Good Citizen dog training

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mikegoodson1
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Good Citizen dog training

Post by mikegoodson1 »

I'm feeling a bit disappointed this evening as we (Sasha and I) failed our good citizen bronze test tonight on the final task; sit or down with a stay for a minute - other than that she was perfect all night bless her. In mitigation (or maybe I am making excuses) we were in a hall she has never been in and we were surrounded by noisy/boisterous Labradors! *Re-reading that last bit sounds like I'm making excuses and being a grump :(

Anyway, I was just setting the scene :)

My actual question is, do many of you follow the good citizens scheme (or whatever 'local to you' Kennel Club obedience testing program there is) or do you 'just' do your obedience classes, get the basics in and leave it there?

Sasha is really attentive (the examiner this evening remarked on how she watches me constantly) and so I think she could do well at obedience but the other part of me tells me that she is our pet, who we love dearly, so why get so worked up about passing exams etc. Is it really worth it? As long as she can come when called/sit/down/wait and stay/not jump up at people, is that not enough?

I'm pretty sure there will be different opinions, which is what I am after ;)

Thank you,
Mike
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Re: Good Citizen dog training

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Mike

Oh Mike, you have let her down...... ;) :ymhug: I know how you must be feeling. I was very lucky with Oscar. When he did his bronze medal test his walking to heel was atrocious but the examiner asked me to walk faster and almost running she passed us. I think at the time I took it seriously but I think it is a bit of fun but I don't think Oscar enjoyed it. From the moment he arrived at the venue he wanted to leave. Any training task that had us passing the door was a nightmare because he thought he was going home. So I guess the question is are you both enjoying it. If you are when there is every reason to carry on - the certificates are just a bonus that get dusty in your drawer. With Otto, as long as he has the basics I am happy. I have largely trained him myself as the training classes I have taken him to have not been good at all and really set us back.
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zeta1454
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Re: Good Citizen dog training

Post by zeta1454 »

It is a real blow when you have put in lots of work with training and on the night of the test circumstances go against you especially on just one part. It does sound a bit hard that Sasha was surrounded by noisy Labs too. Over the years we have noticed with our dogs that the examiners can vary in how strictly or leniently they judge some of the KC Good Citizen tests and some certainly at Bronze level would try to assist a good puppy to have a second chance at one detail.

I agree with Julie that whatever activity you engage in with Sasha should be something that you both enjoy. If you and Sasha have been enjoying the Good Citizen classes and it is just the disappointment not getting a pass this time, then carry on and maybe work on the sit/stay in a variety of new and different places and with increasing levels of distraction (noisy dogs/ children etc.). There is no problem about re-taking a level in the future.

However, the KC Good Citizen is not necessarily the only training course as the Association of Pet Dog Trainers also have a Good Companion scheme that is more practical and at Puppy level involves ongoing assessment throughout the course rather than just a single test at the end:

http://www.apdt.co.uk/dog-owners/good-companion-awards" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Of course the awards in any Scheme are not necessary for enjoying life with your dog and there are a range of different activities you could try out with Sasha if you are not keen on the obedience type of training. Here are a couple of courses which our dogs love:

http://www.talkingdogsscentwork.co.uk/T ... lcome.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.developingdogs.co.uk/classes ... s-parkour/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The main thing with any training activity with your dog should be mutual enjoyment of the activity and any one of these or more, if run well by experienced trainers, will help to strengthen the bond between you. In our experience dogs do love some kind of one on one training activity and with some the "training" is not even thought of as such by the dog - they just love the activity....and the treats! :))
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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squidgy100
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Re: Good Citizen dog training

Post by squidgy100 »

That’s such a shame! We have been through the same scheme with both of ours, but only to bronze level....the stay was the most stressful. As you say, its usually in a testing centre that you have never been to before, new smells, new dogs, and possibly a young puppy....that’s stressful enough! We found that our trainers were in it to pass all dogs, and allowed several tries at a stay in both the group environment and even took them out of the room to give it a go! It’s a shame they may not have given you that option!

Training is a personal thing and it really does depend on what you want out of it, for me the first time round it was training me rather than the dog, and second time round it was to have some one to one time and focus with a new puppy! As a family we just wanted a dog to have some ‘basic’ manners but you can take training to any level you want, as Leigh says, so long as you both enjoy it...we then went onto agility training, again mainly as a one to one exercise as a two doggy family but time restraints stopped us!


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