Let's try something new!
- Aug 18, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 24, 2025
One of the things that are most important for me is the well-being of my dogs! Not just mentally but also physically! I want my dogs to be in good condition; fit, aware, and confident about all the things they can do with their bodies!
That’s why I work with a physiotherapist to ensure we make the best progress in that area! So, I waited for Seraphina to be old enough and able to concentrate for long enough. Finally, I took her to a session!
It was not easy at first because Seraphina was very excited about the whole meeting! She is not used to working with someone who is not me, but we managed to understand what our next steps should be! We worked on transitions from sit to stand with two different variations.
In these types of sessions, it’s not just about the dog. It’s more about me understanding what I need to work on! Physical skills are not something a dog can learn in just two minutes. It was also great for us to train in a more crowded environment. Even though we were in a separate room, many dogs and people walked in and out of the centre. Seraphina could see, smell, and hear all of them – and her reactions were GREAT! 😊
I decided not to cut the video, even though it is quite long. I think you can also watch how I handled the environment with all the distractions happening – training for tricks, sequences, and even waiting nicely for a short time!
After my physiotherapist checked her bones, we confirmed that everything looks good – and we’re CLEAR! For that check-up, we used a fast-paced reward system to keep her calm while she was being touched.
I was really proud of the little girl for how she handled everything that morning! After the session, I took her for a walk in the area of the clinic before heading back home.
During the walk, I also took some time to play a bit with a toy in a new environment and get some work done on her retrieval! 😉
The next morning, I took her for a walk in a new place we hadn’t explored yet, not too far from our home. I tried to work with her a bit – she was SOOOO good! She ignored the environment and was totally into the session!
By the afternoon, I did an interesting training with her. We started with sideways steps! I used a high surface and the front position. It was our first time working on this, so I wanted to keep the session really short to introduce her to the option. I noticed that walking to the right was easier than walking to the left, which frustrated her a bit. So, after a short time, I decided to switch to something a bit more dynamic.
Afterwards, I placed two platforms to work on the homework we got the previous day. It was super messy! I was trying to be creative during the session, but looking back, I should have worked on it for fewer repetitions and shorter time frames. She really doesn’t understand it yet, and I don’t want to frustrate her or make her feel incapable.
The final thing we did for that session was a delayed reward with the toy, and it went super well! I was really proud of the progress she is making! Working with delayed rewards is super important in dog dance. She needs to learn to wait for the reward and enjoy the actual training before getting the physical reward. In this training, we had two different difficulties:
Toy on the ground – ignoring it and waiting for approval.
Toy high above her – forgetting about the toy and coming for social reward before we go get the toy together.
I also used some throws to reinforce the good work she has done. When she did something less than perfect, I made it clear that she is on the way and that I believe in her!
The next morning, I took her again to another unfamiliar environment to keep improving on the distractions work with some basic stuff. She was great, even though it was much noisier than the day before!
Later, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I knew my boyfriend would come back. I worked on her reaction to unexpected disturbances, whether good or bad. She almost lost me, but then she came back, and I was so happy about it!
The last thing we did that Friday was to head over to my student and friend who also owns Seraphina’s granddad, Rave! She was excited about meeting people she loves and even more excited about running around with Rave!
We also took some photos of her that afternoon, but unfortunately, I don’t have videos from that, so you’ll have to just enjoy this beautiful photo! 😂
When we headed back home, the little girl slept all through the drive and kept sleeping for the entire night!
Every moment spent with Seraphina is a treasure! The bond we are building through dog dance is incredible! I can't wait to see how much more we can achieve together!