Canine Freestyle

[Redrum]

I have to say watching this entertainment is sheer genius....the patience and time that goes into training the dog takes true dedication...but what bothers me - dogs that can stand for periods on their hind legs does this not damage their spine in any way ? Dependent on the breed of course...surely its unnatural for a dog to stand on its hind legs ?

[fredpuli47]

The dog itself provides the answer. It won't do anything it doesn't like and nature stops it doing anything harmful in the way of exercise. As to it being natural, well, I can't think that wolves do it, but some breeds do it unprompted. Poodles are the star example. We've had miniature poodles that we've seen walking across a field on their hind legs. The reason was the grass was very long and they got up and didn't just stand but walked to see better ! Those were miniatures.Toy poodles do it. Standard poodles can, but don't do it as much (but then they're taller to start with!)

'Heelwork to music' and 'freestyle' dogs are usually border collies.They're a law unto themselves, but the same principles apply.

[lankeela]

The actual amount of time spent on their hind legs is minimal for HTM or Freestyle. Also most of the trainers do a lot of warming up and there are even 'sports seminars' for dog sports and veterinary conventions where they teach them how to warm up and train their dogs to get the best from them.

My dogs spend a lot of their time doing 'meerkat' impressions especially in long grass, and I have one who will stand on her hind legs and twirl around to get your attention.