CGC test

Babyblue5290

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#1
So since Art's CGC test is coming up soon, I just wanted to hear some other experiences with it.

What was the hardest part for your dog, if there was one?

Did you pass or fail the first time you took it?

If you failed, what part?

Do you complete the entire test if you fail one part, or does it end there?

Also, did you retake it later?


Any helpful hints or suggestions? :D



I went through and marked all ten parts of the test that I know he will pass with a 'P' and the parts I know we will struggle with, need more work on, with a 'F.' It looks like out of the 10 parts, I am almost 100% sure he will pass 7 of the tests pretty easily.

Number 9, the distraction test, I'm pretty sure he will pass it, but with that one there could be the possibility of a failure. So far in class he's done great. They've dropped things that made loud noises and he just looked at it, they did the wheelchair with a dummy in it and he was curious/interested, but didn't show any aggression/fear. But, if they throw something completely wacky in there, there is the possibility he may bark a bit, so we will see on that one.

The other two, Number 3:Appearance and Grooming, and Number 10: supervised seperation, I'm worried about and am working on still.

In class last week was the first time he was a real butt about the seperation. He cried and whined and barked the entire time. >_< It was embarrassing! lol

So we are working on it, and inside he can be tied to the bed for about 5 mins wihtout a peep. He's learned a new cue, "relax." That's what we are teaching him to just lay down and wait for us to come back. That seems to be working, tomorrow we are going to try it outside, then at petsmart!

The grooming one is a bit hard. He will let them touch ears, body, brush him etc, but he pulls back with the feet especially the left foot.
 

Laurelin

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#2
What was the hardest part for your dog, if there was one?
Supervised separation.

Did you pass or fail the first time you took it?
Passed

Do you complete the entire test if you fail one part, or does it end there?
When I was tested everyone finished the test regardless.

Also, did you retake it later?

A lot depends on the person giving your test. Mia's supervised separation was almost a fail. Overall it's pretty simple. If Mia can pass, I am sure Art can pass!
 

Southpaw

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#3
Juno took it 3 times! First 2 times she failed the supervised separation, which is honestly the part I was LEAST worried about. The first time it was late at night and she was tired, so she tried climbing in the guy's lap to snuggle as he was sitting in a chair lol. The 2nd time she failed because she whined during the whole thing (which ticked me off - Juno whines all the time. She's vocal. It wasn't because of the separation).

I was most worried about the leash walking portions, because she gets a little excited in new places, plus she was still a puppy when she took it the first 2 times. And her dog reactivity made me really concerned about having to "greet handler and dog".

But overall she did pretty good, and when she finally passed it was with flying colors! She was a rockstar. I think usually if you fail on just one part, depending on the evaluator they'll let you try that part again and see if you can pass.

I think the best piece of advice about the supervised separation is to treat it like an out of sight stay. If you train those and he does well on them... that will make the test easier. Otherwise it is super weird for dogs: we hand them to a strange person, we leave, and then they just stand there with that strange person. They don't know what to do and so are left to their own devices a bit to do whatever they want! When I put Juno in a sit/stay for that test, she sat there nice and quiet until I came back to release her. Miracle!
 

momto8

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#4
Courtney just took hers a few weeks ago. And if an Ibizan Hound can pass it any dog can lol!

The hardest part for her was the 20ft stay. She was a little spooked because it was at a very busy show. And since my son ended up taking 1st in the sanction match with her, we went straight from the confirmation ring to the CGC ring. But when i told her to stay she did :)

She passed her test.
 

DJEtzel

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#5
Frag took and passed the test last spring.

He had some aggression issues growing up so the supervised separation, grooming, and meeting a friendly stranger were the "hardest" for us, but the atmosphere was very relaxed and he did fantastic. If he can pass, Art can pass!
 

CatStina

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#6
What was the hardest part for your dog, if there was one?
The toughest part, really, was the venue! The test took place at the same venue where Saxon's weight pull classes take place! So the moment we walked in the door, he was beyond excited!

Did you pass or fail the first time you took it?
We failed our first try, but will be taking it again soon!

If you failed, what part?
We failed two parts. Loose leash walk and walking near an other dog. We passed 8 out of 10.

Do you complete the entire test if you fail one part, or does it end there?
We had to finish the test.

Also, did you retake it later?
We are taking it again, soon!

Any helpful hints or suggestions? :D
Don't worry too much! The woman who administered our test told us, "Try not to think of it as a test, think of it as an assessment of what you need to work on with your dog."
 

Finkie_Mom

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#7
What was the hardest part for your dog, if there was one?
Pentti - Stay/wait

Kimma - Walking by another dog

Did you pass or fail the first time you took it?
Passed with both on the first try (shockingly!). Pentti, however, failed his TDI test the first time we tried it, which was about 3 months after he passed his CGC test.

If you failed, what part?
When Pentti first did the TDI test, he failed the passing by another dog immediately. Which I was TOTALLY not worried about! I enrolled us in some obedience classes to get him used to working and focusing on me with lots of dogs around (we had never been in one before - I did the CGC training on my own with him), and we passed it easily the second time around.

Do you complete the entire test if you fail one part, or does it end there?
With the TDI test since it was just with one evaluator and we were the only ones doing it, we just stopped there.

Also, did you retake it later?
Yes, we did retake it.

Any helpful hints or suggestions? :D
RELAX. In any venue when I'm nervous, the dogs just know. They make mistakes I never thought they would, which in turn makes me even more flustered. Failing really isn't a bad thing - it's just a way of seeing what you could work on with your dog more. And since everything is pretty relevant to real life (to me anyway), I feel as though it's worth training it all regardless.
 

Saeleofu

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#8
Both my dogs passed it on the first go. For Gavroche that was around 9 months after I got him, and for Logan it was 2 weeks after I got him. For both of them, supervised separation was the hardest. Or rather, for ME it was the hardest :rofl1:

When I tested my dogs, all dogs finished the test even if it was obvious they failed early on. It's good experience either way, and you also get to know which areas need work and which areas are good. The only time I thin they make you leave is if your dog shows aggression towards people or other dogs. In that case it's a liability to keep your dog around when it's clearly too stressful for them.

No one ever said you can't smear your hands with hot dogs before you enter the building. :cool:
 

Oko

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#9
No one ever said you can't smear your hands with hot dogs before you enter the building. :cool:
I know of someone who sang to their dog for the entire duration of the loose leash walking. The dog was so weirded out it paid attention to her the whole time and passed. :rofl1:
 

Saeleofu

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#10
I know of someone who sang to their dog for the entire duration of the loose leash walking. The dog was so weirded out it paid attention to her the whole time and passed. :rofl1:
Oh yes, you can talk, clap your hands...sing...whatever. So if it helps your dog, DO IT :D
 

CatStina

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#11
I know of someone who sang to their dog for the entire duration of the loose leash walking. The dog was so weirded out it paid attention to her the whole time and passed. :rofl1:
Hahaha!! Too funny! Maybe I'll have to try that one!
 

Brattina88

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#12
What was the hardest part for your dog, if there was one?
The hardest part for Bailey was the reacting appropriately to distractions, rather I was really worried about it because she can be flighty. So we over-prepared for it, and it wasn't necessary. I was worried they'd open/drop an umbrella but they just dropped some dog bowls and she barely flicked an ear.

For Maddie I can't really think of one... Maybe the separation, but I knew she'd do fine :)

Did you pass or fail the first time you took it?
Both passed the first time. I waited to test Bailey, but looking back it probably wasn't necessary.


Do you complete the entire test if you fail one part, or does it end there?
There were two dogs there that I knew didn't pass a part, but they continued on. I think that's a good idea, so you know what needs to be worked on ;)


Any helpful hints or suggestions?
Relax! :D I practiced and practiced and over-analyzed it so they were flawless.... And it soooooo wasn't necessary :rofl1: it's much more laid back than I expected. I wanted a perfect heel and eye contact through it, and other dogs passed much more loose and not as attentive as my two were :p lol
 

Flyinsbt

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#13
My old girl, Tully, sang a sad song of woe during the supervised separation. (she wasn't my old girl then, she was not much more than a pup). She passed anyway, but she really shouldn't have, the tester was being over-lenient.
 

CatStina

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My old girl, Tully, sang a sad song of woe during the supervised separation. (she wasn't my old girl then, she was not much more than a pup). She passed anyway, but she really shouldn't have, the tester was being over-lenient.
Saxon lamented rather loudly during the separation, as well. The evaluator passed us for that part of the test, though. I think as long as they aren't pulling like crazy to get to you or aggressing at the evaluator, they will pass that part.
 

SpringerLover

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#15
My dogs took it (and passed) in 2003.

I don't remember anything about it other than that they also got microchips that day, too! ;)
 

Saeleofu

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Saxon lamented rather loudly during the separation, as well. The evaluator passed us for that part of the test, though. I think as long as they aren't pulling like crazy to get to you or aggressing at the evaluator, they will pass that part.
Logan barked once or twice during that part because OMFG THERE'S ANOTHER COLLIE!!1!!11!1!!
 

DenoLo

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#17
What was the hardest part for your dog, if there was one?

Did you pass or fail the first time you took it?
Lo was going through a "reactive to big dogs" phase at the time we took it, so the hardest part for us was walking by big dogs without barking at them. (We took the test at Petsmart). We passed pretty easily, the only big dog she barked a little at was a puppy who had escaped his leash and was running around like a maniac, so the tester didn't count that against us.
 
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#18
The hardest part for Tempie was grooming....because she just had to slip in a kiss. The evaluator passed her anyhow, though. Boone didn't really have a hard time with any of it.

Both passed on the first attempt. The people that did Tempie's test were way more strict than the ones that did Boone's. I actually liked that better because I felt like it meant more, but they weren't vicious or anything. Like I said, they passed Tempie despite her slurping the evaluator's face.

Like Sael said, the only person that didn't finish was a woman during Tempie's test that had an aggressive dog. Other than that, if someone failed part of it, they just continued on to the next part to see how their dog did on that one.
 

RottenFlower

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#19
Zellie & Clyde both passed theirs on the first go 'round.

Clyde should not have passed the supervised separation, IMO, but he did so who am I to complain.

I became a CGC evaluator a few years ago, and I much less lenient than our trainer/evaluator was. :lol-sign:
 

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