K-9 Good Citizen Training

[Barney's Mom]

I keep hearing folks here talking about their dogs having done the K-9 Good Citizen Training. I would love to put Barney through this program, but according to the AKC website, the closest place to me is an hour and a half away! Do any of the big box pet stores offer this training? Peoria has Petco and Petsmart, so that would be more realistic travel time for a class.

Also, how old should Barney be? Is 6 months a good time?

What do they classes cover? Barney has already learned sit, come, and down. Although the "come" seems to be only on his terms, or when we have a treat in hand. His problem areas are consistently coming when called, jumping up, not bringing his toy back to us when he goes to retrieve it, etc. Right now it seems like his attention span is way out there, so would it be a better idea to wait until he is older?

BTW, any tips on getting him to bring his toy back to us? We have tried to give him a treat if he brings it back, but the minute we have the treat in hand, he smells it and won't even go chase the toy! We throw it and all he wants is that treat! AARRRGGG!

He seems to have a very strong scenting ability. Once when I was walking out the door with him to take him out for potty, I saw a rabbit right in the middle of the yard. By the time Barney was to the bottom of the steps, the rabbit was gone, but he immediately ran to the exact spot where the rabbit was, and sniffed right to where the rabbit went under the fence! I am wondering if he would be a good Earthdog candidate?? What do you think, Brad?? My husband would probably get into Earthdog if we had to go to Oregon for trials!

Thanks everyone!

[bradl]

Actively scenting is definitely a good sign for earthdog and tracking.

[AngusMacDoggal]

We're trying to teach Angus to bring his ball back for us too, if you have a treat around FORGET IT. Mind is on the food and the toy is a moot point. I guess just use a lot of praise when Barney manages to return with the ball. My question, how do you get them to drop it once they return with the ball?!?! In typical terrier fashion what is theirs, is theirs. They went and fetched the ball, if you want it, go get your own. I use the drop it command, it's working outdoors most of the time for stuff he snarfs up off the ground, but as far as his toy, no way.

[Barney's Mom]

Wow!! You can get Angus to drop stuff he snarfs???? You are fortunate indeed!! When Barney get's something in his mouth, he literally tries to inhale it so no one can get it from him!! "Drop It" to him means "hang on tighter!!"

[goforette]

My "earthdogs" only want to track wolf spiders.... squirrels are nothing to them - they'd just watch a rabbit go by.. but you make it sniff out a bug - fly, spider - whatever ... I could just see that in an event - get the spider Hollie while everyone else is chasing the rat.... how embarassing would that be...

[Barney's Mom]

Wolf spiders? Did you say WOLF SPIDERS???????

I would just croak if Barney got a hold of a spider that size!!! They eat mice, for goodness sake!!

[savannahsmom35]

Here is some encouragement for those of you who have a less than enthusiastic fetcher. Savannah used to chase the ball, run right past it and then look at you like, "ok, great, now what?" Eventually she started bringing it back maybe 3 times, then she would drop it just out of reach and make YOU retreive it. Savannah is now the worlds most enthusiastic ball fetcher EVER! She would play ball until her little heart beat out of her chest! I would suggest getting a tennis ball smaller than a normal tennis ball. Savannah plays with these MUCH better than regular sized tennis balls. Here are the ones that she likes:

mini tennis balls

Also, she learned "drop it" and knows that she now has to drop the ball for us to throw it. When your pup does the drop that ball and then go after it right when you go to pick it up, DO NOT go after it. Say drop it and repeat until the dog drops the ball. Repeat until the dog drops the ball and does not go after it when you pick it up. Soon the dog will learn that they have to drop the ball in order for you to throw it. This will soon bacome a habit and you won't even have to say drop it anymore. It is great.

Savannah the ball player:

[JazzMom]

Jazz is learning to play fetch with a tennis ball and was getting pretty good at it then last night he decided to stop a few feet short and when I ask for the ball he passed it to me with his nose! So cute, I rewarded right away and then got him to do it agian. Of course if he has other things on his mind, forget it!

[eastofeden]

Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluation is a wonderful thing for all dog owners and their dogs. It is basically a series of evaluations of how your dog handles some very basic senerios. Which may include but is not limited to:

Accepting a Friendly Stranger: Evaluator comes up and will greet the handler. The dog must remain calm (he does not have to remain in a sit/heel position) and not jump up on the evaluator. The evaluator will ask to pet the dog. The dog mus allow the evaluator to do so.

Grooming or Vet Check: The dog is to allow the evaluator to brush them, or handle their feet etc.

Calmly reacting to a distration: An Evaluator passes by with an object (i.e. crutches, wheelchair, shopping cart etc) and the dog should not react aggressively or fearfully. It is okay to show interest...ie look at the object.

Noise distraction: A loud noise (i.e spoon banged on a pan) is made and the dog should not react fearfully or aggressively. Again...interest in what is making the noise is okay.

Supervised Seperation: The handler passes the leash to the evaluator and walks briefly out of sight. The dog must not display excessive seperation anxiety.

Accepting Strange Dogs:: The leashed dog is asked to walk past other dogs they may not know and remain in control of the handler. Again no aggression or too much interest in the new dogs.

These are just some examples of several possible "tests". CGC is almost like an etiquette test for dogs. It is a means of evaluating their manners. AKC sponsers the CGC evaluations...and they are open to all dogs. In my area our local dog training clubs performs these evaluations several times a year. It is never too late or too early to start working with your dog on these types of things.

[goforette]

Wolf spiders? Did you say WOLF SPIDERS???????

I would just croak if Barney got a hold of a spider that size!!! They eat mice, for goodness sake!!

Yes you should have seen this house before we moved in. I couldn't live in it for about 3 months due to it's various problems - but I had to have this house and wanted to restore it... little did I know what lived there- but that's a whole different story - but I'd be cleaning up the house and getting it ready to live in and I went downstairs one night and the walls of the basement were covered with them. They are huge - some as big as probably my fist -granted my hands are pretty tiny - but that's still really big for a darn spider. So I had so shop vac them off the walls literally and even then I'd have to hold the shop vac there for a second because they were so big they could hang on. My mother lives about a mile away and doesn't have these kinds of spiders - I think it's because we live closer to the lake that she does so I tend to have creepier bugs. And go figure the girls can find them in the grass! That makes my job as puppy mom much harder. I need to teach them to just point and stare.