Obedience Tips
By Doreen Gray 9/1997
It's the time of the year when you should consider conditioning your dog for the good
weather. Over the winter your dog may have become "soft". As the weather improves, you
will be out doing all of the outdoor things. Remember, your dog is probably out of shape
and would benefit from short, brisk walks.
It's time to really brush up on the training too. You need to "hone" those training
skills. It will be especially important to really work the basic five:
- Sit
- Down
- Come
- Stay
- Heel
Consider at this time getting your CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test ... if you haven't
already. The CGC test consists of ten tests, which are rated as pass/fail. Your dog must
pass all ten tests.
- Accepting a stranger
- Sit politely for petting
- Appearance and grooming (must have rabies certificate and dog license for this).
- Walk on loose lead
- Walking through a crowd
- Sit and down on command. Stay in place (either sit or down position)
- Reaction to another dog (should be calm and under control)
- Reaction to distractions (should be calm and under control)
- Supervised separation
- Recall from ten feet
You can earn a certificate and put the initials CGC behind your dog's name IF they pass.
The purpose of this is to show that your dog is a responsible canine in public and to
improve upon the general public's image of the household pet.
Until next time, Happy Heeling!
(Doreen has had Mastiffs for eight years, Rottweilers for ten years and has spent the
last six years training. She is licensed by the National Dog Trainers Association and
has been teaching for the three years. Several articles on training have been written
for the National Dog Trainers Newsletter. Her focus is on CGC, TDI and behavioral work,
primarily with Mastiffs. Two of her Rotts are obedience titled. Doreen is now National
Director for MCOA Rescue).
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