February 28, 2018 at 4:42pm
1. The duration will be dependent upon the dog's current proficiency with the exercise, structure, and age. We would only do this exercise for short periods of time and gradually building duration. Sitting pretty they can do for a longer period of time, or you can do the up and down squats from stand to sitting pretty. 5seconds building up to about 30 seconds--for dogs that this is difficult for anatomically, I will accept less duration and maybe even more for a dog that this exercise is easy for. As the dog is gaining proficiency, I will usually add more challenge by having the dog sit pretty on a FitPaws peanut or Bosu ball--this allows overall stability training in addition to the core strengthening.
2. Handstands can be great ways to teach a dog rear end awareness and balance. Again, anatomy of the dog is going to be very important in how much of a handstand I will ask for. For some dogs, I will teach them to handstand against an incline and graduate them to hand standing on the wall. For others they can progress to a free handstand. An example would be a light boned dog with good shoulder angle being able to perform a free handstand (ie many border collies and Aussies) but for others, it's not anatomically favorable if they are super straight in the shoulders and body heavy.
