Are you a good citizen?
July 1, 2009 -
On June 13th, Copley took her CGC or Canine Good Citizen test for the second time. Thankfully, we passed this time. Regardless of whether or not you have an AKC dog, I highly recommend training your dog on the CGC competencies. http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/
These basic obedience skills are not only important for your sanity, but they also teach your pet how to act in certain situations. The basic principles of the CGC include:
- How does your dog behave when a friendly human stranger approaches?
- What is their response when someone tries to pet them?
- What is your dog’s physical appearance and how do they do with grooming?
- How do they respond to a large distraction or noise?
- What do they do when you are out of site for a few minutes? Can you leave them with a friendly stranger?
I’m sure most of you answered the questions above with the following answers:
- They get excited. Any combination of pulling, barking, jumping, or growling occurs.
- Same as above.
- They look pretty good; probably need a nail trim and hate the groomer.
- She looks at the noise and stays focused on it. I have to drag her away.
- Scream and cry for their mama, duh!
How do these behaviors make you feel? Forget about your lovable pup and think about you. I’ll be honest, I get very embarrassed. And, as a result, I do something stupid like give her a big correction or worse – I ignore it!
Take a look at the questions above and think about how you’d want to be approached by a stranger’s pooch. I bet you would be totally annoyed with any combination of jumping, barking, crying, etc. Also, think about how you’d feel if getting a day at the salon wasn’t in the budget. If I had to go an extra few weeks with out a highlight, I’d feel like a slob. It’s the same for your pet – they want to be squeaky clean and smelling sharp too. You learned to love your stylist, they’ll learn to love their groomer.
Training your dog to behave in this positive way takes time. And, it isn’t easy. In all of my training with Copley, I’ve learned that she wants a job and thrives when there are rules. To be honest, setting the rules is far more emotional for me than it is for her.
Just remember, these skills are essential to keeping your pet happy and healthy.
Her new official AKC name:
Finish to Copley Square RN CGC
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