Sometimes it's not all detailing

[DFTowel]

Well we can't all detail cars every day all day so we do sometimes have another interest or two. Mine is dog training and Therapy Dogs. Well today was a big day for Artemis, my 2 yr old rescue Bichon. From being afraid of her own shadow and having serious personality issues she has blossomed into a well adjusted, outgoing, tail wagger. Today she passed her CGC trials with flying colors! The CGC is the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen test which comprises a series of obedience trials, it's a first test toward a dog becoming a Certified Therapy Dog. My four yr old Bichon, Otus, has been a Therapy Dog for two years now and Artemis will take her final trials at the end of April. She did everything perfectly and seemed to have a great time. Also passing was Isis, a Standard Poodle who is undergoing training along with Artemis. Out of twenty or so dogs taking the test only five passed.

A really amazing thing happened though... LI Agility was there and they demonstrated the agility course using our dogs. Well Otus, being the re-incarnated hippie that he is, was just too mellow, all he wanted to do was get the hell out of there and hunt for magic mushrooms, he wouldn't budge up and down the ramps and was really scared of the tunnels. Artemis, on the other hand, took to it like she'd been doing it all her life. She was up and over the ramps at a run, she took the jumps like a champ, and she flew in and out of the tunnels tag wagging so fast it was a blur. They said she was an good candidate for agility, especially due to the "cuteness factor." I may give it a try this summer.

I took a few pictures but not many as it was hard to snap shots and control two dogs. Pictures are here http://leocerruti.com/ArtemisCGC

[pair of Blazers]

cute

[Accumulator]

DFTowel- Congrats on the CGC Getting a rescue certified is a great accomplishment. Interesting that the pass rate was only 20% but I suppose it depends on the group being tested.

And agility is fun, I bet you'd (both) enjoy it. Heh heh, yeah, Artemis *would* be cuter than all-get-out doing it!

[gusbubba]

Outstanding ,Leo !!!
Great work and bless you for not only rescuing needy dogs but contributing to the
community through the therapy dog program.
My wife is a nurse and she's seen firsthand the impact this can have on patients...not to mention the dogs. (Yes , dogs do have a sense of self-worth, too; for those of you who may not be aware of it).

I thank you for myself ,my wife and both of our rescue mutts.

By the way , the Schnauzer in the 8th pic is looking at that giant rabbit
like it's his worst nightmare come to life......funny picture.

[blkZ28Conv]

Thanks Leo and congratulations. Beautiful write-up on showing how much fun and loving our 4-legged family members can be.

We also have 3 dogs:

Zack- Great Dane (3 y.o)
Cobra- Boxer (2 y.o)
Katie - Rottweiler (4 y.o)

As you know they always bring a smile to your face no matter how hard and difficult one's day may have been. Their love is completely unconditional and true.

Yes, there is more to life than a shiny car.

[Pats300zx]

Congrats DFT. I am a dog owner as well and that is a great accomplishment....

[twopu]

Great to hear!!! One of the teacher's in our building brings in his therapy dog and he did wonders with the kids. Dog are great because they just always offer unconditional love.
As a dog lover myself, Zoe is out with me on every detail job. I wish I get just let her loose outside, but if she got the chance I know she would take off. My wife and I have been looking for a trainer to teach her (AND US) basic obedience (stay, come, etc.) We just don't know what to look for. We were going to try Pet Smart but we got mixed reviews from people.

[DFTowel]

Originally Posted by Accumulator

DFTowel- Congrats on the CGC Getting a rescue certified is a great accomplishment. Interesting that the pass rate was only 20% but I suppose it depends on the group being tested.

The low rate is very unusual, normally it's quite high but i think that at this event there were many people who just showed up with their dogs for the Dog Day event and thought their dogs could pass what looked like a simple series of tests. One of the tests requires the dog to sit quietly with a perfect stranger while the owner walks away and remains out of sight for a minute or two. This is totally against a dog's survival instincts not to be left behind when the pack leader leaves. I think this is where most of the undisciplined dogs failed.

Actually for a second I thought Artemis would fail because when she was given the "down" command she hesitated and didn't want to lie down. The ground was very cold and wet and I'm sure it didn't feel good on her little pink belly! She did it though but very grudgingly.

At the end of the month comes the therapy test. That one is tough, they do things like throw crutches to the ground near the dog and present all sorts of obstacles and distractions and the dog had better not budge or it fails.

By the way, if anyone is interested in what therapy dogs are all about see the TDI website www.tdi-dog.org

[Accumulator]

DFTowel- I suppose it's only natural that different training facilities, and even different groups, will have different pass/fail rates. When Anders got his all the other candidates also passed, but the others had been practicing specifically for the test and some had even tried for it before, so that didn't surprise me much.

Yeah, out-of-sight is something that a dog has to be used to doing. Did your tester have any "barriers" involved? The person testing Anders closed doors (between the out-of-sight room and the room where the handler waited) and other candidates said that had caused problems for them in the past- their dogs got anxious when the door was closed.

I'm wondering if the testing is as standardized as I would've expected Did yours involve the tester opening the dog's mouth and otherwise doing "funny" touching that the dog had to be cool about?