Paw on arm while pushing?

[Indy]

Indy has been doing good with pushing, but he has started to put his paw on top of my left arm-- I think to help keep his balance. I haven't seen any other dogs do this in the pushing examples I've seen, so I was wondering if this is significant or just a quirk? Prior to pushing, he would jump up on me, I would walk backwards, and he would work to keep his paws on my chest. So he's used to jumping up higher, but should I try keeping my food hand a little lower?

[Lee Charles Kelley]

Originally Posted by Indy

Indy has been doing good with pushing, but he has started to put his paw on top of my left arm-- I think to help keep his balance. I haven't seen any other dogs do this in the pushing examples I've seen, so I was wondering if this is significant or just a quirk? Prior to pushing, he would jump up on me, I would walk backwards, and he would work to keep his paws on my chest. So he's used to jumping up higher, but should I try keeping my food hand a little lower?

If you want my perspective, the only drawback I see to Indy's paw coming up like that would be if it prevents him from pushing as hard as he can. The harder he pushes, the better. I think you may be right, that the paw being up is a carryover from doing the "up while backpedaling" exercise.

LCK

[neilsattin]

that's true - remember that you have control over where the pushing happens with the position of your body and your hands.

If you felt like posting a video (or sending me a clip), I'd be happy to evaluate what's going on further...

[Henry]

Henry does that too. I think he does it to keep his balance, which I guess means he isn't pushing into me hard enough. I hadn't thought of that. I'm going to also try to post a video so I can get Lee and Neil's feedback.