# How teach my pup to stand on hind legs?



## jagabombs (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi all, i would like to know the best way to get my 6mth old gsd to stand on her hind legs, she has all the basics down  thanks


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Wally just did it. I held up something he likes and he kept looking at it and then stood up trying to reach it. 

When he did that - I praised and gave him whatever it was (don't remember - it could have been basically any food-smelling thing )

Then, being the "it worked so I'm going to do it all the time now" kind of dog he did - he just did it whenever it looked like I had something tasty in my hand. 

Once he did that, I started putting the cue on it (I say "up!", and since it was basically luring and capturing it has a built in hand signal) and then rewarding him only when he did it after I said "up!" or did the hand signal.

Kept that up and he got it.

Hope it helps.


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## jagabombs (Sep 18, 2009)

good work  how hard do you think it would be to get my pup to stand up on her hind legs and stay up in the one spot for a number of seconds, is that what you have done? as to have her free standing without any help


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

That will take a while (the standing at one spot thing). At first, they'll just stand for maybe a second or two, or even only manage to jump. As the dog matures, they gain more ability to balance on their hind legs. My pup only recently managed to do this (he turns 7 months in a couple of days), but he's a toy breed, so it might take your pup a little longer for her muscles/balance to develop. But yeah, just hold a piece of treat higher than she can reach. You might want to let her smell what's in your hand first, and then hold it high up. She'll stand to try and grab it. Just say "stand up!" or "up!" whenever you do it, and she'll soon learn what "Stand up" means.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

i try to avoid tricks like that with dogs who are prone to hip dysplasia...


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

This is somewhat related to what the previous poster mentioned. Dogs with possiblity of hip or back issues (or long bodied, large breed dogs) should not be trained to do something that does not "come naturally" to them on their own without an okay from a veterinarian or even better a sports/ortho vet. Standing up on their hind legs unsupported is not a natural position for quadrapeds so it is very important to consider the health and physical CONDITIONING of the dog. Even dogs that are taught agility or protection work which involves jumping over things are taught slowly, as mature dogs, and are very carefully conditioned to do it correctly so as not to cause wear and tear on the joints and muscles.

If your pup offers the behaviour on it's own and you just want to capture and extend the duration of the behaviour that is one thing, teaching a dog who doesn't come by it naturally is another. Dogs will do on their own what "feels right" for their own bodies, but are often willing to contort themselves for US and end up doing damage.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

jagabombs said:


> good work  how hard do you think it would be to get my pup to stand up on her hind legs and stay up in the one spot for a number of seconds, is that what you have done? as to have her free standing without any help


Just have to build up over time.

Longest Wally's been able to do it is about 30-40 seconds with out moving around too much (he takes a step to balance and has learned to stretch out his paws or bark while doing it. Heck, he can even walk and run on his hind feet.)

Start with short durations and then if you notice he's handling it without problem, go a little longer, etc.

It'll be an adjustment for him at first.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Cracker said:


> If your pup offers the behaviour on it's own and you just want to capture and extend the duration of the behaviour that is one thing, teaching a dog who doesn't come by it naturally is another. Dogs will do on their own what "feels right" for their own bodies, but are often willing to contort themselves for US and end up doing damage.


Cotons are known for standing on their hind legs (evidently, they did it on their own without being "trained" to do so). If that's the case, I don't think I'm hurting Wally by doing it. I know what his "pain whine" sounds like and I don't hear it even faintly, nor does he hesitate or resist doing it.

He doesn't have a long body and is 12 lb so not large.

BTW, what actions don't "come naturally" to a dog? Don't most "tricks" take what dogs do naturally and extend it?


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## jagabombs (Sep 18, 2009)

Considering the hip dyplacia factor im not gonna take the trick any further than asking her to jump up the occasional time, thanks


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

KBLover said:


> Cotons are known for standing on their hind legs (evidently, they did it on their own without being "trained" to do so). If that's the case, I don't think I'm hurting Wally by doing it. I know what his "pain whine" sounds like and I don't hear it even faintly, nor does he hesitate or resist doing it.
> 
> He doesn't have a long body and is 12 lb so not large.
> 
> BTW, what actions don't "come naturally" to a dog? Don't most "tricks" take what dogs do naturally and extend it?


The OP has a GSD pup, long body, a breed known for hip and lower back issues, so this has to be taken into consideration. A small dog who already is comfortable standing on the hind legs is "taking what dogs do naturally" and extending it. All dogs CAN stand SUPPORTED on their hind legs, but if you wanted to teach an extended, unsupported stand it would require conditioning. Think of it like the difference between two children learning gymnastics...one child is compact (petite and sturdy) and the other is tall and gangly..which one is going to find it easier to learn the skill and less likely to injure themselves in the long term? Doesn't mean the gangly one can't learn how to do a cartwheel or a back flip, but that simple physics make it harder. With proper conditioning and support they may actually get pretty good at it, but she's not going to be a world class gymnast.

It's like with teaching flying disk work.. with a proper throw a dog will often jump or twist in a way that is "normal" for the individual dog's physicality. Sometimes an owner/trainer will want to "adjust" the jump by throwing the disk in a different way without realizing he/she may be causing the dog to do a movement that may cause strain or injury. Dogs compensate for weaknesses (as do we if we have a sore leg or something...) and in compensating they can injure other parts of their body. Since our dogs cannot verbalize that "that feels uncomfortable" and are willing to do pretty much anything for the right reward it is up to us to gauge what is too much and many folks don't think of it until their dog comes up lame.

True athletes (properly coached) work up to advanced skills not just by practicing THAT skill but by conditioning their body to be ABLE to do it through other work (stretching, strength work, plyometrics etc).


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Cracker said:


> The OP has a GSD pup, long body, a breed known for hip and lower back issues, so this has to be taken into consideration. A small dog who already is comfortable standing on the hind legs is "taking what dogs do naturally" and extending it. All dogs CAN stand SUPPORTED on their hind legs, but if you wanted to teach an extended, unsupported stand it would require conditioning. Think of it like the difference between two children learning gymnastics...one child is compact (petite and sturdy) and the other is tall and gangly..which one is going to find it easier to learn the skill and less likely to injure themselves in the long term? Doesn't mean the gangly one can't learn how to do a cartwheel or a back flip, but that simple physics make it harder. With proper conditioning and support they may actually get pretty good at it, but she's not going to be a world class gymnast.
> 
> It's like with teaching flying disk work.. with a proper throw a dog will often jump or twist in a way that is "normal" for the individual dog's physicality. Sometimes an owner/trainer will want to "adjust" the jump by throwing the disk in a different way without realizing he/she may be causing the dog to do a movement that may cause strain or injury. Dogs compensate for weaknesses (as do we if we have a sore leg or something...) and in compensating they can injure other parts of their body. Since our dogs cannot verbalize that "that feels uncomfortable" and are willing to do pretty much anything for the right reward it is up to us to gauge what is too much and many folks don't think of it until their dog comes up lame.
> 
> True athletes (properly coached) work up to advanced skills not just by practicing THAT skill but by conditioning their body to be ABLE to do it through other work (stretching, strength work, plyometrics etc).



Interesting - I guess I never thought about it because I see dogs jumping up all the time from like a standing all fours to (what looks like) jumping off their back legs on their own (to get at their owner's faces or such). Now that's probably something that needs to be controlled, but when I see it I probably just figured it's what that dog/a dog does if given the chance - but I never do see a GSD or that big, gentle, "I don't realize how BIG I am when I tackle you" Newfie do it, now that I think about it, but have seen other "medium" sized dogs do that.

As far conditioning goes, I'm intrigued. Is there a way to do a canine version of strength training? Or stretching - that has be intrigued as well. (and I had to look up plyometrics lol) 

While I don't plan on making Wally into a professional canine athlete, I do want him to have a strong, conditioned body - I figure it has the same health and injury avoidance/recovery benefits it does in humans.

However, are we limited to what nature (genes, body) gives us by breed type? Or can we improve upon it - but the limits are set by nature and individual dogs? I think I'll start my own thread and not hijack this one.


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## DogsforMe (Mar 11, 2007)

I would NOT do any tricks that involve standing on hind legs, begging, jumping, weaving or crawling until they are 12 months old. Their bones & joints are forming & growing & you don't want to damage the growth plates. My border collie used to jump on & off things as a puppy all the time, it was all I could do to stop her. It's ok for them to do these things on their own but they should never be FORCED to do them.

Another consideration is to think how old you dog will be when you have it spay/neutered. This link made up my mind to wait until my dog had her 1st heat b4 spaying.
http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html


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## mrslloyd09 (Jul 12, 2009)

Mandie is long bodied (the dachshund in her) and she does this all the time, even if we're not offering her a treat. We have added a cue to it (sit pretty) but if she hadn't come to us doing that all the time, it's not something I would have taught her, because I do worry about her back. She'd hold the sit pretty for a long time too, if I let her. It's not something I will be teaching Melodie either because I don't think her little frame can support it well.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

KBLover said:


> As far conditioning goes, I'm intrigued. Is there a way to do a canine version of strength training? Or stretching - that has be intrigued as well. (and I had to look up plyometrics lol)
> 
> While I don't plan on making Wally into a professional canine athlete, I do want him to have a strong, conditioned body - I figure it has the same health and injury avoidance/recovery benefits it does in humans.
> 
> However, are we limited to what nature (genes, body) gives us by breed type? Or can we improve upon it - but the limits are set by nature and individual dogs? I think I'll start my own thread and not hijack this one.


Yes, we (and our dogs) are somewhat limited by our physicality. I could never be a true point guard (too big, not fast enough) but made a helluva power forward or swing player and Basset hounds are not going to be high jumpers in the agility ring. LOL.

There are lots of good books on dogwise.com about stretching, strength training for the "canine athlete" etc. I checked for videos on youtube but I'm not very good at the search function (no patience!). 

If you want to have an active dog life, condititoning etc can be very helpful in preventing injuries and keeping your dog's joints and ligaments working the way they should. We all have heard of the weekend warrior syndrome, people who only ever play their chosen sport once a week, with no conditioning and then wonder why they hurt so much so often. Same concept.

LOL about the plyometrics, I used to coach basketball so the terms stuck with me...it's all about power!


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