Good Citizen

As some of you know, Mom and I go to Obedience class every Thursday evening. We've been going over a year now, and her training is coming along pretty nicely. I have to say I'm pretty impressed. At her age, some would say 'you can't teach an old gal new tricks', but I'm here to say you're wrong. It might have taken a little longer...but that girl is finally gettin it.

Last night was a big night. Somthing we'd been workin up towards for quite a while. It was a special test...one to see whether or not she was a good citizen, worthy of bein seen out in public with me, disciplined enough not to act up and embarras me. I gotta say, she did me proud.

For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen® (CGC) Program is a program which evaluates your human to make sure he or she is a good citizen for you. It's called Canine Good Citizen, cuz you're the canine and they are the good citizen. It definitely takes teamwork.

Basically, its a list of 10 'tests' that your human has to go thru with you. If your human can perform all the tests appropriately, without gettin excited and jumping or pulling you on your leash, they pass. If they get overly excited, anxious, or try and bite the evaluator...then they fail. They have to pass all 10 tests in order to be considered a good citizen. Let me tell you, its not easy!

Before taking the Canine Good Citizen test, your human has to sign the Responsible Dog Owners Pledge. This basically states that they will be your slave forever, buy you lots of toyz & treats, feed you the best foodables they can, take you to the Betterinarian for regular checkups, and basically be at your beck & call for the rest of your life. Pretty sweet, huh!?!

After signing the Pledge, the humans and their canines (that's us!) are ready to take the CGC Test.

Items on the Canine Good Citizen Test include:

Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger
This test demonstrates that your canine will allow a friendly stranger to approach their human and speak to them in a natural, everyday situation. The evaluator walks up to the dog and handler and greets the handler in a friendly manner, ignoring the dog. The evaluator and handler shake hands and exchange pleasantries. The dog must show no sign of resentment or shyness, and must not break position or try to go to the evaluator. Your human must remain calm, cool and collected.

Mom did really good on this one. She was friendly & outgoing. I can tell all the socialization I did with her when she was younger has really paid off!

Test 2: Sitting politely for petting
This test demonstrates that the dog will allow a friendly stranger to touch it while it is out with its handler. With the dog sitting at the handler's side, to begin the exercise, the evaluator pets the dog on the head and body. The handler may talk to his or her dog throughout the exercise. The dog may stand in place as it is petted. The dog must not show shyness or resentment.

Mom was a little weird about this one. She didn't want to sit, and for sure wasn't gonna let a stranger pet her. I don't know why not, she lets them pet me all the time! Anyway, in order to help her along, I had to show her how it was done.

Test 3: Appearance and grooming
This practical test demonstrates that the dog will welcome being groomed and examined and will permit someone, such as a veterinarian, groomer or friend of the owner, to do so. It also demonstrates the owner's care, concern and sense of responsibility. The evaluator inspects the dog to determine if it is clean and groomed. The dog must appear to be in healthy condition (i.e., proper weight, clean, healthy and alert). The handler should supply the comb or brush commonly used on the dog. The evaluator then softly combs or brushes the dog, and in a natural manner, lightly examines the ears and gently picks up each front foot. It is not necessary for the dog to hold a specific position during the examination, and the handler may talk to the dog, praise it and give encouragement throughout.

This one was easy for Mom. She always tries to look her best...spends a LONG time in front of the mirror in the morning. Brushing her hair & primping. That's ok, I know she just wants to look good enough to be seen with me!

Test 4: Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead)
This test demonstrates that the handler is in control of the dog. The dog may be on either side of the handler. The dog's position should leave no doubt that the dog is attentive to the handler and is responding to the handler's movements and changes of direction. The dog need not be perfectly aligned with the handler and need not sit when the handler stops. The evaluator may use a pre-plotted course or may direct the handler/dog team by issuing instructions or commands. In either case, there should be a right turn, left turn, and an about turn with at least one stop in between and another at the end. The handler may talk to the dog along the way, praise the dog, or give commands in a normal tone of voice. The handler may sit the dog at the halts if desired.

This one was a piece of cake. Mom wasn't paying attention so much, so I had to intervene by constantly moving with her and making sure the leash was loose...but again, our teamwork paid off.

Test 5: Walking through a crowd
This test demonstrates that the dog can move about politely in pedestrian traffic and is under control in public places. The dog and handler walk around and pass close to several people (at least three). The dog may show some interest in the strangers but should continue to walk with the handler, without evidence of over-exuberance, shyness or resentment. The handler may talk to the dog and encourage or praise the dog throughout the test. The dog should not jump on people in the crowd or strain on the leash.

This one was similar to test 4. I really had to stay on top of Mom...she kept trying to stop and make small talk with the other humans. I kept right close to her though and made sure she didn't stop and get us into trouble!

Test 6: Sit and down on command and Staying in place
This test demonstrates that the dog has training, will respond to the handler's commands to sit and down and will remain in the place commanded by the handler (sit or down position, whichever the handler prefers). The dog must do sit AND down on command, then the owner chooses the position for leaving the dog in the stay. Prior to this test, the dog's leash is replaced with a line 20 feet long. The handler may take a reasonable amount of time and use more than one command to get the dog to sit and then down. The evaluator must determine if the dog has responded to the handler's commands. The handler may not force the dog into position but may touch the dog to offer gentle guidance. When instructed by the evaluator, the handler tells the dog to stay and walks forward the length of the line, turns and returns to the dog at a natural pace. The dog must remain in the place in which it was left (it may change position) until the evaluator instructs the handler to release the dog. The dog may be released from the front or the side.

Another tough one for Mom. She kept complaining about having to sit or lie down on the grass. Something about getting dirty (see test #3 and you'll probably figure it out). So, instead I had to show her how it was done. A quick sit, and a quick down and this portion of the test was a piece of cake!

Test 7: Coming when called
This test demonstrates that the dog will come when called by the handler. The handler will walk 10 feet from the dog, turn to face the dog, and call the dog. The handler may use encouragement to get the dog to come. Handlers may choose to tell dogs to "stay" or "wait" or they may simply walk away, giving no instructions to the dog.

oh geez. This one was pretty bad. I heard the word "come", and Mom just stood there. I swear, she looked like a deer in headlights. So, who saved the day? Yep...me again. I quickly ran to her and sat right in front...hoping the judge wouldn't notice our mistake. It musta been our lucky day!!

Test 8: Reaction to another dog
This test demonstrates that the dog can behave politely around other dogs. Two handlers and their dogs approach each other from a distance of about 20 feet, stop, shake hands and exchange pleasantries, and continue on for about 10 feet. The dogs should show no more than casual interest in each other. Neither dog should go to the other dog or its handler.

This was another tough one for Mom. Usually when she sees another dog, all she wants to do is go pet it and love-on it. I had to be strict and keep reminding her we were there to do a job, not play around and get puppy kisses!

Test 9: Reaction to distraction
This test demonstrates that the dog is confident at all times when faced with common distracting situations. The evaluator will select and present two distractions. Examples of distractions include dropping a chair, rolling a crate dolly past the dog, having a jogger run in front of the dog, or dropping a crutch or cane. The dog may express natural interest and curiosity and/or may appear slightly startled but should not panic, try to run away, show aggressiveness, or bark. The handler may talk to the dog and encourage or praise it throughout the exercise.

Oh gosh, Mom can be such a wimp sometimes. And other times she's super brave. Luckily today she was brave and when the evaluator dropped the chair, she hardly even fllinched. It was nice to see her so confident! I'm pretty sure its cuz she had me by her side to protect her if need be

Test 10: Supervised separation
This test demonstrates that a dog can be left with a trusted person, if necessary, and will maintain training and good manners. Evaluators are encouraged to say something like, "Would you like me to watch your dog?" and then take hold of the dog's leash. The owner will go out of sight for three minutes. The dog does not have to stay in position but should not continually bark, whine, or pace unnecessarily, or show anything stronger than mild agitation or nervousness. Evaluators may talk to the dog but should not engage in excessive talking, petting, or management attempts (e.g, "there, there, it's alright").

This was the one I was worried about the most. Mom just doesn't do well when I am not with her. She gets anxious and peeks around the corner the entire time...and when the time is up and she comes back to me, she always wants to run up as fast as she can. Not very civilized, I can tell you that much. Last night she did good though. I didn't see her peek around the corner once, and as she walked back to me I could tell she was tryin to go slowly and take her time cuz I could hear her repeating softly to herself "stay there...that's good...stay....stay....". She looked a little crazy talking to herself like that, but hey...whatever works, right!?!

When we got our final results, Mom was pretty excited. WE PASSED!! They gave us a nice big magnet (for the car, I think?!?) and now we just have to send in our results and wait for the certificate. That means we are that much closer to our next goal...getting our Therapy Dog certification!