CGC training?

He'll be on a leash for the recall. Most dogs know they're on a leash, so they'll recall fast.

I didn't take a class for it. I didn't even practice much, beforehand. I had no idea how Em would do on the supervised separation (she wasn't great, by any stretch, but she passed...). Emma had been through basic obedience, and had had some further training, just with me and a book. I'm not a great trainer or a very experienced trainer, but the test is not meant to be super hard. It's a manners test, not an obedience test. As long as your dog is friendly, and basically well mannered in public, he should be fine. Seriously... the separation part was absolutely the hardest. That's the ONLY time I've ever handed her leash to a stranger and walked away.  

DH would probably have to be the handler for it, since Sammy would be a lot better about separation from him than from me, I think. 

I think it really comes down to who the evaluator is at which dog(s) they use.... sometimes he just doesn't like a person a dog and I can't make him like people or dogs beyond socializing him, really. 

But, you've boosted my confidence!  Maybe we will try it, soon.  Does it cost much to take it?

CGC is normally fairly inexpensive, anwhere from 10.00 to 25.00 depending on the club giving it. I paid 10.00 at the Perry Ga show and 1/2 of that went to Rescue.

Don't overthink it, it is a basic and simple test. You do 99.9 % of everything needed already.  You can practice "the crowd" by going to a softball game or walking at the mall or in front of a Wal Mart...it is that simple. Find a crowd and walk the furkid into it.  You are already doing "the dog " part since you take Sammy to classes and he doesn't lunge at or snarl etc... Just tell some one while you are waiting for the class to start that you want to practice this , you walk up and shake hands then leave. Do not allow Sammy to sniff or be overly friendly.  The way you hold your lead is all you need. The recall is best done with a down stay rather than a sit stay. The dogs tend to relax enough to allow you to walk to the end of the 20 foot long lead they are on/ And when you practice make it very deliberate. Down the dog. Walk briskly to the end, make a pronouced turn, pause long enough to make eye contact and then return. I make the pause longer each time. The seperation is the hardest part, So what I do is simple , Like your thought with your DH, I make the Hubs step in if there is a really high momma drive.   This is my biggest worry with Dreamer. she is young and very concerned when I get out of her sight. I have several dogs with CGC and I haave one who could not pass it because she popped up and down like a meercat peeking about. The evaulators we had in Perry would have passed me the one I had back then was displeased.

BTW< I want to Commend you on wanting to get a CGC on sammy, this is one of the most important tools and titles we can get in the fights against BSLs.

Bonita of Bwana

Harley went through an obedience class and then he took the CGC test at the fair with my daughter.  As long as they have basic obedience down and are comfortable around people and crowds...its a pretty easy test.

He has moved up to novice obedience this year and will again take the CGC test again.  Hopefully, starting this fall we will be working on therapy dog training.

 It is not a hard test. It is basic obedience, the hardest part depending on the individual dog is the 3 minute leave your dog with stranger. I took all my dogs for the test on the same day, they all passed. Teddi was not quite 11 months at the time. The club where we took it had a walk through the week before so you would know what to expect. They also gave pointers and what to work on.

Take the test. Worst case scenario you don't pass and you know what to work on for the next one. Our test was $10 a dog. Have fun and good luck!

Thanks for all the pointers, guys.  I'm thinking we will just go for it once I find out where it is offered.  And yeah, the separation will be the hardest.  If both DH and I go, and he is the handler, would they make me leave the room as well?  If I could stay, even off to the side, I'm sure it would be tons easier.  But then again, the only reaction out of Sammy would be nervousness, I think.  Class is really, for us, just a slightly costly way of socializing him to experiences he doesn't get with us.  It's held in a self-serve/full-service dog wash so there's always dogs coming and going, and people, and kids which are all things he needed to be more exposed to under more controlled settings.

Bonita of Bwana

BTW< I want to Commend you on wanting to get a CGC on sammy, this is one of the most important tools and titles we can get in the fights against BSLs.

Thanks!  Though, I think it would have a more profound effect if I had a dog that would be under BSL.  But, the reason it came to mnid recently was someone on a local list is having their homeowners insurance non-renewed because they have a "dangerous" breed.  Thankfully that's not my motivating force in wanting to do this, since he is just a "hound mix", but it just  sounded like something fun to work on with Sammy, a good goal for our ttraining.

I bet they would make you leave, too. Practice at home. Tie him to a fence and walk around the corner for 2 seconds. Reward for calm. Then increase the time. Then move to another place down the block or whatever, and do the same thing there. Once you've done it several places, there's a really good chance he'll be fine. Good luck! It's really pretty easy.

NicoleS

Thanks for all the pointers, guys.  I'm thinking we will just go for it once I find out where it is offered.  And yeah, the separation will be the hardest.  If both DH and I go, and he is the handler, would they make me leave the room as well?  If I could stay, even off to the side, I'm sure it would be tons easier.  But then again, the only reaction out of Sammy would be nervousness, I think.  

At least where I train and test, you both have to leave.  Otherwise it's not fair for the rest of the dogs.  I left for Coke even though DH handled him through the class and the test, not that it matters since he is such a lover he doesn't care.

Can you practice the separations at your drop-in class?  I do this with Kenya sometimes.  I take both dogs to training classes regardless of which dog is in class.  Often I put Kenya in stand-stays in the middle of the room, then leave and she has to stand there while everyone else comes in with their dogs.  I'll also tether her and leave or work with Coke.  When Kenya starts agility next week, Coke will be learning crate training for shows, so he will be crated while we have class and be rewarded for keeping quiet.  He is crate trained, but if other people are about he whines, so we need to work on this if he wants to come to shows and other events.

When we took the test they did NOT make us both leave only the "one" handler running the test. DH handled Belle (1st dog to test) and she was an easy walk through. I was busy handling Teddi (2nd dog to test) so she was not focused on me. Teddi was fine, DH had left the building to get Max ready. We knew she needed some settling time before her test. I handled Max and she was great BUT DH was in the chairs as she did her work. She was as usual very focused on me and did all great. When it came time for the leave your dog with a stranger, DH made SURE he never even looked her direction because he knew it would be all over for her. He sat still, did not look at her, he was probably 50+ feet from her. I don't think she knew he was there, he just made sure she didn't find out.  

 Bugsy is going to take the test on Wednesday night - I'm pretty sure he'll fail though.  His loose leash walk is a crapshoot, it has been terrible at the training center.  But the biggie for him is that when someone approaches him to pet him he gets up and licks them. Pretty sure that's like hitting the curb on your driver's test.

He's better than when he was a pup, then he wasn't even still when we petted him.  I think he would do better if it were at a fair or something as there are so many distractions for him to be investigating that he is super calm in crowds.  But if someone just walks up to him and goes to pet him he will start wiggling and lick them.  Guaranteed.

BTW this is part of a "distraction proofing" class,  but it was pretty poorly run IMHO.  We really didn't do much and I haven't learned anything technique-wise

Except for the "leave your dog" test our testers let you talk to your dog and hold the leash. I was told my leash could have been looser int he loose leash walk, but I held it as I always do. I don't like tripping over it loose.  

Good Luck Bugsy! Teddi is a wiggler and people are her HUGE down side, she passed. I have faith in you too!
 

 As a CGC evaluator and tester/observer for Therapy Dogs, Inc., I can honestly say that most dogs have little problem with the obedience skills, such as the recall and stay, or with the politeness exercises.  The most frequent exception is "loose leash walking", since you aren't allowed to use any special equipment, such as harnesses or head collars during the CGC test.  Even slip collars, which are allowed (although not for the therapy dog test if you are testing for my org) do not help the handlers much.  I like Shirley Chong's clicker heel method, and I find that my students and their dogs pick up on it really quickly.  The beauty of it is that the dog just likes hanging around your left leg in hopes of getting something, which you can certainly deliver - once the test is over;-)

Yeah Good luck Bugsy!!!

I will ask our trainer about working on these things in class, I just don't want to subject everyone to it if their dog already passed, etc, but then again all the dogs are usually with owners who also are trainers and it's more of a refresher type class than really learning.  We've worked on targetting, worked on other commands when there are other dogs/owners around, worked on some techniques to help another dog who doesn't like dogs within maybe 10 feet of her to be more comfortable with dogs coming a little closer, basically just push the dogs a little bit to make what they already know even better.  So I'm sure it would be nice to work on these things to refresh the dog anyway, ya know? 

I found a local place that offers a shorter refresher course than a 7-8 week one, it meets only twice before the test and is $25 plus $10 for the test.  Only problem is it starts soon, and it's kinda far away (ie, almost 45-50 min drive).  So, I hate to do it unless I'm sure he'll do pretty good so I guess it's as good a time as any to get our act together!!

Is there an  "official" list of *exactly* what the evaluator looks for, and what would DQ you?  ie, some people here have said that one trainer would pass them but another would not, is it pretty much up to the evaluator rather than strict guidlines?

NicoleS

Is there an  "official" list of *exactly* what the evaluator looks for, and what would DQ you?  ie, some people here have said that one trainer would pass them but another would not, is it pretty much up to the evaluator rather than strict guidlines?

Yes, a lot of it really is up to the evaluator, unfortunately.  I want my evaluator to be strict.  I don't want to pass the test, I want my dog to be reliable.  Coke did not pass his.  On the recall, he went to Phil, but then kept going and came over to me.  Kenya passed, but she was way beyond it before I even got her.  We did a practice test the first day of class to see where the dogs were at and she passed then.

Here is the test:

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm