CC140 Aged to Perfection: Keeping Your Senior Fit in Mind and Body

The syllabus for CC140 (subject to re-arrangement or minor additions depending on gold and silver student needs):

Pre-Class Lectures

• Syllabus and Supplies
• Getting Started
• Marker Cues
• Luring for Precision
• Signs of Pain and Fatigue

Week 1

• Wellness Topic: Behavioral Diversity
• Enrichment Brain Game- Egg Carton Quick Search
• Fitness Conditioning- Front Paws Up, Still Positions (Sit, Down, Stand)
• Fitness Movement Puzzles Intro
• Cooperative Care- Assessment Positions

Week 2

• Wellness Topic: Posture, Traction and Confidence
• Enrichment Game: Cookie Trail
• Fitness Conditioning- Weight Shifting, Position Changes
• Fitness Movement Puzzles- Platform
• Cooperative Care - Friendly Foot Care Tactics

Week 3

• Wellness Topic: Mobility and Exercise
• Enrichment Brain Game- Knot Puzzle
• Fitness Conditioning- Backup. Cavaletti
• Fitness Movement Puzzles- Step Over
• Cooperative Care- Rear Foot Scratchboard

Week 4

• Wellness Topic: Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome
• Enrichment - Seeking Mindset & Bravery Game
• Fitness Conditioning- Pivots and Lateral Stepping
• Fitness Movement Puzzle- Narrow Spaces Puzzle
• Cooperative Care- Chin Rest

Week 5

• Wellness Topic: Vestibular Syndrome
• Encrichment: Sensory Challenge
• Fitness Conditioning: Flexibility and Balance in Motion
• Fitness Movement Puzzles: Noises & Textures
• Cooperative Care- Relaxed Restraint, Assembling Pieces

Week 6

• Wellness Topic: Choice & Agency
• Enrichment: Spaghetti Tree
• Fitness Conditioning- Circuit Square
• Fitness Movement Puzzles- Combination Puzzles
• Cooperative Care- Trained Eating

No previous skills are required. Training is based on food rewards so a reliable level of food motivation is required.

Supplies:

3-4 egg cartons

3 cones, toilet plungers or wingless jump standards (or objects of similar height)

Cavaletti poles with supports (4-6 poles will do!)

Stable front foot target

• No wobble
• Should be dewclaw height or lower
• Wide enough that dog can place both front feet on it comfortably- so at least shoulder width.
• Grippy
  • Ideas: Phone book with yoga mat taped to top surface
  • Foam mats stacked to appropriate height and taped
  • Rubber Feed Bowl

A platform large enough to sit on (A cato board works great for many dogs). You can also make your own out of foaml floor tiles and duct tape (instructions provided in the first week's lectures).

2 food bowls

Nail Clippers, Dremel and/or Scratch Board (I use a home made scratchboard which has gator grip taped on to one side of an old cutting board).

We'll also use some random household objects like pillows, cardboard boxes, or brooms! No need to specifically acquire such things in advance, we'll work with what you have on hand.

***A surface area with good traction for games and conditioning is a must (most can be done in a 6 foot x 6 foot space, with some exercises requiring about double that- all training spaces require good traction. Consider adding matting to slippery floors to create a safe training space if needed.

Balance Challenges via Weight Shifting

When we introduce balance challenges, we'll start on stable surfaces first. There are many functional ways to do this which create big results! Consider each one of these balance challenges as its own skill that you can work on individually in a stand- some are also appropriate to do in a sit.

For each of these exercises, you do want to start out with your dog in their ideal posture- facing forward. You may need to provide something to focus on visually if your position would distract from this forward head posture. We can't safely and effectively challenge balance if the dog is not balanced to begin with. And because these exercises increase the challenge, note that the number of repetitions that your dog can do will probably amount to less time than they are normally able to hold in a still stand, sit or down. Do watch for signs of fatigue!

Side to Side Weight shifting

Use slower and smoother hand movements than I am using at the start of this video- but the idea is that you'll feed your dog slightly to the right or left of their center line. When your dog's head moves from side to side, their weight shifts, and that is a balance challenge. Ideally you want to challenge them only enough that they can move their head, but do not need to move their feet to adjust.

Getting the weight shift with reward placement:

Front to Back Weight Shifting - head lifts

Weight shifts in a sit-

This clip demos reward placement side to side, and up and down. As with the stands, you need to be a little careful that you don't create movement out of position (lowering the treat too far may cause the dog to stand or lay down, for example)- we want pretty subtle weight shifts, not actual movement.

Manual Weight Shifts

In this exercise, we are challenging the dog's balance by putting a small amount of measured pressure against the dog. We are not trying to move them, but just feel that weight shift. For dogs who are very sensitive to pressure, you may need a very light touch. Having one hand on each side of the dog prevents them from thinking that we are trying to move them over. Start with very brief pressure, first to one side, then to the other. When your dog understands the exercise, you'll be able to feel them bracing against your hands- and you can even then hold the challenge for slightly longer. This exercise is excellent for building the stabilizing muscles and is very functional- when your dog gets bumped by you, another dog or a creature in their daily life, they will be experiencing balance challenges very similar to what we are doing here. I like to challenge at three points in the stand- shoulders, ribs, and hips.

Manual Weight shifts in a sit:

Single Leg Lifts- Stand

A pre-requisite for this exercise is that your dog is comfortable with you handling their feet. You can certainly incorporate the bucket game here to judge their comfort level and add that extra layer of consent history to foot handling. Lifting a leg causes the dog to shift their weight onto the remaining 3 legs- meaning that they are working harder. A slightly easier version than a human standing on one leg. Your goal is to just lift the foot enough that there is no weight on it, and keep it in a natural position- don't pull it out to the side, lift it high or out front/behind the dog or you will greatly increase the challenge. When your dog starts to get the idea of this exercise and can hold with a foot up for several seconds, the foot you are holding will start to feel weightless in your hand. Be sure to practice with each foot equally. Place each foot back down gently when it's turn is over (don't just suddenly let go).

Sit with leg lifts:

In the sit, you can only lift the front feet, for obvious reasons. You can either lift these as you did in the standing exercise or if your dog understands a paw-shake cue, you can use those! In this clip, Shelby demos her 'shake a paw' (right paw) and 'high 5' (left paw) using my hand as a target- and then I also show it where the cue just results in a leg lift without touching my hands for support.