My Blog
Canine Good Citizens!
Mom needs to let us on the computer more often, so many things have happened since we last blogged!
1. True got to see her Aunt Ellen and all her old friends at the expo, AND ran the demo course! Mom was super proud of both of us, because the expo is very exciting (and distracting).
2. I, Hayley the magnificent, got my CL1 title (!!!!!!). That means that I got all the qualifying runs (8 of them!) necessary to complete level one of Canine Performance Events' agility.
3. True also got her very first agility title, Level 1 Handler Games! She is now a CL1-H. Mom says she would have gotten her Fun Games title too, but mom screwed up the end of their Fullhouse run by saying 'tunnel' instead of 'table' and going over time. Silly mom, we need to train her better.
4. And today, we both got our CGC certification! This means that we are now officially good citizens :). We let strangers pet us and brush us, sat, downed, stayed, came when called, and heeled. Mom says I got through by the skin of my teeth, but I'm quite sure I have no idea what she's talking about. Just because I LOOOOOOVES the peoples...
Hayley, CL1 CGC
True Love Burns Brightest "True", CL1-H CGC
(my thems a bunch o' fancy letters. This is one mom who is VERY proud of her girlies!)
Make that 'gility dogS :)
Today mom took us to an agility match (matches are like practice trials...basically you and your mum or dad having fun and running full sequences in new environments). My first two runs I got a little lost (soooo much open space!), but the third run was jumpers and I was awesome! Very flowy. Except that mom forgot about one jump. Whoops!
Then my sis ran the same jumpers course. And OMG, she actually did the entire 16 obstacle course! Of course, not as fabulously as I did, but I guess she did pretty good for a beginner. (Mom note here: True constantly goes beyond what I could ever hope to expect her to do. This run was kind of a reward for her for sticking with us throughout the day. I thought that we'd get a couple of jumps in, but not the entire sequence. Surprise, mom! NO knocked bars, she listened *beautifully*, and jumped some pretty hard angles, especially for a green dog. So proud of both my girlies!)
'gility DOOOOOOG!
So, three weeks ago I had my first successful agility trial! Mom was SO proud of me, she kept on hugging me and giving me cheese. I was a little bit freaked out by the fact that there were all these people sitting right behind me, so I kept on trying to do my sitstay backwards so that I could make sure they wouldn't jump me *lol*. Saturday I had four Q's out of five, and Sunday I was tired and a bit too stressed out, so I only got one more Q before starting to leave the ring. But mom was still so proud of me! I ended up with two first places, two third places, and my CL1-F (Canine Performance Events Level 1 Fun Games) title :).
The next weekend I went to a NADAC games trial, which had two games each of Tunnelers (all tunnels!) and Touch N' Go (tunnels and contacts) each day. It took me a while to get used to fact that there were SO MANY tunnels (and the fact that the contact obstacles were different), but once I did I Q'd two Tunnelers runs and two Touch N' Go runs. My friends Rain and Dreamer and Leo and Dolce were there too, and all did awesome!
Canine Good Citizen
What would happen if True and Hayley tried out for their CGC (Canine Good Citizen)....
Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger
This test demonstrates that the dog will allow a friendly stranger to approach it and speak to the handler in a natural, everyday situation. The dog must show no sign of resentment or shyness, and must not break position or try to go to the evaluator.
Hayley: not try to go? to my public? PAH! {flings herself all over Diane} LOVE ME! For the love of all that's holy, LOVE ME!
True: what person? hi mom.
Test 2: Sitting politely for petting
This test demonstrates that the dog will allow a friendly stranger to touch it while it is out with its handler. With the dog sitting at the handler's side, to begin the exercise, the evaluator pets the dog on the head and body. The handler may talk to his or her dog throughout the exercise. The dog may stand in place as it is petted. The dog must not show shyness or resentment.
Hayley: I love you. Take me home with you?
True: omigod there's someone I don't know touching me. Help help helphelphelphelp.
Test 3: Appearance and grooming
This practical test demonstrates that the dog will welcome being groomed and examined and will permit someone, such as a veterinarian, groomer or friend of the owner, to do so.
Hayley: weeeeeeee attention!
True: she's STILL touching me! Mooooooom!
Test 4: Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead)
This test demonstrates that the handler is in control of the dog. The dog may be on either side of the handler. The dog's position should leave no doubt that the dog is attentive to the handler and is responding to the handler's movements and changes of direction.
Hayley: I might do this, but mom might have to psych me out thinking she has cookies.
True: yay, walking! Love you mom for taking me away from the scary touchy-brush lady!
Test 5: Walking through a crowd
This test demonstrates that the dog can move about politely in pedestrian traffic and is under control in public places. The dog and handler walk around and pass close to several people (at least three). The dog may show some interest in the strangers but should continue to walk with the handler, without evidence of over-exuberance, shyness or resentment. The dog should not jump on people in the crowd or strain on the leash.
Hayley: {attempts to fling herself at the people}
True: {swings as away from the people as possible while staying with mom}
Test 6: Sit and down on command and Staying in place
This test demonstrates that the dog has training, will respond to the handler's commands to sit and down and will remain in the place commanded by the handler (sit or down position, whichever the handler prefers). The dog must do sit AND down on command, then the owner chooses the position for leaving the dog in the stay.
Hayley and True: EASY! :)
Test 7: Coming when called
This test demonstrates that the dog will come when called by the handler. The handler will walk 10 feet from the dog, turn to face the dog, and call the dog.
Hayley and True: EASY! :)
Test 8: Reaction to another dog
This test demonstrates that the dog can behave politely around other dogs. Two handlers and their dogs approach each other from a distance of about 20 feet, stop, shake hands and exchange pleasantries, and continue on for about 10 feet. The dogs should show no more than casual interest in each other. Neither dog should go to the other dog or its handler.
Hayley: how can I get around this furry thing to the person? Hmmm...
True: mom.
Test 9: Reaction to distraction
This test demonstrates that the dog is confident at all times when faced with common distracting situations. The evaluator will select and present two distractions. Examples of distractions include dropping a chair, rolling a crate dolly past the dog, having a jogger run in front of the dog, or dropping a crutch or cane. The dog may express natural interest and curiosity and/or may appear slightly startled but should not panic, try to run away, show aggressiveness, or bark.
Hayley: hahahaha, no barking. Do they not know me? Sudden environmental Change, did you see it? Sound the alarm!
True: I think they're trying to give me a heart attack. Cookies please.
Test 10: Supervised separation
This test demonstrates that a dog can be left with a trusted person, if necessary, and will maintain training and good manners. Evaluators are encouraged to say something like, "Would you like me to watch your dog?" and then take hold of the dog's leash. The owner will go out of sight for three minutes. The dog does not have to stay in position but should not continually bark, whine, or pace unnecessarily, or show anything stronger than mild agitation or nervousness.
Hayley: did mom go somewhere? oh well. Yay, steph/diane/person holding me! Hey...where /did/ mom go? .......
True: mom? mom? momomomomomomomomomomomomomomomomomomMOM!
Exciting day!!
Hayley here. Mom is SOOOOO proud of us! She keeps on kissing us and telling us how wonderful we are. We went to a doggie demo today with the other people from the club, to show off what we know in 'gilities. Now usually I'm too nervous to do anything with all those people watching, but mom was able to spend a lot of time with me on the floor, letting me sniff around and giving me lots of treats when I did something right. So I ran two demos today, and did the whole course both times! Then mom took True out, and I'm not so crazy about that, since *I'm* supposed to be the star here, but I guess it's okay to share. A bit. True ran the whole course, too! Mom says that's because it was really easy (only jumps and tunnels, which are the only things True knows. *I* know lots more!).
Anyway, mom asked us to give her this as her birthday present, and she seems happy with it :). Mom's friend, our Auntie Steph, told mom how wonderful we were, and how fabulous in particular I looked.
Now I'm pooped!
Hayley <3
Socks and destruction, woohoo!
Ha, we finally managed to get the blog to work! *happy doggy grins* So much has happened since our profiles were set up. Let's see...
Hayley chewed on a great sock. mom wasn't too happy about that.
True peed downstairs by the back door (I guess mom wasn't paying attention)
We worked together to pull a pretty expensive print out of mom's cardboard protectors and chew it to bits while mom was out at dinner this week. we love paper!
For dessert today we pulled a packing box down off of mom's bed and promptly shredded it. stuff was everywhere, it was so cool!
True: We all went to the park last week, and I splashed in the stream! I'd always come back though when mom called. There was a lab puppy there, but she was a little too friendly for us.
In class this week I stuck really close to mom and she clicked me lots of times for 'heeling'. I guess I did it pretty well! I tried to relax a little bit and not be so scared, since I know mom will protect me from anything. And she had chicken, which helps :). They tried to get me to 'come' to her, but I was a little freaked out by the strange man holding my leash, and the kids playing in the corner. Maybe next week!
Hayley: In class last week I did SO awesome on the teeter, mom treated me a zillion times and kept on saying 'jackpot!'. This week it wasn't nearly as high because I was playing on it with Rocky and he doesn't like it high up yet, so I didn't have to be as careful with hitting my start contact. Running through the two tunnels was fun, though...I got really fast zooming through them! We also played on the dog walk, and a lot of work on boring ol' weaves. Mom's trying something new now...she calls it 'two by twos', and I think I'm starting to get it. At the end of class those of us who were left ran around and burned off the rest of our energy. It was fun!
Love and biscuits,
Hayley and True
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