October 2011 - Life According to Lillie
Ruffff! and Good Morning to you! Since our last chat, I was trying to think about what fun adventures I could share with you, and I think I’ve got just the one!
It was a few years ago when Mom took me to the AKC day at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds - boy was there a lot going on there! There were tons of different exhibits all around, and all of them were dog-related! One building had things to sell, and one had microchipping, and every exhibit had lots of free stuff for me to try. My Dane sister, Chloe, was pretty young, and Mom and Dad were excited to have her out and about meeting lots of other dog friends, but they had me there for a different reason - I was going to become a Canine Good Citizen! Mom knew I could do it, but first, I had to pass the test.
Luckily, this test was fun to "study" for, since there were only a few items I needed to work on ahead of time, and they involved lots of rewards like treats and pats. And oh do I love a good scratch behind the ears! There were 10 behaviors I had to demonstrate to show that I was (as we already knew) a good doggy citizen. The first few were easy for a Golden like me, and they involved having Mom talk to a friendly stranger, me sitting politely being while petted, and accepting a nice brush-down from the tester. The next few took a little more concentration, since I had to walk on a loose leash (and not drag Mom off to see any of the cute puppies milling around), and walk through a crowd. I was paying very close attention to Mom and passed these parts with flying colors!
The next few items on the test involved me following commands - and remember, this test (like the ones humans take in school) doesn’t allow food or treats! - so I had to be very attentive and sit, down, stay, and come on command. Since I was already about 4, I’d known these commands for awhile, but Mom was still a little nervous that I might not be focused with so many distractions around! Which brings me to the next part of the test, distractions!
I had to politely interact with another dog, meaning not be distracted and try to make friends or anything, while Mom chatted with the other dog’s person. Since I’ve been on lots of walks, and mom likes to talk a LOT, I’m an old pro at this. Then, there was the visual and sound distraction portion. The tester threw a metal bowl on the ground, which rattled loudly like a gong, and then opened an umbrella right beside me. I’m not easily scared, so I didn’t try to jump or run away, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my sister, Chloe had tried to eat the umbrella! She is a little more wary around new things. We began to leave the testing area, and I thought - Yahoo! I passed! But, there was still one test item to go… but it was the one Mom was most worried about for me. It was the dreaded "supervised separation" test.
For this last test element, I was going to be asked to stay with a stranger for 3 whole minutes while mom was out of sight - that’s a long time when you don’t know where your Mom went! You’re not allowed to pace or bark or whine, and you have to keep your manners about you. Well, Mom knows that I get anxious when she leaves me (since I just love being around her and my family), so she was worried this would be the part I might mess up on. She walked me to a tent, where a lady asked if she could stay with me. Mom said ok and walked away. At first, I was a little nervous. I stood up and looked for her, and I felt very uneasy. But, after a few seconds, I remembered that Mom had never left me anywhere before and not come back, so I decided I should just lay down and wait for her to come back — and she did! And when she got there, she was so excited because WE PASSED!
She got a certificate to mail in to the AKC and a sticker that told the world we had passed! She put the sticker right on my head, and I jumped up and down and wagged my tail! We both posed for the camera while Dad and Chloe congratulated us! I was proud of myself, and Mom, Dad, and Chloe were all so proud of me!
Lillie with her mom and her Passed Sticker!
All of our dog trainers at CareFirst Animal Hospital are Canine Good Citizen Evaluators. If you are interested in showing the world just how great of a dog you have, contact us to sign up for our training class!
