First Day of Dog Obedience Class

Well, I took Santos to his first class. I first called the school and made sure all of that the class was still on. I also asked if because Santos had not been in the level one class if that would keep him out of the level 2 class. I was informed to bring him to level one and if warranted they would graduate him right away to level two. So off to class we went with food lures, leashes,shot record, and check book. Once we got there, everyone got real quiet when we got through the door. The lady taking the information from was concerned that Santos's ears lying back. I told her that is a good sign, that when he is agitated that is when his ears would go straight up. Oh no, she did not believe me and told me to take my dog to the farthest corner of the room. Okay, I did what I was told, however the other dogs were barking,jumping, and what not. So, I am thinking, we will show them.

So I fill out the forms after I put Santos on a down stay. Santos fell asleep while I am filling out the forms, so much for being agitated, silly lady. Then class started, and we did all of the things that the instructor wanted and hit the target each every time. In fact the instructor pointed out Santos as the best dog in the room. What she said exactly was " look at the little one with the big german shepherd, she has him completely under control - that is what you should be aiming for". Oh boy, I was so proud of Santos, and so happy that we did all of the training for the last 6 weeks.

After the class was over, the instructor came over to me and said "you and Santos have been graduated to level two, can you stay for the level two class that starts next?" of course I said yes, and thanked her. She also said that often times people tell them that their dog is well behaved but is not often true, however in this case it was and that I had a really good attitude about having to prove it. I smiled at her broadly, and said no problem and I would love to stay for the second class. Yeah!!!!

So, level two is the Good Citizenship Program which contains:

1) Dog is to accept a friendly strangers touch

2) Sit politely for petting

3) Dog must be demostrate being able to sit calmly while being groomed, ears touched,mouth touched,hind quarters touched, and paws touched.

4) Dog must walk on a loose leash on a heel

5)Dog must be able to walk through a crowd with out being distracted and remaining polite

6) Sit and Down on command and staying until released

7) Come when called

8)Calm reaction to another dog

9) Dog must show not being disturbed by distractions, such loud noises

10) Supervised seperation which means being to leave the dog with a stranger, walking away out of the room for three minutes with out a disturbance

Why am I doing this is two fold, one: if Santos gets all ten items then he will pass and recieve his CGC award that shows to insurers and other people of interest that he is a well respected member of the communit. The Canine Good Citizen award is one of the first AKC certificates my dog can own and CGC provides an excellent foundation for all other training such as agility, and therapy.

Most therapy dog groups require the CGC as a prerequisite for therapy work, there are CGC neighborhoods and a number of state legislatures that endorsed the CGC concept.

So, next class is next monday at 8:30pm, and I will need to work on all of the above for the next week. In order for him to get this certificate, he must pass all of the items to get the certificate. Once, he does this then we can start with the therapy classes!