She did it on her first try, only a few months after being pulled from a shelter. Pretty cool, right? Anyone who says that all shelter dogs are "second rate" is an idiot. Shelter dogs are awesome.
The CGC test has ten parts to it, all of which Heidi passed with flying colors. The parts of the test are:
Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger
Test 2: Sitting politely for petting
Test 3: Appearance and grooming
Test 4: Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead)
Test 5: Walking through a crowd
Test 6: Sit and down on command and Staying in place
Test 7: Coming when called
Test 8: Reaction to another dog
Test 9: Reaction to distraction
Test 10: Supervised separation
You can read the full description of each part and more information here. (Luckily, swimming is not part of the Canine Good Citizen test.)
There was only one snafu during the test. During the "reaction to another dog" portion, the test dog is supposed to ignore the dog being tested. I think the test dog was smitten with Heidi's good looks though, because he went right up to her to say hi! Being the polite dog that she is, Heidi kindly greeted him back. Normally that would have failed her (she's supposed to ignore the dog), but since it was the test dog that initiated the contact and not Heidi, they were able to bring in another dog for that portion.
Preparing for the test with Heidi was pretty easy. As soon as we adopted her, we started working on basic obedience and tricks, and got her enrolled in a CGC test preparation class. We are big proponents of positive reinforcement training (it's the only way to go!) and I think that went a long way towards our success with her. Both T and I have a great bond with Heidi and she's always eager to work with us, both of which are strengthened by using positive reinforcement techniques. As much as we did a lot of work with her though, I have to admit, she pretty much came this way right out of the shelter. All of the behaviors were already there, we just put commands to them.
This won't be the end of Heidi's "super dog" journey - we're already looking for a new class to enroll her in. Maybe a super trick class? Therapy dog? Agility? I think the options are really endless when it comes to what Heidi can do.
Has anyone else gone through the CGC test experience?
Congrats to Heidi (and her proud parents)! What a great accomplishment!
ReplyDeletecongrats heidi!! we've never done this with chick, but i'm wondering if maybe we should. we failed big time in bringing him up because we allowed him to get SO EXCITED when he is approached by strangers, and never trained him to just be cool and chill out. he can't quite contain himself when somebody new walks up. he's 8 or 9 now, but i'm sure that's not too late . . . maybe we will start working on desensitizing him to strangers and then enroll him in a CGC class!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Foot - Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteloveandaleash - It's never too late! I think the best part of the class was getting to be around other dogs and people during training. It's hard to find good situations like that that are good for practicing. Good luck if you decide to go for it with Chick!
Congrats to Heidi! I, too, love my shelter dog. We rescued her from Lost Dog, and she is a great pet. Sadly, I am pretty sure she would not do well with the Good Citizen test seeing as not all dogs are her favorite. And she would definitely fail if she had to go a day without eating paper ;) I am excited for you all - what an accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteI am soooo impressed with Heidi, what an accomplishment! We are working with our pitmix rescue Cal .He could probably pass it all right now. ( Well maybe he won't sit and stay too terribly long ) ..it's just that other dog thing < snicker> we have to work on....
ReplyDeleteGood job, Heidi!!! Not only is she gorgeous, but she's a good citizen, too?!?! Some girls really do just have it all!
ReplyDeleteHopefully Turk does as well as Heidi - he's starting his CGC training in August!
Wow, we are super-impressed! Miss M got her CGC, but that was only after lots of other training, and failing her first test. Like Chick, she gets so excited around people an she just wants them to pet her. So that was a problem the first time. We were always wanting to do it with Mr. B, but he just gets so nervous approaching other dogs...especially the small ones. Heidi sounds like a star!
ReplyDeleteSarah - It's tough when they have trouble with other dogs. We haven't done CGC with Melanie or Nemo because we think they'd fail that portion of the test. Thankfully, paper-eating isn't part of the test :)
ReplyDeleteNancy - Good luck with Cal! The other dog part is really hard. Even the test dog "failed" with Heidi - and he was supposed to be a "professional" about it!
Waldobungie - Good luck with Turk!
Pitties - Ms. M just likes greeting her adoring fans :) I think the dog part is definitely the hardest part to get through.
Congratulations, pretty girl!!! We're signed up for a CGC prep class in August with our rescue mutt we adopted a couple of months ago. Heidi's success is very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!! What a great accomplishment. I haven't signed Sophie up for the CGC. Her leash reactivity is much better but I am not sure we are ready for number 8 on the list.
ReplyDeleteYay Heidi! That is quite the list of commands she mastered!
ReplyDeleteI always thought agility classes would be fun--my parents have an American Eskimo who loves to do tricks and I have been bugging my mom to get him in some classes :)
yay! i am so proud of her, and you! you are obviously doing everything right by her! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats Heidi!
ReplyDeleteKari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Yeah Heidi! What a great accomplishment. we have talked about doing this with ones of our pups but the whole "ignoring another dog" thing would take some major major work. We will see if we can ever get there. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Heidi! Good job!!!
ReplyDeleteAROOOOF!
Boondocks and The Love Shack Pack
Congrats to Heidi! There's no way my dogs could pass the test.
ReplyDeleteWe LOVE our shelter dog, Ted. Wouldn't think twice about having another dog from a shelter! Love them =)
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!! Congrats to Heidi and to her awesome trainer-parents on this huge milestone! Brag like crazy next time someone insults the breed!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get Elli to CGC standards without a formal class. I can't afford it, so it's really the only option. And, of course, she's unbelievably impulsive when it comes to new people and dogs. It's definitely the biggest obstacle we have to scale together. But, come hell and highwater, we will* pass that test!
I am so proud of Heidi - something about that white fur really gets me.
ReplyDeletewww.twogradstudentsandapittie.blogspot.com
Woooohoooo!! Great job Heidi!
ReplyDeleteCongrats!!! That's wonderful!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone!! :)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - Congrats on your puppy adoption! Good luck with the class!
Patty - Good luck with the class! I think they really do help to prepare for the test!
Jenny - the dog portion is the definitely the hardest. Good luck working on it!
April - I love that your dog's name is Ted!! :)
Ximena - Even though I think the class helped, I really think it's something that you can do on your own too. The hard part is just finding a time/place to work around other people and dogs - but it can be done! Good luck!!
YAY! Congratulations Heidi! She is quite an impressive dog. We took our first dog through an obedience class last fall, but never took it as far as the CGC. Now that we have two of them, we've been slacking on our training, so as good of dogs as they are, they probably wouldn't be able to pass all 10 parts!
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, another YAY for shelter dogs!