Sadie, CGC

You read that title right. Sadie took, and passed, the Canine Good Citizen test today. She was really good, though slightly overwhelmed by the whole event. (The test was given at the New Rochelle Humane Society's annual dog wash.) When we did the 'greet a stranger with a dog' she completely ignored the other pup. On receiving the feedback that she had passed, I actually started to tear up a little.

This is a huge milestone for Sadie, and a measure of just how far she has come. When we adopted her over 4 years ago she was highly dog-reactive, had no handler focus, and couldn't be walked loose-leash. There was even a time that her reactivity got so bad, I was afraid to take her out without a prong collar. Now she can remain calm in the middle of a dog-centric event with scores of strange people and dogs milling about, and the worst she did was snatch treats off a table.

Maxwell came to the event as well, though his behavior was a contrast to Sadie's. He fought the Gentle Leader to try to greet strange dogs, had a hard time relaxing when we were all sitting around, and snarked other dogs. Repeatedly. I know he's in his obnoxious teenage phase, but this has got to stop. He's not nearly as food-motivated as Sadie, so I need to figure out how to redirect him when I see it about to happen. A tennis ball might work, but I need to get one of these to carry it more easily everywhere.

Both dogs got some more tug work tonight. Sadie will now offer a brief pull in addition to her enthusiastic bite. I'm confident that she'll be doing some real tugging in another few weeks. Maxwell is offering the pull almost immediately, and will keep the pressure on for at least a second. Once or twice he actual let me drag him down the hall with a nice, strong opposition tug the whole way.

I'm also teaching Maxwell to HUG on cue. The woman who introduced me to Aussies, let's call her Aussie Mom, was at the club yesterday with one of her dogs. When she wanted to pick up the leash, she simply asked her dog to jump up, with her forefeet planted on Aussie Mom's chest, which allowed Aussie Mom to take the leash without bending down. I have to lean waaaaay back before Maxwell will jump and hold the position, as my upright posture is too much pressure for him to come up. As Aussie Mom suggested, I'll slowly work up to standing normally. Baby steps!