E148: 페트라 포드(Petra Ford) - "오비디언스에서의 탁월함을 위한 컨디셔닝"

So a lot of times, the dogs appear to be not responding to a cue. For example, if you're doing directed jumping and you tell your dog to jump and the dog goes around the jump, it would at first appear that the dog just didn't follow your cue to jump the jump. But a lot of times, there's a physical component going on. And a lot of times, people aren't aware that that could even be an option. I really train, teach all of my rehab clients that the minute your dog does something that they don't ordinarily do, to check them out physically first. So typically, if your dog has always reliably jumped on your signal and suddenly your dog does not want to jump the jump to your right, there's likely an underlying physical issue going on. And there's a whole host of mistakes the dog could be making that have an underlying physical component. It could be anything from not jumping, avoiding a jump, not sitting slowly, sitting with rocked back with a leg, like a hind leg sticking out. Dog not wanting to, let's say if you do a flip finish where your dog jumps, dog not wanting to jump to the finish, slow to sit, so slow to sit on the finish, on a flip finish. There's an exhaustive list. I don't want to bore everybody. But I think the primary thing is a change. Other than a change, typically, the only other issue I see that can start in puppyhood actually is issues with sits because a sit that's not nice and tucked up and strong is typically caused by, could be either tightness or an injury, but also by structure. So for example, my zeal is very straight in the front and more angulated in the rear. So when he sits left to his own devices, his body would cause him to rock back. But because I have worked on that since he was a little puppy, he's always, he has a very nice sit. So I've had clients that are, dogs will be four years old, five years old, and they'll say, well, they've always sat like this. And that's likely true, but it can still, we can still fix it. Mm-hmm. So to kind of go back to maybe your jumping example, what kind of physical issues lead to those types of problems or any of the examples you mentioned? And once you think there might be a physical problem, how do you kind of work on identifying what it is that's weak so you can fix it? Right. So one of the most common injuries or issues I see are iliopsoas muscle strains. So that's a muscle that's in the, that would be considered part of the dog's core. And just like in humans, regardless of what sport you participate in, you need a strong core. So typically if the dog's core is weak, then that will lead potentially to a muscle strain

and or an injury. Dogs are super tough. They have a very, very high pain tolerance. Also, our dogs want to work for us. They get highly rewarded for working with us. So if your dog is refusing something, then they're pretty darn sore because they don't, you know, it's unlike us. They're not like, oh, I feel a little tight. I better, you know, take a day off. No, they're going to keep jumping anyway. And by the time they refuse, they're very, very sore. Um, so I see that that's very common. We core. Um, and then where your dog is structurally weak, you're going to be, have an inherent weakness. So for example, zeal's very straight in the front. So he always gets tight in his neck and shoulders. So I know that, um, and I work on that all the time. So a lot of my clients will bring me their young dogs. We'll look at their structure. I'll be able to say to them, this is where your dog is inherently weak. Um, so make sure you keep that really strong. And if you do that, you can prevent injuries from happening. And I have everyone work on a dog's core. The tricky thing about the dog's core is if the exercises are not done correctly, you can inadvertently predispose your dog to injury instead of helping them. Um, so it's very important that, um, you have someone instruct you on how to do them correctly so that you get, um, the benefit out of it. Your best choice in terms of information as to whether your dog is injured or has, you know, or has, uh, an inherent weakness is a canine rehabilitation professional, someone that's certified. In an absolute perfect world, they would also have, um, experience working on quite a number of performance dogs. So I'm in a super unique situation in that, um, because I compete myself, um, I've always had a fairly large, um, number of clients, um, with performance dogs. So I've had my hands on them for many, many years. I don't really want to think about how many, 15 years. So, um, but you know, in other areas, some rehab professionals don't have exposure to performance dogs. And, um, I find that they are very, you know, they have unique, um, needs and they, um, get unique injuries compared to like the average pet dog, um, that perhaps, you know, like require surgery and rehab. So, yeah, I know in the workshops, you kind of broke things down into five pieces. So I want to, I want to kind of look at that a little bit. So the first one, which I know is set up to run January 19th is on super sits and fantastic finishes. So when we're talking about sits and finishes, um, you know, what skills are we looking at

from a conditioning perspective, uh, that really go with those behaviors? So, uh, for sits, I, I go very in depth because the vast majority of dogs don't have what I will call good posture in the sit. So, you know, if I'm sitting in the chair and slouching, someone can walk by and say to me, Hey, sit up tall and then I'll do it. Right. But you can't really say that to a dog. Um, and if a dog, well, you can, right. But it won't work. But, um, so if a dog is sitting with what I term poor posture, um, their halts and their fronts and finishes are not going to be as accurate. They're going to look like they're off. Right. Um, and so in order to get a tight sit, I have a very specific, um, exercise, which I call good posture in the sit. And it's fairly simple in that you just use a cookie and lure the dog into that position and then get the dog to hold that position. And over time, um, the dog is suddenly able to sit with good posture and then we strengthen that. Um, and then your dog will give you really nice, straight, tight, um, fronts, finishes, pivots, halts. Cause we have a lot of sits and obedience. Like it's something people can do themselves, you know, um, which is really nice. They just have to make sure that, um, when they lure the dog, they're doing it correctly. Um, which is why I have a lot of, um, videos in the workshop because I think it's a really visual thing you need to see. So, uh, you mentioned kind of bad posture in there. Are there other signs that this might be an area where a dog just, uh, needs some work? Yeah. If the dogs sit slowly. So, um, you know, if normally you stop and they sit right away, if they start, um, sitting, you know, like taking their time, not taking their time, but if their sit is slow, oftentimes that can be, um, an indication that there's an issue. Um, uh, same with on a finish, if they come around or go into position, but then sit slow, um, that can absolutely be a physical issue with sits. Um, if they, you, like, if you, we don't really have sits days anymore. I'm not complaining. Um, but if you were to sit your dog and go, you know, get some of your equipment and your dog wants to get out of that position, it's an indication that they're not comfortable, um, in that position. So despite the, the not so many sits days, I still have a question on that. So, um, you know, I think people do think about kind of, you know, at least, at least in the nerdy, uh, dog obedience part of the, part of the world, which I think a lot of our listeners are, they think about the muscles a dog needs, you know, for a good tuck sit,

but maybe they don't think so much about the, um, the physical requirements of, you know, holding that sit. And if their dog is, you know, dropping into a down when they're left on a sit stay, they maybe think they just need to work on the duration piece and explaining that to the dog again and that kind of thing. So I did want to look at the sit stay and just, you know, are there any hints for telling if failure to hold that stay is a physical weakness versus a training issue? So for one, if your dog typically holds a sit stay and then starts to not hold it, that's a change. So usually when there's a change, I look at the physical first. Um, if the dog sits and as time goes by five seconds, 10, 15, 20, the dog's back legs start to kind of slide out that's weakness or tightness. Um, if the dog shuffles its front feet or just looks, you know, like it's shifting and shuffling, um, that's likely that the dog's uncomfortable. Um, if a dog, uh, starts sitting on a hip or is sitting and then goes to sit on a hip, that's usually an indication that something is bothering the dog. Are there different muscles involved in kind of that duration behavior versus just, you know, the, the more dynamic action of tucking into a sit? Are they, are they the same muscles and they just, um, they're working a little bit differently? Yeah, it's the same muscles. It's just, um, you're adding endurance, right? So it's no different than if I tell you right now, sit up tall and you're like, oh, okay. And you do. But if in five minutes I look at you, you may have slumped down again. Um, because it takes, uh, you, those muscles have to build strength and endurance. So, um, when I teach the dog, uh, a strong sit first, we just get the dog into position and then we reward the dog. Then the dog has to hold the position for five seconds. Then it gets the reward, then 10. So, um, we add endurance to the position because otherwise the dog can only hold it, you know, for a couple of seconds. And that's very common when I start working with people, their dog can only hold the position for like a second or two. If, you know, if that, and then, um, so that we work that, um, over time they build endurance. So it's the same muscles. It's just, um, building strength and endurance in the muscles so they can sustain the position for an extended amount of time. So we talked quite a bit about kind of this, the idea of a nice collected sit. Um, but the, I know the workshop, you're actually gonna talk about finishes. So what, uh, you know, what is there kind of beyond just the, the sit piece at the end

of the finish, um, that kind of goes into physical conditioning for, for that behavior? So the other part of physical conditioning is I teach dogs hind end awareness. Dogs do not innately have hind end awareness and they don't just get it. I used to think they did. And then I found out differently. So, um, knowing where their hind end is in space is purely a taught behavior and you can teach it. So most dogs, um, have a concept of like finished position roughly, um, but they typically are not in touch with their backend. So their backend can be a little in, a little out. Um, but the dog isn't really even aware of it. So, um, I use a lot of hind end awareness exercises so that the dog understands, oh, I have a backend and this backend is part of this, um, behavior that my mom is, or dad is asking me to do. So once, um, I go kind of through the progression and teach them that it really increases their accuracy and their understanding. And it's a lot more fair, right? Because when the dog is crooked and I say to my dog, break my dog out, like, that's not correct. You don't get a cookie. Um, the dog might be confused, right? And it's mind, well, my front feet or where they are supposed to be. Um, so if they really understand, um, that their hind end is an important part of the exercise and they are, um, consciously connected to their backend, then it's more fair and they're way more accurate. I mentioned earlier that we're doing a series of workshops here. So after the January workshop on sits and finishes, um, February has jumps and drops. March has command discrimination and stand stays. April has healing and pivots and may has endurance and healing. So I want to go over those one by one, just talk about how folks can tell, you know, if that's an area that they should maybe look at or a workshop that they should maybe look at for their dog, um, because their dog's performance is being impacted by physical issues or weaknesses. So kind of starting with the jumps and drops topic, what are some clues that someone might see that, you know, that's a workshop that they should definitely sign up for? Yep. So, um, jumps is, um, refusing to jump, stutter jumping, avoiding a jump. Um, if your dog, for example, with directed jumping kind of flies off to the side, like jumps, takes a jump on an angle and then has to work really hard to get back to you. So the dog is not wrapping the jump. The dog, uh, actually jumped for retrieve over the high jumping and having trouble hitting their front from that. So we address that. Drops are going down slowly. Again, not want avoiding going into a drop.

Um, I've had dogs that were in signals, didn't want to drop, which seems like pretty simple, but they were sore in their shoulders. So they were avoiding the signal drop. So, um, avoiding a drop, a slow down. So for example, I teach my dogs to do a fold back down. Um, if suddenly every time I down my dog, the dog wanted to move forward, then I would, um, the first thing I would do was check them out physically. So that's jumps and drops. The other, the next one is, I think, stands. Command discrimination and stand stays. And I think that those are two exercises people probably don't think of as requiring much in the way of conditioning. So. Correct. And then, because, but if your dog is uncomfortable physically at all, then they are going to be, then there's a higher likelihood that they're going to either move out of position. Or avoid transitioning from that position. So if the dog is not comfortable in a stand, or if the dog is sore, then any position you ask them to do out of the stand, they'll be reluctant to do. So they'll be reluctant to sit from a stand. They'll be reluctant to down from a stand. Um, a lot of times they're not comfortable standing, so their feet will move. So for example, if you do, um, as utility stand for exam and you want your dog to really lock up, if the dog's physically not comfortable, then they're going to move a little bit, um, because it's uncomfortable for them to lock up. Um, and again, with any of the exercises, if there's a change, right? If your dog suddenly starts doing it differently than the way they've been doing it all along, then that can indicate, um, a physical issue. And then, uh, what signs do we see that dogs might benefit from the healing and pivots workshop? And I'd imagine that one, uh, you might even see some benefits if, if it's not so much weakness problem and you just need some work on your healing and your pivots, right? Well, right. So with any of these things, if the dog is feeling strong, right, you're, um, they're going to perform better, right? So think about yourself. If you are, um, not per se injured, but if you're sore, so a lot of people will have a sore back, right? And so if you're sitting in a chair and at work and your back is really bothering you, it's harder for you to concentrate on your job, right? So, um, I apply the same thing with dogs, right? I constantly am conditioning my dogs because I want them physically to feel comfortable and be able to concentrate. Um, I think healing is the exercise that requires by far the most concentration for a dog because there's so many elements to it.

So the last thing I want is for my dog to have to think about one more thing. And, um, with healing, I don't over-exaggerate how my dogs heal, but I do ask for a heads up healing, which requires them to shift their weight to their back end a little bit so they can push up. If the dog is at all sore, especially in their corn hind end, they're not going to want to do that. Um, so I've had, um, clients with dogs that pace, which can be an indication that something's wrong. Um, dogs that he, that won't bring their head up, they hold their head down. Can it be an indication that something's physically wrong? Um, they can heal well for a very short amount of time, but then they struggle. That could be a physical issue. Um, again, with healing for conditioning, I also incorporate hind end awareness, right? So knowing, um, where their backend is in space so that, um, they can move their body more easily for, let's say, um, figure eights and, uh, left turns, right turns, pivots, because the backend is a big part of that. Um, and for like, for healing with endurance, anytime I feel that I'm healing my dogs and they're kind of, they may be in position, but I feel like they're not pushing. I usually stop and check them out because, um, a lot of times that means that when they're asked to heal for an extended period of time, their body is not up to the task. I know you're doing both the healing and pivots and the endurance and healing one. So can you, um, talk a little bit about what, uh, what signs there might be that the dog needs to work just specifically on endurance, but also kind of what you're covering that's different between those two? Right. So the endurance and healing is really not as much, um, physical per se as, um, the dog mentally being able to heal for an extended period of time. Um, so for me, a big part of that is, um, concentration, right? The dog has to gain. You have, I teach my dogs mental endurance, which means the ability to mentally concentrate for an extended period of time, right? Cause it's one thing for the dog to focus on me for like 15 seconds, but another for the dog to focus on me for an entire healing pattern. And ignore the environment and follow all my cues. So, um, and to keep it fun, right? How do you keep it from getting boring? Cause let's be real. If you're just healing it along for a while, it's kind of boring. So I do things to make it fun for the dog. So it does become, um, inherently self-rewarding and the dog likes to heal. So that's all part of the mental endurance. Yes, the dog physically has to be in shape, but, um, most dogs struggle healing for an extended

period of time, um, because of mental endurance and their ability to, um, ignore distractions in the environment. That's another big piece also. So the nice thing about the workshop format, right? Is that they'll be able to watch the, um, the examples and the sample samples in the, um, in the lecture itself. And then they get your, the working teams at least kind of get your feedback on those exercises, right? So they also get your eyes on them. Um, yes, absolutely. And I, you know, a lot of people, um, this, the one issue I've always struggled with, and I've been working on this for 15 years and I still don't have a solution is getting people to understand the benefits of conditioning their dog proactively before there's a problem. Most people don't really, it just doesn't have any meaning for them until their dog is injured and until their dog is, um, on rest for a period of time. Cause that's always a shock when we can't train our dogs for a while. Yeah. I think that. And then they become very want to know, well, what could I do to prevent this? And they become very proactive. Right. And I always thought, um, I would, it would be great if people could understand that if you do something now, it's not a huge investment in time and money, then you can actually prevent that from happening. And, um, you know, then your dog doesn't have to be off for anywhere from three to six months. And, um, you know, and rehab can cost a lot of money as well. Right. I mean, you know, the human psychology isn't, isn't great at doing preventative things. Otherwise we'd all have awesome retirement accounts. I know, I know, but I still try to tell people it's important. Well, hopefully, hopefully some folks out there are getting that message because I do think, um, you know, well, I think you do a beautiful job when you do these, but, but above and beyond that, I think that, uh, you know, just the idea of working on some of these things is also a great way to just, you know, mix up your regular training, um, and still, you know, be working on your obedience skills, but maybe just from a slightly different angle. So it is. And the dogs absolutely love it because to them there, it's all just a bunch of tricks. And, um, a lot of these things you can incorporate easily into your warmup. Um, so it's not like it's a lot of extra work that you have to carve into your day. Um, we all warm our dogs up a little bit, you know, uh, before we start training them. So if you just add some sit postures and stand postures and some of the exercises in there, um, it, it doesn't really, it's not a great effort.

It's not like you have to add another thing to your already busy schedule, you know, and the hind end awareness stuff. They is, it's just a game and it really, really makes for much, much better fronts. I just went back and, um, revisited some of those games for fronts with Zaina. Um, and after I did that for a couple of weeks, her fronts in training, you know, dramatically improved. So they like doing it and it does not just prevent injury, but it improves your obedience. Awesome. So one last question here that I'm asking all of my guests lately, uh, what's something that you've learned or been reminded of recently when it comes to dog training? Oh my goodness. I always learn so much. Um, the dog is never wrong. I am still not a good dog trainer. I have so much more to learn. Um, no, I think I'm constantly learning. So I, I approach my training as a student. Like I approach it that I need to learn more to be a better communicator. And so that's what I'm always striving for. Um, so anytime my dog, um, makes what I, I won't even call it a mistake, but anytime something goes awry in training, I always say to myself, all right, what am I missing? What did I not, you know, do? How can I communicate what I want better? Um, and that's something I do all the time. So I'm always, did I answer your question or did I go? I think that's good though, because I think that a lot of people struggle with that, right? Continuing, um, to stay in a learning mindset. It's easy to trick ourselves into knowing that we, we know the answers and, uh, that the dogs don't, but. No. And if you have a girl like my Zaina, she'll tell you very clearly, she'll say, you did not explain it right. She tells me off all the time and I'm like, okay, I'm sorry. All right. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Petra. This has been great. No problem. Thank you so much, Melissa. I really appreciate it. And thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in. We'll be back next week, this time with a few previous camp attendees to talk about FENZ training camp, since registration is right around the corner. If you haven't already subscribed to our podcast in iTunes or the podcast app of your choice to have our next episode automatically downloaded to your phone as soon as it becomes available. Today's show is brought to you by the FENZie Dog Sports Academy. Special thanks to Denise FENZie for supporting this podcast. Music provided royalty free by bensound.com. The track featured here is called Buddy. Audio editing provided by Chris Line. Thanks again for tuning in and happy training. Thank you. Thank you.