9 out of 10 on CGC

[SpringerDog]

Last night Fergus and I tested for Canine Good Citizen and missed it by one. Kind of a big one though: reaction to another dog. We were paired up with a little dog who barked his little head off at Fergus and Fergus got out of his down/stay to lunge at him. I wasn't paying attention like I should have. It was 92 degrees/high humidity, so not a great night. I felt bad and then realized how well we did on the rest of it. He does react to other dogs on our walks, not all the time, but enough to know that he needs more work in that area. He has done that exercise with no reactions before, but it's definitely a weak area for him. The trainers suggested that a few sessions of doggie daycare would be beneficial for him to interact with other dogs. I thought about it and think I will do that, he's on leash all the time and it would be good for him. They work with the dogs and can give me more insight on him.

I love training and obedience classes. In four months I have gone from having Fergus pulling my arms off on a walk, to being able to loose leash walk him on a flat collar. We've been transitioning from the Gentle Leader to the flat collar in the past eight weeks. In the past two weeks, he has been wonderful on a flat collar. Actually, I finally caught on to how to walk him with the flat collar, it took longer to train me than him. So we are going to take some more advanced classes, but we can still take the test again in eight weeks or so with the next group testing. I know we can make this next one and will have earned it, instead of just squeaking by with being lucky.

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

Wow, that's pretty good! If Tucker had a little dog barkign his head of at him he probably would have done the same. Did that dog pass?

~Tucker

 

[SpringerDog]

No he didn't pass either. When we started the class there was that noisy guy and a JRT that would not quit barking. After the first night, I had some real reservations about going to the next one, but we did. I have to say the JRT was probably the most improved by the end of the session. His owner really worked with him and his barking problem is no longer, what a great little dog he turned into.
The trainer was quite honest on the first night, he told both owners that they needed to work on getting the barking under control and they had to quit holding and carrying them around. Even though they are small, they are after all, dogs. I didn't expect them to show for the next class, but they did and training their dogs was more important than any hurt feelings they may have had. That's the best part, being with other people that want to help their dogs be a better pet. Actually, maybe the really best part was that we all learned to be better owners.

 

[elegy]

it's interesting that you were paired with another dog taking the test. when i've done it, the stranger dog has been a dog brought by the tester and well-behaved.

both of my dogs who've taken the test have dog-dog issues. lots of patient attention work building up to being around dogs worked very well for us.

 

[jess2416]

Sorry he didnt pass Good luck for next time

 

[SpringerDog]

That would have been great to have a well behaved dog to interact with. This is the first CGC class they have done, so they may want to change to that for a higher passing percentage. Then again, that little barking dog is more like the dogs we encounter on our walks, and working harder together on his reactions to other dogs will be good.

 

[planet molosser]

It was NOT fair to use a lunging dog they should of agreeded to retest.
Which I have done when I was a CGC tester for 5 years.

Great job on the training

 

[SpringerDog]

My dog was the lunging dog, the other dog was just a barker. The retest is free in eight weeks, and working harder on his reacting to dogs will be good. Fergus usually doesn't start the reactions, but he certainly joins in and I would like to train him not to.
They may rethink the way they are doing the test after this first session.

 

[planet molosser]

Ive never tested a dog with a barker.
Have you tried clicker training and redirecting focus upwards to your mouth area with a treat?

 

[SpringerDog]

Actually this was a clicker class with CGC testing at the end. Next session they are not using the clicker training since it isn't part of the AKC guidelines. I like the clicker training a lot. I think if I had kept my focus on him I could have seen what was coming and redirected him. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'll be ready next time.

 

[planet molosser]

Im sure you will post results.

 

[BostonBanker]

Well, at least I'm in good company That's the part Meg failed as well. The tester did use her own dog who is of a type that Meg does not like. She held her focus on me nicely and didn't make a move for the dog at all, but growled as we walked away. Oh, well. I know several dogs who did pass, and she is a much better citizen than any of them!

I'll retest at some point with a different evaluator. I couldn't have been more pleased at how Meg handled herself given her history with that breed.

 

[doberkim]

I've taken the test both ways - one in which all the testing dogs were used as the meet n greet dogs, and another test where that dog is a neutral dog. Ok, I lied - Bowie was used as the neutral dog in many test for a local dog training club who asked him to come be the test dog

Dogs fail the silliest things sometimes. The only time Rah has taken the CGC test, he failed. We were at a large dobe picnic, and they were playing with the chuckit next to the testing area. During the last bit of loose leash walking, someone threw it as we were walking towards them and Rah went to chase it. Not really his fault, I'd only had him a few months and clearly hadn't proofed for his favorite toy being used

 

[SpringerDog]

Well, at least I'm in good company That's the part Meg failed as well. The tester did use her own dog who is of a type that Meg does not like. She held her focus on me nicely and didn't make a move for the dog at all, but growled as we walked away. Oh, well. I know several dogs who did pass, and she is a much better citizen than any of them!

I'll retest at some point with a different evaluator. I couldn't have been more pleased at how Meg handled herself given her history with that breed.

That's how I felt, I was so proud of how well Fergus did overall and to see how far he has come with some basic training is amazing. The CGC is a nice goal to work towards, but learning to work together with Fergus was what I wanted. I now have a dog I can walk and have confidence in.
Having a trainer watch us train and then be able to tell me what I needed to do differently was something I couldn't get out of a book. I'm more aware of body language, voice and having a positive attitude, what a differnce that made.

Thanks for all the replies, it's great hearing about other experiences.

 

[Lizmo]

I'm sorry, but I am sure you two will pass next time

That's the part I see Lizzie failing in....

 

[Tami'n'Charly]

This might be a little off topic but.... we've put a hold on Charly's classic obedience training. We passed puppy kindergarten, Family Dog 1 & Family Dog 2 classes with flying colors. I wanted to take the CGC class next- but her insturctor suggested that we try enrolling her in a pre-agility class because Charly seemed "bored" with all the sit-stays, loose leash walking etc. I was a little hestitant but wow- we just had our 3rd pre-agility class last night and Charly is just the happiest dog! She LOVES running through those tunnels, jumping over those jumps... even just standing on the table! You can just "see" how much fun she is having.

You might want to consider doing this with Fergus. In agility you still build on the regular skills of obedience-- but it adds a fun element to it too. Besides Charly, there are 2 other Springers in our class and they all are just loving it. It really is too cute.

Then, maybe you can go back to the classic conditioning after pre-agility. Basically, it's just breaking things up a bit.