Before advancing to this exercise, your dog should be able comfortably perform 3 leg standing.
Start with your dog square, on a non-slip surface. Begin by lifting your dogs front foot until they’re comfortable and have shifted their weight appropriately, then pick up their diagonally opposite hind leg. RIGHT FORE – LEFT HIND for example. We want your dog to willingly give the paw, to do so, you can gradually tickle the bottom of the foot, or curl their toes under until they lift the weight off their paw and give it to you. You don’t want any weight through your hands when you lift up the paw, fold over the digits to prevent them leaning and wiggle the toes to prevent them from putting weight through.
Be sure that your dog can perform this in a calm and controlled manner. They may initially only be able to hold this for a split second – and this is OK – and it is important that you safely place their paws back down in the OPPOSITE way to picking them up – put the HIND foot down followed by the FRONT foot. The aim is to slowly build up duration and repetitions. Be sure to follow the advice of your therapist for these guidelines.