Six to Nine Months

[ejano]

You're very wrong about the CGC. It's not as easy to pass as you think it is, and although it is an AKC program I think it is a worthwhile program that encourages socialization and training skills -- does not require AKC registration either. Having a CGC can be crucially important for things like renting an apartment or proving that your dog is trustworthy in public. Solo passed the CGC test and despite having everyone at the training club totally on our side, let me tell you, it was not easy. You better bet I include that CGC on his doggie CV!

 

I agree with you that the CGC is very worthwhile and will definitely pursue it when the time is right. Our late BC mix (a pound pup) Lucky earned her CGC through 4-H dog club with my son years ago, and we framed it with her picture like some folks frame their kids sports teams because it was an achievement for both Lucky and Stephen. She was a great dog -- we used to say she spoke three languages. because she "talked" so much.

 

I suspect like most groups, all AKC clubs are different - when the basic obedience instructor brags that "None of my dogs have failed the CGC" and "we bring in a different dog for dogs that are more reactive" and a staffordshire bull terrier that is definitely not dependable can "pass", I gotta wonder how meaningful it is to test in this club environment. I've been talking with another trainer who shares my stricter view of the CGC -- it has to be a geniune test of the dog's abilities, not a set-up. I plan to keep working with the pups and test them when they're solid. The main difficulty is finding other dogs to do that reactive test with. Brodie especially needs that exposure. I'll have to take another class.....there's only two other pups in this class.

 

Liz

[ejano]

But the brushing!!! I don't think I'll ever get him to pass because of the brushing. He allows it with absolutely no aggression, but he tries to get away from you before he allows it, and he acts like I spent about 3 months out of his first year mercilessly beating him with the thing rather than what I really did, which was get him used to it as a puppy on a nightly basis (he used to LOVE it! go figure) and then later trying to desensitize him with treats, etc. Now I no longer make a big fuss, he simply gets brushed twice a week or after a nasty bur-filled walk, but as soon as he sees it in my hand he immediately runs behind the coffee table or bed and hunkers like an air raid is happening. I have to take him by the collar and arrange him to somewhere I can get at all his parts. I just know if he saw a tester whip a brush out, he'd leave his stay and be on the other end of the room, in the corner, cowering.

 

Several years ago I picked up a soft rubber dog brush with wider spaced, soft rubber teeth -- it was supposed to not only pick out loose hairs from the dogs coat but you could use the other side, a smooth edge, to swipe fur off the couch . I think it was kind of a gimick because I don't see it offered on any of the sites, but there are other rubber brushes with soft teeth.

 

I used it to clean up the dogs after brushing them out with the stripping comb, etc. kinda like a massage . That's the only brush I'm using on the pups at the moment and the only one they really need as now that Robin has stopped taking mudbaths, they're both really quite clean. That is the brush I'm taking with me to the CGC.

 

Liz

[eclare]

My male pit bull has taken and failed the CGC test twice because he cannot deal with the supervised separation. It's really very frustrating. We worked on long down stays and out of sight stays, but when test time came around again, he still got upset.

 

I'll probably take it with puppy Steve eventually, but he, too, seems to be getting perturbed about separation.

 

 

That's the part that Daisy failed, too. And it's really really hard to train for because you need to get your dog comfortable with lots of strange people in lots of strange places while you're not around.

 

Everything else on the test was a snap, and in fact the testers actually used Daisy as the distraction dog when testing others. But I still have no idea how to cure my dog of her bizarely selective separation anxiety.

 

 

This may be going off topic, but I feel compelled to say that I love adolescent dogs. Give me an 8 month old over an 8 week old any day. 6 months is when I really start to have fun with my puppies and I don't find them at all challenging as long as I keep their developmental issues in mind. Maybe I'm alone on this.

 

Well, I love playing with other people's adolescent dogs - they are just so funny and earnest at that age. But I can't say that I'm eager to go through again myself. Maybe it would be easier now that I have more experience, but getting my very first dog at age 6 months was a joy that I'm not in a huge hurry to repeat.