Here's a question for Sara and Dex, how often would you work on the stalls?
I tend to do short sessions (one or two minutes) but I also like to do a lot during the day, especially when I get going. So I end up doing 1-2 minutes 5-6 times a day. Is that too many?
ETA: Wanted to add that I've gone back to having them step on my feet from the bed. Mainly to build the strength in both of us without the shock of the mounting. This way we can all just become comfortable with them up there but they understand the point of getting on my feet from the previous work.
Especially Traveler since I really have a hard time supporting his weight, I wish he would lay down like Cohen.
I tend to do footstalls maybe once or twice a day, but not every day. Just for a couple minutes each session.
I think that's a good idea to go back to building your strength as well. Even once your dog has learned to balance, they still move around quite a bit and you still have to have the strength to maintain your leg position when they are adjusting their position. If you watch any videos of Zuma's footstall, very rarely does she land and stay completely still. There is a lot of weight shifting going on that makes or breaks the footstall depending on if I can compensate for it or not.
That's interesting, I was planning on asking how you might incorporate a foot stall into a routine since I think it'd look awkward at best and embarrassing at worst trying to get down into position during a routine. Starting with a stall/beg or stand may be a viable idea, but I'd love to see some videos (or just describe) about how the move can be incorporated into a routine.
I'll video Zuma's footstall sequence when I get a chance. Basically I do a sequence where I'm on the ground already, throw and outthrow so I have time to get into position and everyone is watching her, and then ask for it when she's returning to me.
I can say though that our first couple of routines, she botched it and it was incredibly awkward because we had 3 failed footstalls before I gave up.
We've worked a ton on collection and the loading part of it now, and she will stick the landing 9 out of 10 times from a run.
Here's a video of Angela and Rally, they start with a footstall:
[YOUTUBE]E50EtbnwjJU[/YOUTUBE]