Purpose: Quarter Sit- Rear Focus is a targeted strengthening exercise that focuses on the musculature in the rear feet. It can be used for general foot strengthening, along with more specific strengthening for postural deviations like Flat Feet, Rolling Off the Toe Pads, and Splayed Feet.
Equipment: 1 Sitting Platform and 1 Foot Target, or 2 Sitting Platforms
Targets: Deep & Superficial Digital Flexor, and Interossei in the rear feet.
NOTE: The muscles we are targeting in this exercise are very small, and if they’re weak, will quickly reach the fatigue point. It’s very important to watch your pup’s rear end to ensure the rear toes are loading, and the point of the hock is lifting slightly. This is the behavior we will mark, and reward. It’s important to recognize any change in behavior as fatigue, not disobedience.
Watchpoints:
- Make sure to use a completely stable surface that is non-slip. If your pup is sliding backward on the Sitting Platform, it’s very likely the challenge will shift out of the rear feet, and into shoulder muscles (latissimus and triceps). This will nullify the purpose of the exercise.
- We will use a combination of Placement of Reward and Handler Motion to cue / support the Quarter Sit behavior. Using Placement of Reward alone will likely be insufficient, so make sure your torso is moving. This is detailed in the video.
- I mark in the Quarter Sit position, but deliver the reward once the dog returns to the Sit. This prevents me from unintentionally rewarding the full transition to stand. Keep in mind your dog’s individual needs, and the parameters for your training system. This will not work for all dogs.
- DO NOT use a verbal Stand cue to initiate this behavior, as we do NOT want a full transition to Stand. Placement of Reward plus Handler Motion, and good marker timing should be enough to capture this behavior. (That said, if your training system is very verbal forward, of course you can add a verbal after the behavior is trained).
Troubleshooting: Dog’s familiar with the Posture Sit: Beginner exercise should find this transition relatively smooth. For dogs with a sloppy sit, revisiting the Introducing Platforms: Pre Foundation and / or Posture Sit: Beginner exercises might be helpful.
For dogs transitioning to the full Stand position, who cannot grasp the transition back to the Sit, consider marking and reversing the direction of your Handler Motion slightly early. This will help build clarity to the gross movement pattern, which we can refine once your pup is more fluent.
