This has been a very frustrating thing. For months* we’ve systematically been working on having the person come closer and closer. Some days we start with the person close and work on being still for petting. We work on waving things around. We work on staying still while pushed.
And…Griffin still likes to prance back and forth on his front feet. Occasionally a little step forward. But lots of shifting weight and the feet coming off the ground.
Last week we were given a recommendation to teach a stacked stand position instead of just his kicked back stand. Which is great, and I should do. But not something I’m looking forward to.
But THEN someone had a really amazing, simple idea. Raise Griffin’s back feet off the ground. Putting more weight on the front end. Reducing his probability of prancing. So we can get in LOTS of reps of no prancing. And gradually reduce the height of the item/s. I especially love this solution as the set up reduces the probability of any prancing. I didn’t like our previous plans because he still was able to prance at times, still was able to practice it at times.
We did our first session last night. In about 10-15 reps, we were able to get to the full stand for exam and a bit more touching. He thought about moving once but his feet -never- came off the ground!
*Granted, this was only about 5-10 minutes per week….but still…..