Dog To Do Something, Teach It
Tricks? It's Not Just About The Tricks
What Constitutes The Perfect Dog?
Are Dog Training Classes Really For The Dogs?
Look Where You Want To Go: Finding My Reactive Dog Training Zen Zone?
Dog Training And Emotions
Dog Training And Emotions: Postscript
Dogs Love Sentences In Question Form?
Not All Dog Trainers Were Created Equal Either
A Thought On Separation Anxiety
Happy One-Year Adoptoversary, Cookie!
About Freedom, Trust And Responsibility: A "Pilot Study"
So, We Have A Bear
About Happiness: What Makes Your Dog Happy?
Our Example Of The Use Of "Look At That" (LAT)
Why Do Dogs Dig?
Who Is In The Wrong?
Your Dog Wants To Follow You. You Just Gotta Be Going Some Place
We Still Have Two Dogs: A "Pilot Study" Part Two
Early Winter Safety: Exploring New Territories
Cookie Is Okay. We ... Might Be, Eventually. (Don't Try This At Home)
One Thing I Love About Winter: I See What They "See"
Give Your Dog What They Need, Get What You Want
Cookie, The First Of The Great Hunting Rottweilers
Distance Is a Relative Concept
Dog Communication: Be Good to Cookie or She'll Tell on You
The Benefit of the Doubt
Putting The Guilty Dog Look To Rest?
The Stench of Fear: Is There Good and Bad Timing for Vet Visits?
I am a Helicopter Dog Mom
Routines: Easy Come, Hard to Go
Mosquito Apocalypse
Things Always Change: Cookie's Hunting Adventures
The Advantage of Your Dog Not Barking All the Time: Cookie Saves Horses' Asses
"Look at That" (LAT) Game and Barking at Traffic
The Role of Thresholds in Dog Training and Behavior
Dog Days of Summer: Keeping an Eye on Cookie
Dog Days of Summer: Cookie Gets Her SprinklerThe Evolution of My View on What Is and Isn't Dirty
Not F***ing Cheerios, That's for Sure
Hi, My Name Is "No", What's Yours?
Dogs, Porcupines, Wasps and Learning
Mouse Hunting, Leash Pulling, Begging at the Table and Intermittent Reinforcement
Self-Entertaining Dog? Dogs Need Interaction
Dogs Are Always Testing the Waters
Tick Alert: It's a Conversation if You're Listening
How to Ruin a Perfectly Good Dog in One Easy Step
Do Dogs Like to Work for Their Meal?
Shaping Games: Both Cookie and I Love them
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury: Battling the Zoomies
After last evaluation by her physical therapist, Cookie got a few exercises to do for her homework.
We've done exercises in the past but we never had much of an actual equipment to do them with. I mostly used my body to do things like weave between my legs or cavaletti exercises over my legs when I was sitting on the floor.
This time the therapist lent us actual cones and cavaletti poles.
Cookie likes doing some exercises more than others. Of course, her willingness to do some of these things depends on value of the treats I use but there is only so far one can upgrade.
The hurdles didn't look like something worth doing to her.
It was strange, weird, and why go over them when one can just easily go around them?
One trick Cookie always loved doing is a play bow.
I taught that as a trick fairly early on when we were just messing around with things to do. I thought that putting play bow on cue would be the most awesome thing of them all. I knew that there were certain times when she was very likely to offer play bows to solicit play. I was ready for it and when she did, I marked and treated. To encourage the n
ext one I did a bit of open mouth panting, because I knew that to her that also communicated playfulness. Indeed, she responded with another play bow which I marked and treated.
Already that night, play bow was on cue.
I was extremely excited about that which might have influenced how willing Cookie is to do them when prompted. It makes us both very happy.
Already in the past I noticed that throwing a few play bows in between other tricks got Cookie in a more compliant mood. She became much more excited about doing whatever was to come next.
To tackle our hurdle with the hurdles, I decided to try having her do some play bows throughout the session.
What do you know, it worked! She is much happier to go over the hurdles if she can do something she considers fun as well. So we mix it up a little, to a bit of this and that, some play bows and we get the exercised done merrily.
Whatever works, right?
Related articles:
From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed
Who's Training Whom? Stick And Treat
Observation Skills Of Dogs
If You Want Your Dog To Do Something, Teach It
Tricks? It's Not Just About The Tricks
What Constitutes The Perfect Dog?
Are Dog Training Classes Really For The Dogs?
Look Where You Want To Go: Finding My Reactive Dog Training Zen Zone?
Dog Training And Emotions
Dog Training And Emotions: Postscript
Dogs Love Sentences In Question Form?
Not All Dog Trainers Were Created Equal Either
A Thought On Separation Anxiety
Happy One-Year Adoptoversary, Cookie!
About Freedom, Trust And Responsibility: A "Pilot Study"
So, We Have A Bear
About Happiness: What Makes Your Dog Happy?
Our Example Of The Use Of "Look At That" (LAT)
Why Do Dogs Dig?
Who Is In The Wrong?
Your Dog Wants To Follow You. You Just Gotta Be Going Some Place
We Still Have Two Dogs: A "Pilot Study" Part Two
Early Winter Safety: Exploring New Territories
Cookie Is Okay. We ... Might Be, Eventually. (Don't Try This At Home)
One Thing I Love About Winter: I See What They "See"
Give Your Dog What They Need, Get What You Want
Cookie, The First Of The Great Hunting Rottweilers
Distance Is a Relative Concept
Dog Communication: Be Good to Cookie or She'll Tell on You
The Benefit of the Doubt
Putting The Guilty Dog Look To Rest?
The Stench of Fear: Is There Good and Bad Timing for Vet Visits?
I am a Helicopter Dog Mom
Routines: Easy Come, Hard to Go
Mosquito Apocalypse
Things Always Change: Cookie's Hunting Adventures
The Advantage of Your Dog Not Barking All the Time: Cookie Saves Horses' Asses
"Look at That" (LAT) Game and Barking at Traffic
The Role of Thresholds in Dog Training and Behavior
Dog Days of Summer: Keeping an Eye on Cookie
Dog Days of Summer: Cookie Gets Her SprinklerThe Evolution of My View on What Is and Isn't Dirty
Not F***ing Cheerios, That's for Sure
Hi, My Name Is "No", What's Yours?
Dogs, Porcupines, Wasps and Learning
Mouse Hunting, Leash Pulling, Begging at the Table and Intermittent Reinforcement
Self-Entertaining Dog? Dogs Need Interaction
Dogs Are Always Testing the Waters
Tick Alert: It's a Conversation if You're Listening
How to Ruin a Perfectly Good Dog in One Easy Step
Do Dogs Like to Work for Their Meal?
Shaping Games: Both Cookie and I Love them
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury: Battling the Zoomies
Aww, she is so cute doing her exercises. I'm glad she seems to be doing OK. Funny how the play bows help keep her more interested! Like you said, whatever works!
ReplyDeleteShe's cute doing anything ;-)
DeleteYeah, isn't that interesting what the play bows do? I guess it turns work into fun somehow.
I love the cone set up that you have. I think that would be something Zoey would enjoy and would be great exercise for Sydney.
ReplyDeleteThese cones are great. I wish we had better space to do more with them, have a longer course ... but we do what we can with the space we got.
DeleteI also make the course more fun by putting a single cone at the end of it to go around, it can be set up for weave and other stuff.