I got Jackson out for about an hour. We
started with liberty work, moved to lunge
work, and then ended with liberty. At
liberty, I just worked on companion leading
and messing around.
With the lunge work, I focused on
endotapping him to try to get him to one of
two things: 1) Lift the base of his neck, 2)
reach his hindlegs farther underneath him. I
worked almost entirely at the trot as it is
easier for me to see. I began lunging him to
the left. I would tap him in rhythm with his
inside front leg. Just as it was beginning
to lift up, I would tap his belly once. I
would continue this until I saw his neck
“telescope” down (not all the way to the
ground) and the base of the neck lift up.
One of the ways I was able to tell was the
long muscle along his neck would really
stand out.
Doing it this way, there is virtually no
pressure on his head and therefore, no
outside resistance that he can push against.
When he does this, he trot gets much bigger
and his strides longer (or at least that is
what it looks like to me.
When ever I see him offer to lift the base
of his neck and hold it for a few seconds, I
click and reward. Since I do this, I see him
offer it on his own. Very neat!
I would also endotap him to see if I can get
him to reach farther under himself with his
inside hind leg. I am still experimenting
with this.
