More letters for the Lunatic

We’re back! And we have news!

Introducing…

 CH Dynata’s Bound to Inspire JH CGC

Yep, we got off our butts and went for our Canine Good Citizen title, and she passed!!! Not without some Vizsla flair though.  I must admit, I dealt with this test much like I do most tests, I crammed the day before and of.  But despite my bad studying habits she passed with style.  It went down something like this. (skip the reading if you want, couple photos on the bottom)

~*~Approach a stranger and sit while mom says hello : NOOO PROBLEM  (she could care less about the guy, which is so hit or miss with her because she goes nuts for people sometimes, but maybe it’s based on how the person acts around her)

~*~Have stranger ask to pet her and remain sitting and calm : CHECK (she did a wonderful job with her “wait” and was very calm as he pet her… he helped by being calm, thank you stranger sir.)

~*~ Have stranger groom/check ears/ and paws:  I LOOOVE GROOMING (sooo she saw the brush, then she saw him pick up the brush, then she thought the brush was for her and wanted to check it out, then as he squatted down she lost it a bit and gave him “hi fives” “paws” and wiggled to see if he would give her the brush…. soooo we came back to that one.  In the end I had her stand like at a show, and have her examined and sure enough she stood there like I knew she could and let him do anything he wanted)

~*~ Loose leash walk including a right turn, halt, left turn, and about turn:  FANTASTIC (despite the gazillion feet, butts, treats that had touched that floor from all the other agility and CGC classes on the floor before this, she heeled like a pro)

~*~ Demonstrate: Sit, Down, Stay and Come: NAILED IT (I has an inkling  she would nail this section as her stationary obedience is one of her strong suits)

~*~ Walk through a crowd loose leash :  I CAN DO THIS TOO!  (I was not worried about this section much either as she has worked in a lot of crowds, where I usually am trying to take photos at the same time as handling her. She sniffed in passing but otherwise paid people no mind)

~*~ Approach a stranger and their dog, have the dogs sit as the strangers say hello and have the dogs remain sitting only showing mild interest in the other: WHAT DOG?  (AKA she did better than I ever thought she would/could here.  It was as if the dog did not exist.  This was one area I really was worried about, as Luna can sometimes be a bit of a boss with strange dogs.  It is one area where she occasionally still tries to challenge my leadership.  But this is one area I have really challenged her in, often incoorperating her into the work I do with my training dogs. This has really helped her chill out and realize I can control the dogs in the picture and she doesn’t need to step in and correct them… long story short I was thrilled with how she did with the dog portion.)

~*~ Seperation from owner for 3 minutes:  PASSED with attitude  (sooo, despite the running, walking, and heel work I did with her in efforts to wear her out that day, Luna still had energy to spare.  Most of you already know how vocal Luna is… this sometimes can be multiplied drastically if she has to wait for things in a public setting.  Long story short, she could care less if I left, but she did not want to let her distaste for having to sit relatively still go un-vocalized.  But the fuss she did kick up was in no way due to me being gone, and the evaluators realized that too. When I was told to re-enter the picture she remained calm as she was supposed to not worried at all that I had been gone.)

So in the end I felt she did really well, and I am very happy to cross this off our list.  I was fully expecting to not have her pass, and have this test end up being a learning experience for us. We have never done any formal obedience classes or prep work for such a test.  This has totally sparked my interest in some Rally or obedience work with her.  But our focus for now will be on finishing up more hunt training.

So during her breaks from the field she can go back to

begging for cheese.

This is one of the first phone photos where I have actually captured a bit of the “looks” she gives me.

Like this one from the chair by my computer…

Maybe this is what she wanted… to be covered up. She has me trained well 🙂