Show Dog Or Circus Act?
My Happy Feet came the other day.
For those of you who don't show dogs, I'm not referring to a children's movie featuring dancing Penguins.
"Happy Feet" is a tool one uses to teach a dog to stack (or for "lay people" outside the dog fancy, how to stand pretty).
Based upon the dog's size, four paw-sized pegs are placed on a magnetic surface, each peg meant to hold the dog's paws exactly where they are supposed to be.
It's also a training device whose designer, I'm thinking, didn't consider a smart dog, like a Puli, during the design phase.
The theory holds that the dog, disinclined to move so much as a millimeter lest he falls off the pegs, learns to hold a posed position while being baited from the front with food treats.
In short, the dog learns how to lean into himself and create a nice profile for the show judge: head up, neck arched, rear feet an attractive distance apart: a lovely stack.
In theory.
To visualize reality as it happened in THIS house, think back to the old Ed Sullivan shows.
Right after Topo Gigio and before Elvis or the Beatles, there would be the requisite circus-type act.
Sometimes it was a juggler, sometimes it was a magic act.
Another time it could be an acrobat.
But my personal favorite was always the guy with hoola hoops.
You all remember the grand finale of the hoola hoop guy: With a drum roll punctuating the addition of yet another hoop , Hoola Hoop guy would extend both arms and one leg into the air as 300 hoola hoops whipped around each limb in break neck speed all at the same time.
If you can visualize this, then you can picture what my Puli looked like as he balanced two paws on four pegs.
As the dog swayed to keep this precarious balance, he looked up at me proudly and damn near said "Ta Da!" to complete the effect.
This is not how this was supposed to work.
If I placed the two airborne feet back onto the pegs, the OTHER two feet would spring out.
When he tired of this, he would put three paws on three pegs and rest the remaining foot on the magnetic surface.
Soon he managed to put all four paws on one peg.
No elephant balancing on a ball could rival this feat.
As comical as it all was, I sighed with relief that I'd gotten a bargain on this set of "Happy Legs" because while the dog was ready for a variety show, there remained work to be done for a Best of Breed ring.
I continue to work with Happy Feet with my dogs and have come to the conclusion that while it's a good training concept, one has to pick one's moment when introducing it to a dog.
By all means, start young puppies on it.
They're young and impressionable enough to assume that this is how the world works - from four magnetic pegs.
An older dog who has a bit more smarts will also come to realize that for some odd reason, her owner wants her to stand on four pegs.
Foolish in the dog's mind but the older dog is savvy to the fact that her owner feeds her; Could it hurt to humor her every so often?.
Puppies and older dogs are the only two windows of opportunity in a dog's life when I can recommend using "Happy Feet" because all that's left is the "teenage' dog.
And like his human counterpart, the teenage dog delights in pushing the edges of patience.
A dog this age will reason that if four paws on two pegs is funny, standing with one foot on a peg while cleaning his privates will be hilarious.
You'll be apt to get some chuckles but not necessarily a dog that can stack.
For those of you who don't show dogs, I'm not referring to a children's movie featuring dancing Penguins.
"Happy Feet" is a tool one uses to teach a dog to stack (or for "lay people" outside the dog fancy, how to stand pretty).
Based upon the dog's size, four paw-sized pegs are placed on a magnetic surface, each peg meant to hold the dog's paws exactly where they are supposed to be.
It's also a training device whose designer, I'm thinking, didn't consider a smart dog, like a Puli, during the design phase.
The theory holds that the dog, disinclined to move so much as a millimeter lest he falls off the pegs, learns to hold a posed position while being baited from the front with food treats.
In short, the dog learns how to lean into himself and create a nice profile for the show judge: head up, neck arched, rear feet an attractive distance apart: a lovely stack.
In theory.
To visualize reality as it happened in THIS house, think back to the old Ed Sullivan shows.
Right after Topo Gigio and before Elvis or the Beatles, there would be the requisite circus-type act.
Sometimes it was a juggler, sometimes it was a magic act.
Another time it could be an acrobat.
But my personal favorite was always the guy with hoola hoops.
You all remember the grand finale of the hoola hoop guy: With a drum roll punctuating the addition of yet another hoop , Hoola Hoop guy would extend both arms and one leg into the air as 300 hoola hoops whipped around each limb in break neck speed all at the same time.
If you can visualize this, then you can picture what my Puli looked like as he balanced two paws on four pegs.
As the dog swayed to keep this precarious balance, he looked up at me proudly and damn near said "Ta Da!" to complete the effect.
This is not how this was supposed to work.
If I placed the two airborne feet back onto the pegs, the OTHER two feet would spring out.
When he tired of this, he would put three paws on three pegs and rest the remaining foot on the magnetic surface.
Soon he managed to put all four paws on one peg.
No elephant balancing on a ball could rival this feat.
As comical as it all was, I sighed with relief that I'd gotten a bargain on this set of "Happy Legs" because while the dog was ready for a variety show, there remained work to be done for a Best of Breed ring.
I continue to work with Happy Feet with my dogs and have come to the conclusion that while it's a good training concept, one has to pick one's moment when introducing it to a dog.
By all means, start young puppies on it.
They're young and impressionable enough to assume that this is how the world works - from four magnetic pegs.
An older dog who has a bit more smarts will also come to realize that for some odd reason, her owner wants her to stand on four pegs.
Foolish in the dog's mind but the older dog is savvy to the fact that her owner feeds her; Could it hurt to humor her every so often?.
Puppies and older dogs are the only two windows of opportunity in a dog's life when I can recommend using "Happy Feet" because all that's left is the "teenage' dog.
And like his human counterpart, the teenage dog delights in pushing the edges of patience.
A dog this age will reason that if four paws on two pegs is funny, standing with one foot on a peg while cleaning his privates will be hilarious.
You'll be apt to get some chuckles but not necessarily a dog that can stack.
