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Thinking outside the Schutzhund box: Iron Dogs earn Canine Good Citizen awards
The American Kennel Club sponsors a test, the Canine Good Citizen ("CGC"), to encourage owners to teach their dogs good public manners and elementary obedience. Schutzhund dogs have to pass a BH, a test of obedience and temperament, before attemping to earn their Schutzhund titles. The CGC is much more basic than the BH, but includes some different elements and is more widely known than the BH. There's no reason why Schutzhund dogs shouldn't be able to earn a CGC with flying colors. But at Iron Dog we're not satisfied with just passing a relatively easy test under ideal conditions. We made it a bit more challenging by holding the test late on an August Friday night in the middle of the Ocala town square, not knowing who or what would go by to provide distractions. It was also a great opportunity to show the public our dogs are stable and obedient in any situation.
Six dogs took the test and all six passed. Below are some photos from the event.
Left-to-right:
Mike & Justice; Isabel & Cody; Louise & Dalen; Anita & Parek (Evaluators); Michele & Baretta; Jason & Gage, Kane and Alona
Iron Dogs waiting patiently while owners tend to paperwork.
Cody sits quietly while Isabel greets Anita.
Dalen ignores Parek as Louise talks with Anita.
Jason waits while "Vet" Anita examines Alona.
Louise takes Dalen for a walk
Justice stays and Mike leaves
Gage comes when Jason calls
Justice looks on in amusement at Anita's attempts to distract him.
Handlers go out of sight for 3 minutes while their dogs are held by a friendly stranger.
Parek the Professional Neutral Dog thinks about his testing strategy for the evening.
