First off, we had another check up with the physio last night and she's really pleased with Penny's progress - she said she has developed gluteal muscles now where she didn't have any before... Yay!? lol One thing I spoke about was the difficulty we have been having in getting her to stand with her hind feet on the balance cushion - she doesn't seem to have much awareness of her back end. One thing that Kelly (the physio) suggested was to get a couple of hair scrunchies and put them on her back legs just above her hocks. Apparently they exert a tiny about of pressure, just enough to make her aware of her back legs and can help improve hind limb awareness. You can buy special leg wraps for this also but figured i would try the scrunchie method and then if it works maybe buy a pair of the leg wraps. Apparently they use this method in some TTouch groundwork too to help calm an anxious dog. Now I don't usually put much stock in this airy fairy TTouch thing but if it has the added bonus of doing this for Penny then it can't hurt! Has anyone heard of this before? Anyone tried this before?
Re: Hind Limb Awareness I'm aware of people in sport doing this, in particular young people who are still growing often 'lost track' of their bodies. So glad Penny is doing well and I would really love to see pictures of her on her wobble board (particularly if she's wearing scrunchies!!).
Re: Hind Limb Awareness Coming in late, sounds like something dreadful happened to poor Penny, what was it?
Re: Hind Limb Awareness [quote author=gad link=topic=6009.msg77847#msg77847 date=1400236653] Coming in late, sounds like something dreadful happened to poor Penny, what was it? [/quote] Hi Gordon Nothing too bad thankfully, she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia about three months ago now do we've been having physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles around her hip joints to help hold it all together. Her hip sockets are not particularly malformed, but she has very loose hips that come at least 50% out of the socket when she moves. I will get some scrunchies tonight and see if I can get some pics!!
Re: Hind Limb Awareness Well done Lauren you've done a great job with Penny and good luck with the scrunchies x
Re: Hind Limb Awareness Glad to hear Penny is progressing with her physio Look forward to seeing the photos of her wearing her scrunchies
Re: Hind Limb Awareness I have heard of this method and have used it with barley when teaching certain things to him. It worked well, we used some velcro leg straps that we won that are supposed to be used for night walking as they are reflective, but they serve there purpose for hind limb awareness just as well. We especially used it when teaching him to use a ramp to go in and out of the car as he had no idea where his back legs were and would not walk up the ramp unless his back legs were placed on the ramp. It did have side rails but he usually straddled the ramp. we started with putting them on and walking along the ramp places on the floor, then walking backwards along the ramp then started just getting him to stand on the ramp. after this we moved the ramp to the back of the car and he was much better. we still use them now and then when we do walking backwards work and lifting hind legs just to make sure he knows that he has back legs. You can buy the proper ankle wraps from here: http://www.blackdog.net.au/index.php?route=product/product&path=89_59&product_id=69
Re: Hind Limb Awareness Useful tips! I get Charlie to stand on a wobbly cushion by getting him to walk backwards into a corner where I leave the wobbly cushion.
Re: Hind Limb Awareness That's a great idea from Julie! Let us know how the scrunchie excercise goes ,sometimes the simplest things can make a big difference Penny must be so much stronger now with the muscle improvement,well done ,really great to hear x
