Kristina, you should write me out your experience on each test item! Koda is pretty good on everything, I am just not sure how little of a reaction they want on things and I need to see if I he will lay for 20 seconds (he will sit I know that).

I'll dig out our "score card" and write it up here.

Thanks Kristina! I am going to try to have that done by mid night month. I wanted to do classes but I don't have 7 weeks plus $200 is not worth it for 2 little areas.

Hi there. We did the CGC testing last June and therapy dog testing in sept. Some things I did to set us up for success for the CGC:
I chose a place where Frankie would be evaluated individually and indoors, not in a large group of dogs as too many other dogs really excite him. It was located at a doggy day care so another dog was available for that portion of the test.
I scheduled the appointment for a time that I knew was typically a "down time" for Frankie.
Lots of exercise before hand.....a tired husky is a good husky:)
I knew Frankie had all of the skills, but I really wanted to set us up to be successful.

There are books available through the AKC with how to train for the testing so you can do it on your own without spending too much $$ on training, especially if you have all of the basics.

I did it because I wanted him to become a therapy dog. It's good to have for your dog for insurance purposes and with so many states/counties trying to pass breed specific laws.

Hope this was helpful

Thanks Dee! That does help!

My hubby is a councelor and he works with troubled teens and he would very much like Ginger to be a thearpy dog.

Hummm.....Never thought about tiring Siku out before trying it. That's a really good idea! If she's not so hyper, she'd probably do pretty well.

Oh I remembered one good tip my trainer was telling us. There is a point where you have to put your dog on a long lead. Make sure you keep the dogs leash on while you're attaching the long lead and then unclip it. And the same thing when putting the leash back on and the long lead off. It's a big no no to not have anything attached to the dog during the test.

Ginger is registered for CGC training starting April 18!

Yay Ginger! You'll do great. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!!!!

Good luck to both of you! Ginger seems to have the perfect personality for it, I'm sure she'll do great!

I really want to get Embry his, but i'd feel ridiculous if he failed

I think I posted the 10 things they test on. You can practice to make sure he's good on all the tests. That way he'll pass for sure!

We're taking her to traning because she does really well in her surroundings and when there are no distractions. She'll do well on the tests also at our favorite dog park, so we going to training so that she learns to focus with other dogs around too. And the trainer can also put us in touch with getting Ginger tested if she's a good candidate for therapy dog once she is CGC certified.

I think Embry wouldn't pass on Test 9: Reaction to distraction, he is a really nervous dog when it comes to loud noises and someone dropping something, i have a feeling he'd try to run away. also Test 2: Sitting politely for petting, he gets way excited, he doesn't jump but he starts singing and rubbing his head against your legs lol. maybe when he's a little older we'll finally have him good to go

Dee&Frankie wrote:

Hi there. We did the CGC testing last June and therapy dog testing in sept. Some things I did to set us up for success for the CGC:
I chose a place where Frankie would be evaluated individually and indoors, not in a large group of dogs as too many other dogs really excite him. It was located at a doggy day care so another dog was available for that portion of the test.
I scheduled the appointment for a time that I knew was typically a "down time" for Frankie.
Lots of exercise before hand.....a tired husky is a good husky:)
I knew Frankie had all of the skills, but I really wanted to set us up to be successful.

Dee---this is REALLY helpful. I didn't think about the tiring out thing either, though it completely makes sense. Nut's still too young and needs more exposure training--maybe I'll do a Petsmart obedience class just to get her used to working with other dogs around in a public place. But I have the same goal--I want her to be a therapy dog and I really believe she'll be an excellent one.

Hubby and Ginger have been in CGC class now for 4 weeks. She started out really well, and is still doing ok, but the 2 things she won't do for JD is to sit and lay down when asked. He struggles with a couple of other test points, but she's almost defiant when it comes to sit and lay down. Funny thing is, hubby will come home and tell what she needs work on, and we'll go over it at home and she'll do it just fine for me. Tonight he came home and said, 'I think you need to finish class and take the test with her. She listens to you. She's your dog.'

JD will be out of town for the next class, so if she does better in training with me for that class, I'll be finishing up CGC class with Ginger.

Another funny thing is, JD comes home and will tell me what test points they did, and I'll do it with both Ginger and Storm together, and they'll do it for me. I keep telling him to spend more time walking them, and feeding them and challenging them, but he has a different opinion...until something like this comes up. Men!

cmanding wrote:

until something like this comes up. Men!

Not necessarily anything he's doing or not doing. Both my sibes respond better to my wife than me. They interact with me the same as her except when it comes to training / commands. I've always suspected it was the more to do with vocal inflections than anything else.

Lordbroll wrote:

cmanding wrote:

until something like this comes up. Men!

Not necessarily anything he's doing or not doing. Both my sibes respond better to my wife than me. They interact with me the same as her except when it comes to training / commands. I've always suspected it was the more to do with vocal inflections than anything else.

I guess that kind of sounded like a dig against men. I'm sorry - that wasn't my intention

Hubby has a different opinion from me as to how much interaction huskies need from their humans. And he keeps telling me that he's trained many huskies and half timber wolves so he KNOWS how to train...I think our little red is just showing him how different they can all be.

No worries, I caught no dig. I was just sharing that in our house it maybe vocal tone related as to the willingness to comply with the command.

That is too funny. Frankie is the same way. If you would meet Frankie with my mom, you would have a hard time believing it's the same dog. He has NO respect for her and doesn't listen to her at all. Frankie senses immediately who will/will not let him get away with anything. And with him, his respect needs to be earned. He has to know that you have the ability to follow through or he walks all over you. I think it's important that he respects all humans in the home, but I can't make him listen to others, they have to do it. Frankie is really starting to listen to my son, now I just need to work on my mom.

I think JD should practice with her at home too. Especially if he is the one that wants to take her as a therapy dog. He has to know that she will listen to him too.

Dee&Frankie wrote:

...I think JD should practice with her at home too. Especially if he is the one that wants to take her as a therapy dog. He has to know that she will listen to him too.

JD is the reason why we are going through CGC. He wants her to be his therapy dog for counceling. And because it'll be him taking her to counceling, I figured he needs to go to CGC and Ginger needs to learn to listen to him.

I keep telling him that he needs to practice with her the test points outside of class but he's not putting in the effort. Since I work from home, I take them out for walks and I will always practice what I can when we're out. Even at home, no treat is for free. They have to do something, even if it's just laying down, to get a treat.

This is where JD has a different opinion. He doesn't think the constant stimulation is needed because, as he says, 'they are an intelligent breed and quick learners'.

For me, my 2 are my first dogs ever. So maybe I'm over kill with the training, the constant challenges, the walks and the amount of exercise I think they need...but, they do listen to me.

I also try to tell JD that he needs to be patient and not get frustrated and work at until Ginger gets it, even if it takes a while. He needs to be able to follow through on what he wants her to do.

Am I off on my thinking?

No your not off in you thinking at all and it shows since they do listen to you better

They ARE a very intelligent breed which is why they need constant stimulation. And since they are a working breed, they almost expect to work for their food, treats, etc.

It is important when taking you dog for TD visits that you can get them to sit, down, stay etc. for petting and safety of the people you are visiting. Remember most places you visit the people are not well whether it's mentally or physically and the dogs picks up on that, so the dogs need to know that the handler is in control of the situation as it decreases their anxiety.....just some food for thought.

Dee&Frankie wrote:

No your not off in you thinking at all and it shows since they do listen to you better

They ARE a very intelligent breed which is why they need constant stimulation. And since they are a working breed, they almost expect to work for their food, treats, etc.

It is important when taking you dog for TD visits that you can get them to sit, down, stay etc. for petting and safety of the people you are visiting. Remember most places you visit the people are not well whether it's mentally or physically and the dogs picks up on that, so the dogs need to know that the handler is in control of the situation as it decreases their anxiety.....just some food for thought.

Thanks Dee!

cmanding wrote:

but she's almost defiant when it comes to sit and lay down. Funny thing is, hubby will come home and tell what she needs work on, and we'll go over it at home and she'll do it just fine for me. Tonight he came home and said, 'I think you need to finish class and take the test with her. She listens to you. She's your dog.'


Another funny thing is, JD comes home and will tell me what test points they did, and I'll do it with both Ginger and Storm together, and they'll do it for me.

Pretty much the same situation that Beth has with Adobo at school. But I'm working with Biko so its not like I can step in and take over for her. Beth laughs when I can look across the room at Adobo and just raise my hand then point down with a finger and she hits the deck like a ton of bricks, she is a tough one to get to stay down for the 3 minute exercise though. On the other hand Biko is going to be a star pupil out of the 13 weeks of school he's had so far I'd say I've only been disappointed with his performance in one week, last week when he was attacked by another dog which I'm sure broke his level of concentration.

Ginger completed her CGC training and will be testing in the upcoming weeks! I've had to fill in for hubby in 2 classes, and both times, 2 out of the 3 instructors have asked if we've considered me testing with Ginger as her handler as she would definitely pass with me (encouraging!). Hubby will need to practice, and they said we could both test her as her handler without additional cost. (Yay!)

Since I'll be out of town 4th of July weekend, hubby will practice testing Ginger so she's not distracted as she tends to look at me for cues even if hubby is giving her a command.

And now we know what they look for to pass each test point, we'll be taking Storm for his CGC test sometime in the winter.

Congrats. Good luck on the testing. I'm sure she'll be great. Keep us posted