# Pimg learns more proprioception (with video)



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

I bought the FitPaws donut a while back and I've admittedly not used it much. I friend of mine sent me a video of a young Mal hoping up and sitting on one and I wondered if Pimg could do that.

I really didn't have a training plan when I started this. I mostly just wanted to see her sit on it, and to see all those stabilizer muscles going crazy. Once she got that, I wondered if she could shake while on it since she would have to adjust her balance. She didn't have a problem with that either. And then finally, I wondered if I could get her to stand up on her back feet while on it. This is not a trick I've trained at all, so I just lured her up. I was surprised when she balanced like that for a very short period.

Overall the clicking is crap. Like I said, no training plan. I really had no reason to be using a clicker here and it just got in the way. I couldn't tell you what my clicking criteria was... Crappy trainer, great dog!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Great job! Love that you are open to push your training to try new things like this.

HEY, you have 2 days to go to CT for a clicker seminar with Karen Pryor? I'd like you to go and come back to share all you learn 

ClickerExpo | Karen Pryor Clickertraining


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

No, it's too expensive for me. I signed up for a Daisy Peel K9 Conditioning and Body Awareness class instead.


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## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

I was thinking of getting or making a wobble board for Rusti and Jerry Lee. Is there a big difference in the doughnuts, wobble boards, and rockers?


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Yep- big difference between all three! The rocker is definitely the easiest of them all, and a good place (IMHO) to start if you've never done this kind of body awareness stuff. Here's the rocker board I made. 

The next step up would be a wobble board, shortly followed by a balance disk. They move in two dimensions so they are much harder than a rocker board. The wobble board has a plywood surface so the dog still has some stability under them.

The balance disk has no stable surface and is therefore harder than the wobble board. Once you get good, you can even start stacking balance disks. You can get a "giant" FitPaws balance disk, which I believe is 22" in diameter and easier than the smaller one. Once you have mastered the giant one, then you can go down to the smaller ones which vary from 14" down to perhaps 12".

The donut is probably the hardest I've seen, as it's a giant air cushion. In my opinion, it's equivalent to stacking three (or so) balance disks. That wouldn't be true (probably) for a much lighter dog, but with an adult GSD there's enough weight there to really make the donut challenging.

It should be noted that for our long bodied dogs, the donut should NOT be used for general conditioning where the dog is standing on all fours. The donut is too small and causes a rounded spine (dog's in compression). For this kind of work, you want a 80cm peanut.

Body awareness equipment is expensive. But it's (in my opinion) probably the most fun thing to teach! It's hard to beat the joy of asking your dog to jump up on some super crazy challenging thing and watch the dog execute it flawlessly. "Urban agility" is one of my most favorite things to do with Pimg!


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## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

Thanks. I'll have to look into the Balance disc because I hadn't heard of them. 



wildo said:


> Yep- big difference between all three! The rocker is definitely the easiest of them all, and a good place (IMHO) to start if you've never done this kind of body awareness stuff. Here's the rocker board I made.
> 
> The next step up would be a wobble board, shortly followed by a balance disk. They move in two dimensions so they are much harder than a rocker board. The wobble board has a plywood surface so the dog still has some stability under them.
> 
> ...


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Belinda- here's some links:

Rocker board- http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...nt-do-yourself-ideas-hints-3.html#post2018088
Wobble board- Gold's Gym Adjustable Core Balance Board: Exercise & Fitness : Walmart.com
Balance disk (large)- https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1394
Balance disk (regular)- Stretchwell, Inc. - Stretch-Disc 
Balance pods (for footwork)- Clean Run: FitPAWS Paw Pods
Donut- Clean Run: FitPAWS 65cm Donut
Peanut- Clean Run: FitPAWS Peanut Balls


The balance disks (regular) are the ones Susan Garrett uses. She gave us the link in the Contacts course. I have not personally used them, though they look nice and even with shipping are cheaper than most options. I have a gold's gym one from Walmart, and a couple other various ones from online.

[EDIT]- FitPaws travels to a lot of agility trials (the bigger ones at least). I all of my FitPaws equipment at trials for a reduced price AND no shipping, of course. That is most definitely the best route to go!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Very cool, I've never seen such a thing until I saw that mal video. Might have to look into trying something like this. My mal will balance and do spins on an upside down rubber tub that I bought awhile back for hind end awareness work, but I never thought of doing it on something like this. 

Is this something that you can do multiple exercises on, or is it basically strictly a balancing tool?


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## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

Thanks for all those links. Can Pimg really use the Gold's Gym wobble board from Walmart? I thought you would need a much larger one like 36".


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

She certainly can! 

This isn't the greatest video, and it's obvious we were just starting to learn the balance board, but this is all I have uploaded. I'll upload a better video tonight (working through lunch today). Check it out starting at 4:32


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Rerun said:


> Is this something that you can do multiple exercises on, or is it basically strictly a balancing tool?


You know, that's a really good question, Rerun. It came with a video, but the video is beyond disappointing. The video shows the use of the donut _exactly_ like the use of a peanut, only for much smaller dogs. For that reason, I don't really know of a lot of exercises to do on it, and that's really the reason it's been sitting unused.

In the end, you and I both realize that we're limited only by our own imagination. Apparently mine's pretty weak! lol!

I really wouldn't work compression on this since it's so small (I have an 80cm peanut I can use for general stabilization). I think the real advantage to the donut is that since it's such a tall column of air, it really collapses a lot under the weight of the dog. And for that reason, it's much much harder than a normal balance disk. I don't see any reason that you couldn't do anything you do on a normal balance disk on this.

I really do love training body awareness. Probably more than training anything else really. I'm hoping to learn many new fun exercises in the Daisy Peel class. I've been told it is phenomenal training, and that Bobby Lyons is just top notch for this kind of work.


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## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

Good girl Pimg!! That was great seeing her try to get on that wobble board. So far, most of the videos I've found on these things are small dogs. Would love to see what stuff you do for the peanut that you have. What size peanut did you end up getting? There is a dvd called "Get on the Ball" or something like that, have you seen it? I was wondering if it would be worth getting.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

kbella999 said:


> Good girl Pimg!! That was great seeing her try to get on that wobble board. So far, most of the videos I've found on these things are small dogs. Would love to see what stuff you do for the peanut that you have. What size peanut did you end up getting? There is a dvd called "Get on the Ball" or something like that, have you seen it? I was wondering if it would be worth getting.


Yes, I own "Get On the Ball 2" 

I bought an 80cm peanut (the biggest) and wouldn't recommend any size smaller for an adult GSD. Honestly, the stuff on the peanut isn't all that exciting. Doggie pushups (sit - down - stand, etc) are big. Just standing while being bounced works tons of stabilizer muscles and core. A really advanced exercise is for the dog to lay on their side, and then have them rise their head up and touch their hip with their nose. Sounds more complicated than it is. Basically just a "situp" but on your side- a sideways situp.  It's very fatiguing.

I'm hoping to get a lot more exercises from the Daisy Peel class.


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## christinaekenn (Jan 10, 2011)

really nice work from both of you!!! Pimg rocks!


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Belinda- here's some wobble board work


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