Yesterday was the last class before tonight’s Canine Good Citizen Test and Therapy Dog Evaluation. The entire class was run as if it were the real thing. Although not all the dogs have therapy work in their future, the tests are so similar, we all did both. Starting with a greeting, the dog was seated next to the owner and an evaluator came up, asked to pet the dog. Then (the therapy part), the evaluator ran a brush over the dog, touched its paw and tail. Next step was loose leash walking. Set off, turn right, walk, about turn, walk, left turn, walk back to the start, with a slow and fast pace in there somewhere. Third part was walking through a crowd, with greeting people thrown in for therapy, with distraction (banging food dishes). Fourth was a down stay, owner walks twelve feet away, returns to the dog, walks away twelve feet and calls the dog. Fifth was leaving the dog with a trusted stranger while the owner disappears for three minutes, returns to the dog who doesn’t get hyper. Sixth and final was a greeting with another dog being walked. Owners stop, dogs on the outside, shake hands and walk away, with the dogs not reacting.
When we got to class, there was a little tyke at the table with a coloring book. This was a perfect set up for Parker, who loves little girls, so I took him over to her and asked her if she’d like to pet him. She came up to us and started running her hands over him and he sat quietly, with his eyes closed, slowly leaning into her. (Imagine sixty pounds of dog leaning into thirty pounds of little girl.) I thanked her and we went out into the ring to warm up. He was so happy. Then we left the ring when class started.
When it was our turn, we went out and Parker sat nicely. When the evaluator came up to us, he got up and took a couple of steps toward her (he wasn’t on a stay). This is a monumental improvement for my shy boy. Then he sat and she pet him and, using the brush I brought, ran it over him, touching his feet and tail. Hey, he’s a Poodle, he’s been groomed a lot. No problem. Then we started our loose leash walk, which is not a heeling pattern. Just in case, I had the leash looped over my shoulder. Parker was perfect. Right up to the end, when, for the last several steps, he hopped on his hind legs, his front paws being busy, balancing on my butt. I think the evaluator was too doubled over with laughter at this to mark us down.
On to the wandering through the crowd. He did stellar, not going up to anyone or shying away, until I asked him to meet each person. He sat quietly for the man, who rubbed his ears (Parker likes that); sat nicely for the evaluator in the wheelchair, another teacher he had avoided throughout the classes, who pet him gently; standing by the teacher in the walker who has held him before every class while I would run to the bathroom, who disliked all Poodles until meeting Parker and now loves them; and finally getting some time with his little friend, laying his head in her lap. The banging food dishes didn’t distract him. He reacted by looking at them, but otherwise ignored them.
For the next part, he sat when I asked, but took a minute to do the down. I don’t like repeating myself, so when I said, “down,” and he didn’t, I said, “Uh oh,” and repeated the gesture. That time he flopped onto his belly. I told him to wait, walked away, turned around and came back and then walked away again. And he followed. That was entirely my fault. Not only did I not tell him to stay, but I started off on my left foot, the signal to follow. So I took him back, had him sit, told him to wait and walked away, this time starting on my right. Perfect. I turned and called him and he rushed to me, leash dragging, which he normally hates.
He had no problem being left with someone in a chair while I went outside. When I came back, he remained sitting, but I could see his tail wagging and another person holding another dog said he started to smile as soon as he saw me. But He Didn’t Move. W00t!
We had to wait for a meet and greet until another person was ready. One of the teachers had her Golden Retriever there for that, which worried me. Parker’s good buddy Missy is a Golden and he gets very excited when he sees another one. But she was busy, so we did it with another student who has a Chocolate Lab. Parker did great, not sitting when we stopped (we weren’t on a heel, just a loose leash) and he didn’t react when the Lab stuck his nose in my crotch.
We would have passed!
The real test is tonight.
News at eleven.
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