# Pivoting (hind end awarness)



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Not sure if this is helpful, but I taught this exercise by first standing in front of the dog with a food lure, then moving to the side. This video may help illustrate that (note that the video recorded in mirror mode for some reason, therefore appears she is on the opposite side that she's actually on). 

Have you tried a food lure? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki6HC_Th1W0


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## KristaLynn (Mar 22, 2012)

Bah everyone's video is with a dog that already knows it! How did they get that dog to start moving!! 
If I stand in front and move she doesn't move until I'm right beside her and only in one direction, from the right she just gets off. 
She won't rotate around the book to stay in the front position.
I am using a lure but maybe I'm using it wrong because all she's doing is steping forward on the book to reach it.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Actually, that was Nova's first time doing this exercise. The only thing taught prior was to target the book with her front feet ("perch" cue). You want to lure the head around to the side, keeping the lure close to the body, and marking the instant you get rear end movement, even if it's tiny. 

Now, Nova was wicked smart, even by poodle standards, and had done other rear end awareness exercises, so she picked up very quickly. I'll try and do this with my puppy sometime this weekend and do another video for you. He's never learned pivot.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Here's a video that I made today. The ONLY thing we did prior to this video was a little work on getting him to target the bowl with his paw. He was not offering anything for me to work with, so I did some very time consuming shaping on that before filming this video. He had never been asked to pivot before. I'm simply using the food lure to bend his head around and his body follows. 

Also, I see what you meant when you said "already knew it" about the first video. Nova had been taught "pivot" and "counter" on the flat, moving from front position to "pivot into heel position" and then doing pivot/counter on the flat in heel position, but she was not doing very well with it and progress was slow. But technically, yes she did already have some understanding of those cues, just not in the context of the video. 

Anywho, here's Shooter's video from today.


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## KristaLynn (Mar 22, 2012)

YES!!! Thank you!!! That's what I needed to see, Shooter's doing much like what Jem's doing and in this video I could see the lure placement you're using. I was going the wrong way! Hello!! I can't wait to try again tonight now that I know what to do! Thank you!!


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