Tuesday, July 19, 2016

summer school

For the second summer in a row, I have the privilege of teaching the upper level Canine Good Citizen classes. This year, there are two of them.. one is the community class and the other is the Urban class. These classes are litterly taught out in public, so the dogs that have signed on are already very good with their skills... just always working on improving them. The community class is Tina with Juno (great dane) Sandall with Oliver (st. poodle) Kathleen is there with Logan... Rick with Attitcus (Lab) Judy with Angle (French bulldog) and Wanda with Solo (pappion)  


Needless to say, a group such as this is going to bring on a lot of attention!!! So, before we got out on the road/sidewalk, we did some warm up work first. One of the "tests" they must pass is being able to sit quietly in a small group..... since (at the moment) there weren't too many people, our group was... ourselves. And to these guys, that's no big deal.
A bit of walking... the must also have dogs that walk nicely with loose leashes.......
And off we go. Just as I had thought, it took all of five seconds for everyone to to notice the dogs. At first it was just because there were "so many".. and then "all the different kinds"... but I very quickly heard comments of... 'my dog could never do this".. or "perhaps I should do some training with mine"...
That pleased me, because this is exactly what this class is all about. Having dogs that know how to behave in public, know how to handle themselves under unknown situations.... and yes, any dog... all dogs... should be able to do this. 
Livy ends up being in both classes because she is with me.... leave it to her to find the kids and schmooze with them!!!! Just keeping her reader dog skills up I guess...
And the smiles...... people who stopped where smiling and talking to the dogs, to us and to each other. Many of course, are on vacation, so we heard lots of stories about the doggies waiting at home... or the people who might have owned a doggie just like us. There is no doubt that dogs bring people together.... 
It was hard to keep the class moving because people were so interested in them, and what we were doing.....
Angel smiled at this little girl........
Livy was quite certain this little chap needed to come home with us.......
The hour flew by and I had to hussle to catch up with the next class... this one is the Urban class... and though it's much like the community class, it has a few harder tests for these dogs...

Here we have Mary and Storme (shepherd) Karen and Roxie (Portuguese water dog) Sonya and Daisy (staffishire terrier) Martha and Glory (boxer) and Judy with Kingston (French bulldog)... another group that will draw attention...
These dogs did the community class last year, so in a way, this is old hat to them. But it's still important to keep the skills high, and that can only be done by practice....
Livy says  "really Mom... how many classes must a girl do??"
Down stays on the board walk.... these dogs need to do a three minute down stay for one of their tests.... we did this one right outside the bowling alley... and on the board walk where the surface underneath is not steady. It echos, it "moves"... and it feels different. They make it look so easy, but in fact, this is a really hard place for a dog to work. 
The evening was just perfect.. the weather had cleared just in time (thunderstorms had rolled threw just before)... we were working at the beach!!! with great people and dogs, and a night full of smiles..... after that, it was time for ice cream...


and to think... this is my "job" !!!!!!