Fozzie's first dance routine

Over the past two weeks, Fozzie's started to put together a little choreography in his dance class and he's continued to make huge progress with tricks I never thought he'd be so good at. 

Last week, we worked on some of the tricks he's learned already and added in a couple of new skills.

We started again with putting my arm out as a target and support, using "Paws up!" to ask him to balance on it. 












Now that he's used to this exercise, it's gotten much easier for him to start to support his own weight and even to start going up on his hind legs!

I love watching the dog dance move where the dog puts his arms on his human--either from the front or the back--and moves forward and back.  One of the students in class has gotten to where her dog will put his paws on her back and walk with her. This is the first time Fozzie's done anything like that!

We worked a little bit on some new skills like backing up and moving laterally with the dog. And we showed off the little choreography we're working on! 

It consists of a bit of weaving between my legs as I walk, then a spin, a sit, high five with right paw then left paw, then a rather dramatic Down--because most things Fozzie does are dramatic--and a crawl forward. 
 
And this particular version includes Fozzie grabbing the bandana I use to wipe icky dog treats off my hands. Carolynn suggests I put that trick on cue and do it every time--that will take some doing to get Fozzie to do in any sort of controlled way, but would be worth it!

We are using the mbira song Vazimuto by Linos Magaya, probably my favorite song in the world. If anyone can tell me how to put a song in my post, I'll add it in so you can listen to it!

Fozzie seems to love the routine and does it with a lot of energy and joy. We're not really moving in time with the music yet, and I'm not sure if the choreography makes any sense--if its a good sequence of moves. 

We'll have to ask the expert.

And for Fozzie, really the most impressive trick of all is that he's able to do all this stuff, and be relatively focused, in a room with all these other dogs dancing around. Hard to believe my little high maintenance death row inmate has blossomed into such a talented young man. Fozzie, I believe we have found our calling!

The Dogs Learn Some Pilates

Dance class just gets more and more fun each week. This week we learned several new tricks that Fozzie just loves.

First was weaving through the legs.

Have a treat in each hand. With dog on left, take one big step forward with right foot. Lead dog under right leg and forward. Stop and treat dog using right hand.

Take big step with left foot. Lure dog under left leg, stop and treat using left hand. 

Put it all together and you are walking forward, your dog weaving in and out of your legs! 







Be sure to take plenty of time out to rest. This is exhausting!

Next, we broke out the Pilates balls. 

I wasn't sure how this would work with such a heavy dog. 

Getting the dog to support first some, then eventually all, of his weight on the ball helps develop core muscles that are key to getting up on hind legs.







 



Fozzie loved it! I held the ball steady at first, but quickly was able to let it move under him as he climbed up. Watching him roll over it, finally getting all the way over it with back paws dangling, was priceless. 





Good job Fozzie, time for another break.

Keep it up and you'll be right up there with those stars in class.










Finally, we did some work on sitting up and begging. This is another great exercise to strengthen the core. When the dog is able to sit up and beg, he is on the way to being able to stand on his hind legs, and even walk on two legs unsupported.

When I saw this was on the agenda, I really didn't think Fozzie would be able to accomplish much. He is such a heavy, big-chested beast, and for all his fine qualities, balance without the help of his front paws is not his strong point.

The key is taking it slow with lots of support. First, put out an arm and prompt the dog to put first one paw, then the other paw on it. 

Get the dog to try balancing more of his weight on his own by holding the treat way up above his head, then slowly removing the arm support, then bringing it back.

Fozzie was able to at least put both paws on my arm, and start to balance more of his weight on his hind quarters.

Not like some of the stars in class, but hey--gotta start somewhere!

Michelle and Joey prove the fancy stuff is not just for the Aussies and Border collies

Regina and Link were dancing up a storm too

It was so much fun to see everyone learning new things in this class. 

Next step? See what music Fozzie wants to dance to!

More dancing

Fozzie and I had even MORE fun at last week's Doggie Dance class. 

This time, Florian had to rehearse for his own dance show over the weekend--a show that would not, alas, include Fozzie--so he couldn't join us. My friend Francine was with us though and took some really good pictures. 

First we practiced a bunch of spins. 



This is a trick Fozzie's known for some time, but I never thought of Fozzie doing them beside me as I walk forward, or doing them as part of a dynamic shifting total dance event.







Fozzie got really good at spins--at one point he did a quadruple pirouette!

Again I was so impressed with how Fozzie was getting into it. I've always suspected he would be a natural dancer, as there are so many dance-like movements that he really enjoys. 








We practiced what we learned last week a lot, and really worked on going around, through the legs, then back and forward together. Going forward is easy, but getting the dog to back up when he's between your legs is a bit tricky! If you can't see the video, bear with me...we are still a bit in the dark ages technologically.

Then we focused a lot on paw behaviors. 

That's right, Fozzie actually got to be rewarded for putting his paws on my arm, on a prop, around my leg, and on my butt. 

The goal is to actually get your dog to interact with all sorts of things with his paws, 












 
and eventually get him to hold onto things with his paws. 












 

It was easy to encourage him to paw whatever body part or target I presented him with, as Fozzie is a natural paw user.








 
Fozzie loves to grab onto things--most often, Florian's leg when he is getting into a humping sorta mood--so it is so great to have a positive outlet for these tendencies.

The grand finale was a couple of really fun tricks I've been wanting to learn for a while.

How great is it to have a big scary looking Mastiff mix man who can do a play bow on cue? 

What better way to let people know his true nature?

We call our bow "Bravo" so Fozzie doesn't get confused hearing "Bow" for a behavior that is so similar to "Down." 












To do it, we lure his nose straight down from a stand, the treat going from the nose straight down to the floor, but we have one arm under Fozzie's belly to keep that butt up in the air. 

We click and treat when the front elbows hit the ground...and then we get him out of it by luring the nose straight forward, so he goes out of the bow into a standing position and doesn't conflate Bow with Down.

The last trick was one we already know, going into a down and then crawling forward. Carolynn recommended actually kneeling over your dog to get him to do this, so he doesn't get up when the treat is moved forward. I didn't find this to be necessary when I taught Fozzie...he just naturally crawled forward as long as I kept the treat close to the ground.

I feel just like one of those ballet moms Florian is always going on about.

I'm so proud of my little dancer boy!

Training the next dancer in the family: Canine Musical Freestyle

When I first started seeing videos of agile Border collies bending and twisting in time to music, spinning around their owners and going between their legs, I thought wow--cool! What a great way to engage your pup, get exercise, listen to music, and build an incredibly responsive and attentive relationship through moving together.

As I got to know Fozzie better over the past two years, saw how easily he learned paw tricks and spin tricks and agility tricks, I thought he would be a natural for doggie dance--but what doggie dance class would allow in a student with such impulse control and reactivity issues?

My friends at Your Dog's Friend have come through for me again! Fozzie, Florian and I had our first Canine Musical Freestyle class last Thursday night with the delightful instructor Carolynn Williams and her stunning Australian shepherd Rafe. 

I know Fozzie has made a lot of progress over the past 2.5 years, but I still thought he wouldn't be able to focus at all in class. I thought he'd be a squeaking, quivering mass listening to every rustle by another dog in class, with no interest in treats and no attention on me.

He actually blew me right away. He squeaked and quivered a little when he noticed other dogs in class, but once I broke out the treats he was positively eager to focus and do whatever fun thing I asked him to. Default sits like crazy, then he tuned right in when I led him around me for an "around" and through my legs for "come through." 

He pranced around, wagging and smiling and dancing and checking in with me, looking up like he was so proud of himself as he stepped it up like a little ballerino.


He absolutely loved it!

 





When he burned out and needed a break from working, I let him play with his squeaky hippopotamus and roll around on the floor, get a really good butt rub, or whatever he wanted. I just couldn't believe he was able to focus at all, let alone be so engaged and happy to work for extended periods. 

Carolynn was so wonderful and put our minds right at ease with respect to any of Fozzie's "issues." Although she's often taught the class with dogs off leash and out in the center of the room, she readily shifted the format when a few students wanted to sign up for this session with reactive or exuberant dogs. Everyone who needed it--Fozzie and 3 other dogs in the class--had a nice pod to work inside to give themselves the visual shield they needed to focus. Most importantly, Carolynn kept reminding us to just let our dogs have fun, with no expectations, and if they needed a break that was just fine. She was confident that Fozzie would be able to accomplish something, and that made me more confident, and that helped Fozzie relax and achieve so much. 

We have been practicing our new tricks and can't wait for next week!