Balancing a Big Berner Butt

Bosley needs to learn the dogwalk this spring.  Actually, he has done the dogwalk many times, and he loves it.  Bosley's issue with the dogwalk is that he runs across as fast as he can go (he thinks the dogwalk is fun) but his feet go every which way and he sometimes falls off.  Watching my 100 pound dog crash off the dogwalk nearly makes my heart stop.  It is for that reason that I have avoided having Bosley do the dogwalk.  Bosley will be ready to compete in agility soon, and so he needs to learn how not to fall off and I need to learn not to stress about him falling off (Bosley has the easier end of the deal).  I have been working on more rear-end awareness with Bosley.  We played this game lots when he was younger, so he knows the drill:  keep your front paws on the bucket and walk around the bucket by moving your back paws.

Now I am making the game more challenging for him.  Stand on the bucket with all four paws.

Turn in circles on top of the bucket, keeping all four paws on it.  Bosley is starting to get this game too.  These tight turns are difficult for him, but he is trying hard.  Right now he can only take a couple steps at a time, but it's a start.

To give a bit of perspective on how easy it is for Bosley to slip off the dogwalk, here is Bosley standing with all four feet on the bucket.  The bucket is about 14 inches in diameter; a dogwalk is 12" wide.  He needs to run across a board that is 2 inches narrower than the bucket he is standing on.