Preparing for CGC?

[GypsysMom]

This is kind of a behavior and a training question..

I know that to get the CGC your dog must not make contact with the other person or dog when you greet them, now Gypsy has issues with dogs(especially females) when they make any eye contact, her and a GSD seem to be at each others throats at each class.... To all the experienced people out there is there other things I can do besides what I am doing now by taking her to class after class?? what about the CGC prep classes are they worth the money?? There is a terrier in class that is male and Gypsy and Him look at each other and no issues... I am hoping she gets this under control


Thanks oh in 2 weeks she will be 11 months old and 78 pounds...

[targonrotts]

when i test for this exercise, i personally prefer to use my own dog that could care less to give the tested team a better chance than pitting two testing teams together.
but that aside,
remember you can talk to your dog. i start at about 15 feet away, meet half way, ask the dogs to sit, shake hands and say hello, and continue the direction you were walking.
in training, if your dog starts to make eye contact with another, immediately get her attention, have them do a sit or down or other command, and keep attention on you.
a good basic obedience level one and 2 should make most dogs ready for cgc.

[JemarsSerena]

Not sure if this will work for you, but we went to the pet stores to be around other leashed dogs and lots of people. Walk fast and change direction a lot. It forces the dog to pay attention.

[GypsysMom]

Yeah my trainer told me last night whatever command I am giving her make sure she makes eye contact with me... We were learnoing stand and Gypsy did well BUT she was eyeballing all the other dogs. and the first to bark at her she left posisition, She responds well to my correction when she flys off the handle when confronted by other dogs.. There is one cocker spaniel that drives 2 hours to see my trainer since he was kicked out from every training class. and Im begining to see why.. he starts trouble with all the dogs in class...he will lunge at them and bark excessily

Thanks alot Im giving her until Summer since In may Im taking an advanced training class. I hope it has a few larger dogs in it and not so many little ones

[hokisteph5]

Have you tried teaching the "watch me" command? I wish I had taught Samson this command before we tested. While he passed, there were a couple of redos before he passed the "reaction to another dog" part of the test. He kept trying to cross in front of me to go see the other dog, an aussie.

I worked on this command in a CGC workshop this fall and he picked up on it really quickly. Now when we're out and about all I have to do is say "watch me" and his eyes lock onto my face. It has helped him not want to meet everyone who passes us.

Also, if your dog has issues with its paws being touched, you can have the evaluator ask the dog to shake, give paw, etc. It got Samson and another dog through their "appearance and grooming" parts.

Last, I don't know if this is unique or not, but my evaluators let us give treats when our dogs weren't actively testing. There were a few parts where only one dog was being tested (e.g. walking through a crowd) and the rest of us were waiting downstairs with our dogs. We were allowed to give treats then.

[GypsysMom]

My trainer is the one that will give the test, Gypsy will let everyone even the kids touch her feet, but not me I do "watch" with her in class, especially when we have all the dogs in a down stay or a sit stay and another dog weaves inbetween them and that works well

[hokisteph5]

If it's your trainer you may get a little more slack than you would with a stranger during the test, especially since they know your dog. All I can recommend is to work on the weak areas. I had taken the CGC prep classes just because that was the only one offered by my trainer after Puppy K. I found them helpful, but only because we worked specifically on the different test items.

In Samson's second prep class, week after week he did well with the distraction to another dog (whereas in the first class this was a weak area), but developed issues with the grooming and walking on a loose leash portions. I worked extensively on both of these areas, especially the loose leash, and on test day he flew through both of those items with flying colors. His old weakness appeared, though, when it came time to test the distraction to another dog.

[fbkeays]

My dogs have been used as the neuteral dog for the reaction to another dog section of the CGC many times. I had been an evaluator for several years, but haven't renewed since they required payment. My club offers CGC tests several times a year so we just have at least one club member with the number "supervising" the rest of us as we do the testing.
For the neuteral dog, we try to have opposite sex dog to the testee dog. I have used my intact male with other males (intact and neutered) in a pinch as long as the testee dog didn't appear to be too reactive before we got to that part. My intact male is very good about ignoring other males, but would react if actively challenged. He has been well behaved with intact male border collies giving him a medium hard eye.
The great thing about the CGC is that you can talk to your dog. You can put your dog in a sit or down before shaking hands. You can tell your dog to "leave it" as many times as you quietly can while saying hello to the other person. I have done that with my own dogs.
The CGC is as much a test of how well mannered your dog is as much as it is a test of how the handler handles their dog in situations. So go ahead and "handle" your dog as gently and non harshly as you need to.

[Dugganmom]

Good thread as I am doing the same thing preparing for a cgc with Duggan!!!!

[Cash]

Cash took and passed the CGC at 9 months and again at 2 years. (I also assist with CGC classes & testing ) I recommend them highly, essentially it's practice of the CGC test each class. They help in so many ways, and it's very helpful to know the test rules which in turn helps you to help your dog.

CGC is a certificate, it's a basic test of good manners. If your dog has an issue with a 'certain' dog, and not dogs in general, I would work on and praise HEAVILY the times when you are getting the behavior you ARE looking for. Remember, you can talk to, and praise your dog all you want! If your dog has issues, work on a solid sit first. A "down" can sometimes throw a nervous dog off because it's a much more vulnurable position than a sit.

Also, I have never seen an evaluator bring in a "neutral" dog that was NOT neutral. The CGC is aimed at setting the dog up to succeed, not fail. It's not a giveaway, but it's fair.

From the AKC:
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.

You can call, email or visit the AKC and get the rules regarding the test.

Good luck, and have fun.

[fbkeays]

Originally Posted by Cash

Also, I have never seen an evaluator bring in a "neutral" dog that was NOT neutral. The CGC is aimed at setting the dog up to succeed, not fail. It's not a giveaway, but it's fair.

For Cipher's CGC, she did take classes. She was about 4 or 5 months old when she did it. The instructor had used one of her dogs through out the 6 weeks and did not want to use a familar dog for the actual test. This was done through a very large vet practice. So she borrowed a fellow vet tech's dog.
Unfortunately this dog was overly friendly and not terribly obedient. All of the dogs failed misably except Cipher who was handled very well by my husband. He used his knee just enough to remind Cipher to not get out of heel position.
Since all of the other dogs failed, they got to redo the exercise with the instructor's other dog. She has a half blind, deaf, brain damaged collie. There is no dog on this planet that is any more neutral this this dog who even has a permament head tilt to the left. All of the other dogs passed with this dog.
The vast majority of evaluators want you to pass and will not intentionally set a dog up to fail.

[GypsysMom]

I told Kristie (my trainer) Gypsy would be great as long as the other dog is Male, she and an airdale terrier (male un neutered) seemed to make go-go eyes at each other is was kind of funny, I think if left to play they would make best buds, it was just the GSD (female) and that barking cocker spaniel that annoyed her, we would be in a heel and he would be in front of us and just stop and bark for no reason, his owners have no control over his lil butt at all... I think with more training she will pass, she is a great dog she loves to be petted, have her teeth looked at , its just her feet with me she has an issue with