Can't Bend!

I am recovering from a back surgery. Basically, while I am on the pain pills, I can’t drive. I can also only walk so far, have to sit straight, can’t sit in several chairs as I still need lots of pillows and such, and most importantly, I CAN’T BEND OVER.

So – what do I do while the bones heal? I want to work Pippin. I have discovered it is quite the challenge to train while not being able to Bend Over. I can’t pet him easily - I can kneel next to him - but I can’t do the quick bend over and pet and praise. He gets a tickle on his back instead. Somehow I am seeing, he understands. He is just as eager and energetic while we train. I do have cookies and the clicker, but he even seems more excited.

We train for 15 to 20 min at a time and then I need to rest. The last couple of days we have been doing platform work and working on precision. He has been struggling with choosing the right platform for the right command: heel, strut (heel on right), place (stand in front) and nez (stand behind me). So, today we had the leash on and I helped him so we did not stand for so long with guesses. I also only had 2 platforms out at a time, but we worked on all 4 positions. Bottom line – practice went great. I can move the platforms with my foot, the leash is loose but I can gently pop for the right direction, and best of all – I am learning to STAND UP STRAIGHT! This has been my own personal biggest struggle.

I love to look at my dogs when I train. I enjoy that contact that we make together. While I have fully appreciated those who can dance looking up and out without looking at their dogs, that is not my style. So, I have struggled to be able to look at them without bending over. Hmmm … found my solution … wear my back brace! I can see that this will not only train my pup but will also train me.

I am excited about this.

Oh – I am also excited because in the last two days, the “foot right” and “foot Left” command are really coming along. Pip knows what I am asking for now! YEA! This is also reinforcing the “Left” and “right”.

We also played around with going around “away to me” and “come by” to go around the hamper to get to the foot platform. WOW – this worked well and is very exciting. I am linking the training video where I saw this to share. Great for Treibball.