Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Will I EVER Get My Act Together?
Yesterday Beryl and I went to another Rally O competition. We had an awesome day, good weather, great company and some very entertaining rounds:) I entered Beryl in Rally Novice and Rally Zoom. Unfortunately Beryl decided that she really HAD to have a comfort stop when we were almost half way through the Rally Novice course even though she hadn't needed to go a few minutes earlier! We finished the course for experience sake and I've actually got a few photos of us in action.
So that was good practice anyway:) A while later we did the Rally Zoom course which I don't have any photos of which is a bit of a shame as Beryl went SO well .... but I got lost again:( We were half way through a weave and I forgot what the station was, lol! My mind totally went blank (which isn't that unusual!) so I turned it into a weave twice which was totally wrong and cost me 10 points. I keep forgetting that I can redo a station if I blow it, hopefully I'll get my act together someday! I would have only lost 3 points if I'd redone the station. And apart from me messing up again, she only lost 2 other points the whole course!! We still got our first merit card on 88 points but we could have got a gold qualifying certificate, same as last weekend, duh! But it's all good fun and experience and hopefully we'll get there:)
The next competition isn't for ages so now we can start learning some things for our Dancing Doggies debut:)
We hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend:)
Time for us all to do some blog hopping which is kindly hosted by the fabulous Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of The Plume
It's easy to join in, just ....
* Link up your blog name and URL using the Linky Tool below. You only need to add you link once to be seen on all the Pet Blogger Blog Hop Linky Tools for that week.
** Grab the Pet Bloggers Blog Hop button that our friends over on Life with Dogs made for us and include it in your Saturday Pet Bloggers Hop post so that your readers will know what is going on.
*** Follow your co-hosts listed in the first 3 slots of the Linky Tool and comment on their blogs to say hello!
**** Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like
***** Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from the Saturday Pet Bloggers Hop
****** Follow back when you get a new follower through the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop
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| I look a little lost as usual! |
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| I am going to get a shorter lead! Beryl is paying attention:) |
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| Good heel position:) |
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| Both concentrating! |
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| Awesome 'down and wait while I walk around her' |
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| You're not getting another down out of me unless I get a treat, Mum!! |
The next competition isn't for ages so now we can start learning some things for our Dancing Doggies debut:)
We hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend:)
Time for us all to do some blog hopping which is kindly hosted by the fabulous Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of The Plume
It's easy to join in, just ....
* Link up your blog name and URL using the Linky Tool below. You only need to add you link once to be seen on all the Pet Blogger Blog Hop Linky Tools for that week.
** Grab the Pet Bloggers Blog Hop button that our friends over on Life with Dogs made for us and include it in your Saturday Pet Bloggers Hop post so that your readers will know what is going on.
*** Follow your co-hosts listed in the first 3 slots of the Linky Tool and comment on their blogs to say hello!
**** Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like
***** Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from the Saturday Pet Bloggers Hop
****** Follow back when you get a new follower through the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Rally O and Doggie Dancing:)
A couple of posts ago I mentioned that Frankie, Beryl and I went to a Rally O competition last Saturday. Even though the weather varied between misty rain and steady rain we had a fun day. I entered them both for Rally Novice but when I walked the course and saw all the sits in it I changed Beryl to Rally Zoom. The grass was wet and I thought my chances of getting about 6 sits out of her were absolutely nil! In Zoom there aren't any sits or downs:)
The only surprise in Frankie's run was that it wasn't my fault we NQ'd:) As usual he had his nose to the ground for 75% of the course!
When it came to Beryl's turn she wasn't sure what was going on the first part of the course but then something clicked and she seemed to start enjoying herself and paying attention to what we were doing and I was really rapt with how she finished. Then the judge came over to me and told me I'd missed a whole station:( As had the competitor before me. Neither of us saw the sign, it was a 360 degree turn to the left as we came out of a weave and apparently we both treated it as an extra cone in the weave, duh!!! Another competitor did the same thing after us. If I hadn't disqualified us Beryl would have got a gold card!! So while I was kicking myself SO hard I was also thrilled with her. I never thought to ask someone to take photos but hopefully I'll get some at the next competition this Saturday:)
Next topic is Doggie Dancing ... Honey the Great Dane is hosting a doggie dancing competition on her blog.
"Don’t worry if you’ve never tried dancing before -- this contest is especially for newbies! The routines won’t be judged on how slick they are or how many fancy moves & tricks the doggie knows but rather on creativity and originality, and most of all the “wow factor” -- the top prize will go to the human & doggie team who look like they are having the most FUN, who can make you smile and think “Awww….” or “Yeah!” and take you out of the moment.
And because I’m an Equal Opportunities Doggie (hey, we’re not all cracker doggies who are happy to work for nothing…us Danes need a pretty good reason to expend any energy!
), I’m not going to put those stupid rules like at the club trials. Nope, in my contest, you can use whatever ‘motivators’ you like during the routine. This means if you need your human to hold some treats to help you focus or even your favourite ball or toy -- whatever it takes to make you keen, happy & enthusiastic - go for it! 
"
It looks like lots of fun, the rules are simple and you've got 2 months to get a 1 minute routine sorted and videoed. Plus there are some wonderful prizes on offer.
Now, Greyhounds and doggie dancing aren't words you would usually put in the same sentence but hey, Honey is a Great Dane (a breed not usually associated with doggie dancing either) and she's a whizz with her dancing routines. And here is a video of a Greyhound doing Canine Freestyle (the offical name for Doggie Dancing) and having a blast
So I'm mulling over the idea of having a go at this with Beryl and maybe bringing Frankie in somewhere, but I'd better not mull too long or it will be June 15th and I won't have done anything!
Why not pop over to Honey's Blog and check it out. She's got a few videos on the page for inspiration and if the little dachshund getting down doesn't make you smile I don't know what will:)
And I'll finish with a couple of photos of Beryl playing fetch with some of her little mates at the park the other night. They all had a blast:) I was trying out some different settings on my camera and none of the moving shots were in focus but you get the idea with this one ....
The only surprise in Frankie's run was that it wasn't my fault we NQ'd:) As usual he had his nose to the ground for 75% of the course!
When it came to Beryl's turn she wasn't sure what was going on the first part of the course but then something clicked and she seemed to start enjoying herself and paying attention to what we were doing and I was really rapt with how she finished. Then the judge came over to me and told me I'd missed a whole station:( As had the competitor before me. Neither of us saw the sign, it was a 360 degree turn to the left as we came out of a weave and apparently we both treated it as an extra cone in the weave, duh!!! Another competitor did the same thing after us. If I hadn't disqualified us Beryl would have got a gold card!! So while I was kicking myself SO hard I was also thrilled with her. I never thought to ask someone to take photos but hopefully I'll get some at the next competition this Saturday:)
Next topic is Doggie Dancing ... Honey the Great Dane is hosting a doggie dancing competition on her blog.
"Don’t worry if you’ve never tried dancing before -- this contest is especially for newbies! The routines won’t be judged on how slick they are or how many fancy moves & tricks the doggie knows but rather on creativity and originality, and most of all the “wow factor” -- the top prize will go to the human & doggie team who look like they are having the most FUN, who can make you smile and think “Awww….” or “Yeah!” and take you out of the moment.
And because I’m an Equal Opportunities Doggie (hey, we’re not all cracker doggies who are happy to work for nothing…us Danes need a pretty good reason to expend any energy!
), I’m not going to put those stupid rules like at the club trials. Nope, in my contest, you can use whatever ‘motivators’ you like during the routine. This means if you need your human to hold some treats to help you focus or even your favourite ball or toy -- whatever it takes to make you keen, happy & enthusiastic - go for it! "It looks like lots of fun, the rules are simple and you've got 2 months to get a 1 minute routine sorted and videoed. Plus there are some wonderful prizes on offer.
Now, Greyhounds and doggie dancing aren't words you would usually put in the same sentence but hey, Honey is a Great Dane (a breed not usually associated with doggie dancing either) and she's a whizz with her dancing routines. And here is a video of a Greyhound doing Canine Freestyle (the offical name for Doggie Dancing) and having a blast
So I'm mulling over the idea of having a go at this with Beryl and maybe bringing Frankie in somewhere, but I'd better not mull too long or it will be June 15th and I won't have done anything!
Why not pop over to Honey's Blog and check it out. She's got a few videos on the page for inspiration and if the little dachshund getting down doesn't make you smile I don't know what will:)
And I'll finish with a couple of photos of Beryl playing fetch with some of her little mates at the park the other night. They all had a blast:) I was trying out some different settings on my camera and none of the moving shots were in focus but you get the idea with this one ....
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| Shadow, Beryl, Lucas and Nugget |
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| Lucas, Ted and Beryl |
Monday, April 18, 2011
Are Your Dogs Creative?
I came across this page a couple of weeks ago but only got around to reading it today and what a wonderful, thought provoking post I found it to be. It's what I would call long, which is why I didn't read it immediately. But I hope you will have a read of it and let me know what you think. And I'd love to know what creative things your dogs do:)
Frankie is more creative than Beryl, which is to be expected as he was only 10 months old when I got him and has been living here for a bit over 2 years now. Beryl was 3 1/2 years old when she came to live with us (a year ago) and I very much doubt any sort of creativity is encouraged in Greyhound kennels:) He's the first one to suss out any sort of 'thinking' toy I get them but Beryl is getting better at thinking about things with practice.
Here's a recent example of Beryl's creativity when she found something to amuse herself with while waiting for me to take them for a walk!
It's not like she didn't have plenty of stuffies lying around to play with. Can you see Frankie in the TV screen? He looks rather horrified. Probably because he's more inclined to amuse himself with mobile phones and remote controls, which I think I've finally learnt to keep out of his reach, touch wood!
I love to see Beryl have fun and get into mischief, even when it results in a mess for me to clean up! If you ever come visit don't expect a tidy house, we have a messy, happy HOME:) And I bet yours is too!
An example of Frankie's creativity is where he likes to eat his meals. He soon discovered that Beryl didn't appreciate him going to check out what she's got. I expect her coming to check his meal out would have resulted either in him letting her have it or some unpleasantness between them. So he figured out that if he eats in her crate then it's all good for everyone:) It took me a few nights to work out his plan. I'd be calling him for tea, and would take their food bowls into the loung room, wondering where he was and he'd be lying in her crate waiting for me:) I shut the door and everybody is happy and I don't have to stand around and supervise and growl.
So, tell me, what do your dogs get up to that surprise and amuse you?
Frankie is more creative than Beryl, which is to be expected as he was only 10 months old when I got him and has been living here for a bit over 2 years now. Beryl was 3 1/2 years old when she came to live with us (a year ago) and I very much doubt any sort of creativity is encouraged in Greyhound kennels:) He's the first one to suss out any sort of 'thinking' toy I get them but Beryl is getting better at thinking about things with practice.
Here's a recent example of Beryl's creativity when she found something to amuse herself with while waiting for me to take them for a walk!
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| Beryl's abstract art! |
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| Madam is quite pleased with her efforts:) |
An example of Frankie's creativity is where he likes to eat his meals. He soon discovered that Beryl didn't appreciate him going to check out what she's got. I expect her coming to check his meal out would have resulted either in him letting her have it or some unpleasantness between them. So he figured out that if he eats in her crate then it's all good for everyone:) It took me a few nights to work out his plan. I'd be calling him for tea, and would take their food bowls into the loung room, wondering where he was and he'd be lying in her crate waiting for me:) I shut the door and everybody is happy and I don't have to stand around and supervise and growl.
So, tell me, what do your dogs get up to that surprise and amuse you?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Blog The Change - My Passion
My first passion is my dogs. As you all know, Beryl is a Greyhound. My second passion is helping people become aware of what wonderful pets Greyhounds make, so I'm probably preaching to the converted here as most people who read my blog are already slaves to their own Greyhound(s)!
But are you taking every opportunity offered where you could demonstrate the fact that they are one of the easiest and most versatile breed of dogs on the planet? Could you take your Greyhound to visit nursing homes? To school to help children read? To every dog friendly event you possibly can?
There are Greyhounds who excel at obedience, agility, tracking, rally O, CGC, therapy dogs etc as well as the majority who excel at being family pets alone. About the only thing I haven't heard of any Greyhounds doing well at is pulling a dog sled! They can live on farms or in apartments.
The general public often don't think of Greyhounds in the context of being a pet, they're just running machines and they never consider what happens to them after racing. Until a couple of years ago I was part of the general public. That soon changed when I met my first Greyhound (Louie) and got to know his owners, sister and lots of foster Greyhounds. I became a convert and Beryl has turned out much better than I dared hope she would. While I don't know of anyone who has actually gone and got a Greyhound after meeting Beryl I do know there are plenty of people who are interested in their next dog being a Greyhound since meeting her:)
Anyway, I hope this post might get some people coming up with ideas of what more they can do to get Greyhounds 'out there'. I'm sure I've only scratched the surface of ideas. What do you do to publicize your wonderful dog?
One huge advantage to getting a Greyhound is that Greyhound owners rock! You are joining a world-wide family who all love their dogs and care about each other:)
I'll finish with a couple of photos I took at a Rally O competition Frankie, Beryl and I went to today (do you sense another blog post coming on?). This is Beryl with Candy, who is a 4 month old Bichon X Tibetan Spaniel (bought from a pet shop!) who has no fear or manners and is like a coiled spring. She just didn't stop.
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| If I ignore it will it go away? |
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| Mum, make it disappear, please???? |
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Well, I've Really Stuffed Things Up This Time!
So, Intense Debate wasn't a success on a few levels, mainly nobody could comment, which kind of defeats the purpose! But then when I uninstalled it I totally lost my comment box and can't get it back. I even changed the template but still no go. But just now I got a comment on a previous post so I'm putting up another post just to see if the comment box returns in a new post. If it does I promise I'll stop fiddling ... if it doesn't you'll probably see me with a Wordpress blog before long!
And, of course we have to have a photo:) I just happened to take some nice ones of Beryl on our walk this afternoon.
Wish me luck, fingers crossed my comment box has found it's way home:)
Oh YAY, it's there, whew!
And, of course we have to have a photo:) I just happened to take some nice ones of Beryl on our walk this afternoon.
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| Beryl loves her Maccas! The bag was empty, poor Beryl:( |
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| What's Frankie Doing? |
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| Helping Frankie hunt for mice! |
Oh YAY, it's there, whew!
Well, This Could Be Interesting?
One of the things I find a bit frustrating about blogging is communicating via comments. For example, if someone asks me a question on my blog or makes a comment I'd like to reply to then I have to go to their blog and comment that way. Or else answer them in my blog and hope they come back to check:) And the same goes if I ask a question on another blog, I have to go back and see if they've replied. All quite fragmented and time consuming!
So I'm trying this Intense Debate comment form which I think I've only really seen on Jet's Blog and it seems to work well. I get an email of all the comments posted and I can easily keep track of what's going on there:)
Of course, this relies on bloggers wanting to know of any replies and further comments and if you do this will hopefully make it easy.
A couple of neat features which you can use in Intense Debate are emoticons and also it should show the title of the last blog written by the commenter. I've seen both on other blogs but they're always Wordpress.
Which leads me to explaining something that's a bit confusing, to me anyway. I've got a Wordpress account as before I got my blog going I didn't know if I would be with Wordpress or Blogger. Obviously I decided on Blogger but Intense Debate wanted to use my Wordpress account to log in so I did and now I might have the Wordpress "W" by my Avatar (or is it Gravatar?). Who knows, lol? I don't yet. Anyway, Greyhounds Can Sit is me with or without the "W".
Can I have some feedback on this please? Do you like it or prefer the comments how they were? If it doesn't work for you then I certainly want to know and you can send me an email via the little 'contact us' envelope in the bottom bar. I'm interested in anything you're thinking about this 'improvement':)
And, you know me, there has to be at least one photo in a blog post of mine so here's one I took of Beryl at the river yesterday.
OK, here goes, I'm about to hit Publish! Hopefully the whole thing won't crash and burn, lol!
When will I learn not to fiddle? I uninstalled Intense Debate as it was causing some problems and now I don't have a comment box at all, grrr. It's my own fault, I should know better, lol. It has been interesting for me anyway! Hopefully my blog will have it's comment box back soon ....
So I'm trying this Intense Debate comment form which I think I've only really seen on Jet's Blog and it seems to work well. I get an email of all the comments posted and I can easily keep track of what's going on there:)
Of course, this relies on bloggers wanting to know of any replies and further comments and if you do this will hopefully make it easy.
A couple of neat features which you can use in Intense Debate are emoticons and also it should show the title of the last blog written by the commenter. I've seen both on other blogs but they're always Wordpress.
Which leads me to explaining something that's a bit confusing, to me anyway. I've got a Wordpress account as before I got my blog going I didn't know if I would be with Wordpress or Blogger. Obviously I decided on Blogger but Intense Debate wanted to use my Wordpress account to log in so I did and now I might have the Wordpress "W" by my Avatar (or is it Gravatar?). Who knows, lol? I don't yet. Anyway, Greyhounds Can Sit is me with or without the "W".
Can I have some feedback on this please? Do you like it or prefer the comments how they were? If it doesn't work for you then I certainly want to know and you can send me an email via the little 'contact us' envelope in the bottom bar. I'm interested in anything you're thinking about this 'improvement':)
And, you know me, there has to be at least one photo in a blog post of mine so here's one I took of Beryl at the river yesterday.
OK, here goes, I'm about to hit Publish! Hopefully the whole thing won't crash and burn, lol!
When will I learn not to fiddle? I uninstalled Intense Debate as it was causing some problems and now I don't have a comment box at all, grrr. It's my own fault, I should know better, lol. It has been interesting for me anyway! Hopefully my blog will have it's comment box back soon ....
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Thank You:) And a Few More Details About CGC
Beryl and I were totally blown away with all the congratulatory comments about her CGC success:) We'd like to thank everyone who took the time to write something. It means a lot to us!
As a matter of interest to hopefully some readers I thought I'd copy and paste the New Zealand requirements for CGC (Canine Good Citizen) as they seem to differ slightly from country to country.
But before I do that, in Saturday's Post I forgot to mention that the handler also has to do a short written test before the tests with your dog start. The questions were all quite basic but the one that had me thinking was "describe in one word how dogs learn"! It's hard to narrow it down to just one word, lol. At least it was for me. I ended up putting 'repetition' and it must have been near enough:) And also I forgot to mention a test we had to do where Beryl was supposed to play with a toy and then calm down again. Well, she wouldn't play with the toy that was her favourite the night before! Typical Princess, lol. It's OK if they don't want to play though, that's not a fail.
Since the 1950s, Dog Obedience Clubs have been at the forefront of dog training throughout the country. Clubs provide basic Domestic Dog training classes for responsible dog owners. They teach the owner how to train the dog while showing people how to ensure their dog becomes a great lifetime companion.
'Canine Good Citizen' goes a step further. Dogs are trained and then tested in simulated everyday situations in a relaxed atmosphere. Dogs and their owners are identified and rewarded for the training and demeanour to be reliable family members. Canine Good Citizen ensures that dog can be a respected member of the community because the dog is trained to be well mannered at home, in public, and around other dogs.
Testing requires an assessment by a recognised New Zealand Kennel Club Assessor.
Canine Good Citizen Foundation
1. Appearance, handling and responsibility
a. Responsibility and care
b. Public cleanliness and identification
c. Examination of the dog by handler
d. Grooming and inspection of the dog by the assessor
2. Food manners
a. Person eating
b. Dog eating
3. Accepting a friendly stranger
4. Accepting being patted by a friendly stranger
5. Walk on lead through a door/gate in a controlled manner
6. Return to handler
7. Walk on lead
8. Controlled walk through people and distractions
a. Pedestrian traffic
b. Distractions
9. Stay tied on lead
10. Meeting a stranger and their dog
11. Supervised separation
12. Playing with the dog
Canine Good Citizen – Bronze
13. Responsibility and care
14. Food manners
15. Stay in one place (untied, handler in sight)
16. Stay tied on lead (handler out of sight)
17. Staying still and return to handler
18. Stationary vehicle control
a. Into a vehicle
b. Out of a vehicle
19. Control at steps2
20. Walk on lead and reaction to distractions in a public area
a. Walk on lead
b. Distractions
Canine Good Citizen – Silver
21. Responsibility and care
22. Examination of the dog by a stranger (handler at a distance)
23. Stay in a down position (untied, handler out of sight)
24. Return to handler (with distractions)
25. Stop the dog
26. Advanced vehicle control
a. Into a vehicle
b. Vehicle is moving
c. Out of a vehicle
27. Staying still and return to handler in a public area
28. Calm and controlled behaviour whilst in a busy public area
a. Walking
b. Staying in one area
c. Accept being touched by a stranger
Canine Good Citizen – Gold
29. Responsibility and care
30. Walking beside the handler, without a lead
31. Sending the dog to a known article and staying
32. Parked vehicle control
a. Into a vehicle and leaving dog
b. Distractions outside the vehicle whilst parked
c. Out of a vehicle
33. Delivering a dropped article to hand
34. Another person (other than handler) walking the dog in a public area, with distractions
a. Handing the dog over to the nominated person
b. Person walking the dog in a public area
c. Distractions whilst person walking the dog in a public area
35. Stay in a down position (untied, handler out of sight) in a public area
36. Stop the dog and recall in a public area
37. Stay tied on lead (relaxed isolation) in a medium-busy public area
38. Walking, with distractions, in a busy public area
a. Walking
b. Distractions
Obviously this is just a very brief summary. A lot of the tests are timed, it's a bit unnerving (as if I wasn't nervous enough!) having the assessor standing nearby with a stop watch while you're doing the 'meeting a stranger and their dog' and 'not molesting a stranger eating' tests and having no idea how long you have to make small talk, lol!
Oh, and for the recall at Foundation level you can ask the assessor to hold your dog's collar while you walk away, which is what I did.
Hsin-Yi from Honey The Great Dane wondered if Beryl and I are going to carry on with the CGC levels. Apart from not being at all good at staying, I think Beryl is capable of passing the Bronze so that's my training mission, work on stays. I'm fairly sure a 'down stay' is OK. If it has to be a 'sit stay' then we're pretty well sunk, lol. As for going any further, hmm, I'll wait til we pass the Bronze to make that decision. A couple of things in Silver are quite tough. And I don't even know what some of the tests entail.
Honey was the first Great Dane to get her Gold CGC level in New Zealand. I wonder if any others have got it since then?
Well, it was break up night at CGC training tonight. A fun night with some games and having time to chat to people and just relax. We both enjoyed ourselves and poor Frankie sat home by himself for the third time in 4 days:( But I was given some chicken frames and I gave him one when we got home and he was pretty happy with that! No more training for 2 weeks until after the school holidays. But there are plenty of doggy things lined up for us to do.
Yesterday afternoon Beryl and I went to the horse riding establishment where Rachel works with Fatima, Louie, Lucy and their 2 foster Greyhounds, Hugo and Snow. They all got to run around in a big paddock with Benjamin, the resident Corgi, who loves Greyhounds, especially Lucy:) I didn't get any real good photos but here's one of Beryl
She still isn't confident about running with the pack since her tumble when she was with them a month ago.
After Beryl had a couple of hours rest she and Frankie and I went to the river where I threw a few sticks for Frankie to make up for leaving him by himself earlier.
And we have to have a 'Beryl is pretty' photo, don't we?
Today we went to the park with the same crew and Frankie and Lucy (his BFF) had a blast
Beryl and I have had a few quite busy doggy days lately and I've tried to keep Frankie from feeling too left out. Tomorrow night is Rally O fun night before the break over the school holidays and I think I'll just take Frankie along. He's due some 'just me and Mum' time:)
I hope you've all been having fun with your dogs too:)
As a matter of interest to hopefully some readers I thought I'd copy and paste the New Zealand requirements for CGC (Canine Good Citizen) as they seem to differ slightly from country to country.
But before I do that, in Saturday's Post I forgot to mention that the handler also has to do a short written test before the tests with your dog start. The questions were all quite basic but the one that had me thinking was "describe in one word how dogs learn"! It's hard to narrow it down to just one word, lol. At least it was for me. I ended up putting 'repetition' and it must have been near enough:) And also I forgot to mention a test we had to do where Beryl was supposed to play with a toy and then calm down again. Well, she wouldn't play with the toy that was her favourite the night before! Typical Princess, lol. It's OK if they don't want to play though, that's not a fail.
Since the 1950s, Dog Obedience Clubs have been at the forefront of dog training throughout the country. Clubs provide basic Domestic Dog training classes for responsible dog owners. They teach the owner how to train the dog while showing people how to ensure their dog becomes a great lifetime companion.
'Canine Good Citizen' goes a step further. Dogs are trained and then tested in simulated everyday situations in a relaxed atmosphere. Dogs and their owners are identified and rewarded for the training and demeanour to be reliable family members. Canine Good Citizen ensures that dog can be a respected member of the community because the dog is trained to be well mannered at home, in public, and around other dogs.
Testing requires an assessment by a recognised New Zealand Kennel Club Assessor.
Canine Good Citizen Foundation
1. Appearance, handling and responsibility
a. Responsibility and care
b. Public cleanliness and identification
c. Examination of the dog by handler
d. Grooming and inspection of the dog by the assessor
2. Food manners
a. Person eating
b. Dog eating
3. Accepting a friendly stranger
4. Accepting being patted by a friendly stranger
5. Walk on lead through a door/gate in a controlled manner
6. Return to handler
7. Walk on lead
8. Controlled walk through people and distractions
a. Pedestrian traffic
b. Distractions
9. Stay tied on lead
10. Meeting a stranger and their dog
11. Supervised separation
12. Playing with the dog
Canine Good Citizen – Bronze
13. Responsibility and care
14. Food manners
15. Stay in one place (untied, handler in sight)
16. Stay tied on lead (handler out of sight)
17. Staying still and return to handler
18. Stationary vehicle control
a. Into a vehicle
b. Out of a vehicle
19. Control at steps2
20. Walk on lead and reaction to distractions in a public area
a. Walk on lead
b. Distractions
Canine Good Citizen – Silver
21. Responsibility and care
22. Examination of the dog by a stranger (handler at a distance)
23. Stay in a down position (untied, handler out of sight)
24. Return to handler (with distractions)
25. Stop the dog
26. Advanced vehicle control
a. Into a vehicle
b. Vehicle is moving
c. Out of a vehicle
27. Staying still and return to handler in a public area
28. Calm and controlled behaviour whilst in a busy public area
a. Walking
b. Staying in one area
c. Accept being touched by a stranger
Canine Good Citizen – Gold
29. Responsibility and care
30. Walking beside the handler, without a lead
31. Sending the dog to a known article and staying
32. Parked vehicle control
a. Into a vehicle and leaving dog
b. Distractions outside the vehicle whilst parked
c. Out of a vehicle
33. Delivering a dropped article to hand
34. Another person (other than handler) walking the dog in a public area, with distractions
a. Handing the dog over to the nominated person
b. Person walking the dog in a public area
c. Distractions whilst person walking the dog in a public area
35. Stay in a down position (untied, handler out of sight) in a public area
36. Stop the dog and recall in a public area
37. Stay tied on lead (relaxed isolation) in a medium-busy public area
38. Walking, with distractions, in a busy public area
a. Walking
b. Distractions
Obviously this is just a very brief summary. A lot of the tests are timed, it's a bit unnerving (as if I wasn't nervous enough!) having the assessor standing nearby with a stop watch while you're doing the 'meeting a stranger and their dog' and 'not molesting a stranger eating' tests and having no idea how long you have to make small talk, lol!
Oh, and for the recall at Foundation level you can ask the assessor to hold your dog's collar while you walk away, which is what I did.
Hsin-Yi from Honey The Great Dane wondered if Beryl and I are going to carry on with the CGC levels. Apart from not being at all good at staying, I think Beryl is capable of passing the Bronze so that's my training mission, work on stays. I'm fairly sure a 'down stay' is OK. If it has to be a 'sit stay' then we're pretty well sunk, lol. As for going any further, hmm, I'll wait til we pass the Bronze to make that decision. A couple of things in Silver are quite tough. And I don't even know what some of the tests entail.
Honey was the first Great Dane to get her Gold CGC level in New Zealand. I wonder if any others have got it since then?
Well, it was break up night at CGC training tonight. A fun night with some games and having time to chat to people and just relax. We both enjoyed ourselves and poor Frankie sat home by himself for the third time in 4 days:( But I was given some chicken frames and I gave him one when we got home and he was pretty happy with that! No more training for 2 weeks until after the school holidays. But there are plenty of doggy things lined up for us to do.
Yesterday afternoon Beryl and I went to the horse riding establishment where Rachel works with Fatima, Louie, Lucy and their 2 foster Greyhounds, Hugo and Snow. They all got to run around in a big paddock with Benjamin, the resident Corgi, who loves Greyhounds, especially Lucy:) I didn't get any real good photos but here's one of Beryl
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| Running by herself (and looking slightly Kangarooish?) |
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| She wanted to but she didn't! That's Benjamin being a Greyhound:) |
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| He enjoyed that:) |
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| Frankie and Lucy having a breather after doing lots of |
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| Wrestling |
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| Notice how Lucy's always on top!! |
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| And running ... I couldn't get them both in one photo!! |
I hope you've all been having fun with your dogs too:)
Saturday, April 9, 2011
It's Been a Nerve Wracking Morning!
When I got up this morning I saw that it was going to be a gorgeous Autumn day, not cloudy and wet like most of the week has been. My heart sank a little ... now I had no excuse to not take Beryl to the CGC (Canine Good Citizen) Assessments being held at our local dog training club! It would have been a waste of time if it had been wet as she would have been very miserable.
So I packed all our gear up and off we went. I've been a nervous wreck since last night but I managed to take everything we needed. We got there early enough for Beryl to have a good wander around and go to the toilet. Then there was a lot of standing around waiting. There were 5 dogs going for Foundation and we went 4th so I had a bit of an idea of what we had to do, although most of the steps were done in a little garden that you couldn't see inside from where the rest of us were waiting.
Our turn came and when I went to pick up my bag holding her food bowl and food in a sealed plastic container she stuck her head in the bag and started sniffing. Hmm, I thought, that's odd. Normally I have to coerce Beryl to eat her tea and just to be on the safe side I'd given her a small breakfast this morning which she doesn't usually have.
Anyway, we went down to the garden and did everything asked of us in there, let a stranger say hello and pat her, walk politely up and down steps, stand quietly while I talk to a stranger and her dog, not molest another stranger sitting on a bench eating biscuits while we talked. I thought she did good with all that:) Outside the garden I had to pick up a bag and go through a gate, shut the gate, walk a ways into that area then go back through the gate, without Beryl impeding me. That was pretty good considering we hadn't really done it formally before. Then I had to give Beryl a physical type examination like would be done at the vets, easy peasy. And the assessor had to do the same thing, easy again.
After that came the 'wait for your food' test. I'd brought along pretty much her usual type meal, cooked chicken mince with rice and gravy but hadn't added the secret ingredient, home made beef stock, which makes it yummy so she will eat it! I don't know if it was because it was fresh cooked last night or what but boy, did she want some NOW!! She ended up doing a beautiful sit and wait for 5 seconds but sheesh, she had me worried about this test and I thought it would be a piece of cake. And she ate most of it when I told her she could!
The last exercise in this set was the recall. And this did have me worried as I had to walk quite a distance away and turn and call her with about 20 acres of empty park behind me!!! I could see Beryl tearing past me and running laps around us all:) And I think she had ideas of doing that too but she slowed down enough when she got to me so I could grab her collar:) Whew.
After that we had to walk through a 'quiet crowd' of maybe 8 or 9 people and then the people had to be a 'noisy crowd'. I think Beryl enjoyed the noise the most:)
The last exercises were a couple of stays, the first one is with the dog tied up and the owners walk about 20 paces away and just talk or whatever for 5 minutes before returning to our dogs and the dogs mustn't jump on us or be excited when we return. That was fine. Next one we had to hand our dogs to a stranger to hold while we went out of sight for 4 minutes. We hadn't really done this before, Beryl had only been tied up while I went out of sight. And the last time we did that she did get excited and jump on me when I got back, lol! But she was great.
Oh, so you're wondering if she got her CGC? YES, my Princess now has a little title and is the 4th Greyhound in New Zealand to have it. (All 5 dogs passed) I was thinking she might be the 1st Greyhound to go for it and fail:) But boy, am I glad it's over. So was Beryl, this is what she did for half an hour after we got home
You all know Lucy, Frankie and Beryl's BFF. Well today she not only got her Bronze level but also her Silver!! She's a legend:) Again the first Greyhound in New Zealand to get them.
So, that's been our excitement for the day, did you do anything exciting today?
And it's Saturday Pet Bloggers Hop time. Please join us in wandering around pet blogs and making new friends. The instructions can be found at all of the first three sites listed:)
So I packed all our gear up and off we went. I've been a nervous wreck since last night but I managed to take everything we needed. We got there early enough for Beryl to have a good wander around and go to the toilet. Then there was a lot of standing around waiting. There were 5 dogs going for Foundation and we went 4th so I had a bit of an idea of what we had to do, although most of the steps were done in a little garden that you couldn't see inside from where the rest of us were waiting.
Our turn came and when I went to pick up my bag holding her food bowl and food in a sealed plastic container she stuck her head in the bag and started sniffing. Hmm, I thought, that's odd. Normally I have to coerce Beryl to eat her tea and just to be on the safe side I'd given her a small breakfast this morning which she doesn't usually have.
Anyway, we went down to the garden and did everything asked of us in there, let a stranger say hello and pat her, walk politely up and down steps, stand quietly while I talk to a stranger and her dog, not molest another stranger sitting on a bench eating biscuits while we talked. I thought she did good with all that:) Outside the garden I had to pick up a bag and go through a gate, shut the gate, walk a ways into that area then go back through the gate, without Beryl impeding me. That was pretty good considering we hadn't really done it formally before. Then I had to give Beryl a physical type examination like would be done at the vets, easy peasy. And the assessor had to do the same thing, easy again.
After that came the 'wait for your food' test. I'd brought along pretty much her usual type meal, cooked chicken mince with rice and gravy but hadn't added the secret ingredient, home made beef stock, which makes it yummy so she will eat it! I don't know if it was because it was fresh cooked last night or what but boy, did she want some NOW!! She ended up doing a beautiful sit and wait for 5 seconds but sheesh, she had me worried about this test and I thought it would be a piece of cake. And she ate most of it when I told her she could!
The last exercise in this set was the recall. And this did have me worried as I had to walk quite a distance away and turn and call her with about 20 acres of empty park behind me!!! I could see Beryl tearing past me and running laps around us all:) And I think she had ideas of doing that too but she slowed down enough when she got to me so I could grab her collar:) Whew.
After that we had to walk through a 'quiet crowd' of maybe 8 or 9 people and then the people had to be a 'noisy crowd'. I think Beryl enjoyed the noise the most:)
The last exercises were a couple of stays, the first one is with the dog tied up and the owners walk about 20 paces away and just talk or whatever for 5 minutes before returning to our dogs and the dogs mustn't jump on us or be excited when we return. That was fine. Next one we had to hand our dogs to a stranger to hold while we went out of sight for 4 minutes. We hadn't really done this before, Beryl had only been tied up while I went out of sight. And the last time we did that she did get excited and jump on me when I got back, lol! But she was great.
Oh, so you're wondering if she got her CGC? YES, my Princess now has a little title and is the 4th Greyhound in New Zealand to have it. (All 5 dogs passed) I was thinking she might be the 1st Greyhound to go for it and fail:) But boy, am I glad it's over. So was Beryl, this is what she did for half an hour after we got home
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| Frankie is very proud of his big sister:) |
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| She didn't leave him much room on their couch though! |
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| See the little smile:) |
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| Go the little Ferret:) |
And it's Saturday Pet Bloggers Hop time. Please join us in wandering around pet blogs and making new friends. The instructions can be found at all of the first three sites listed:)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Google Was My Friend Again:)
Quite a few months ago now Google saved me a lot of money when I stupidly put my camera SD card into the DVD drive on my iMac. It turns out I'm not the first person to do that and it was easy to fix and I didn't have to take my computer to the Dr. Yay Google! On Wednesday I took the kids to the beach and the zoom on my camera stopped working, I could still take photos but when I tried to use the zoom it would give me an error message. So you're not going to be bombarded with 56 beach photos this post ... only 10;)
When we got home I Googled the error message and the first few pages I looked at said the camera would have to be sent away and the repairs would probably cost more than buying a new camera:( Then I looked at this page which has a list of about 7 things you can try (which won't damage your camera) to unstick the zoom and the 1st one on the list worked:) I know a lot of people have digital cameras these days and if you go to the beach at all you're likely to get a grain of sand in the zoom and have the same problem. I've bookmarked this page should it happen to me again.
I have a confession to make ... I'm a very bad Dog Mum:( It was Beryl's 1st Gotcha Day on Tuesday and I didn't tell anybody. We were going to go to the beach to celebrate but it was a lousy day, wet and miserable so she had a special breakfast and extra treats and cuddles and I hopefully made up for it by taking the kids to the beach on Wednesday!
This is what the kids spent most of Tuesday doing
And this
But when we got to the beach the tide was right in and there was no beach!
So I thought we'd go check out the sand dunes. We found this cute little shelter someone had made
And the kids had a lot of fun exploring a new place and tearing up and down sand dunes and hills
We went down into a dense pine tree plantation with a sandy 'road' going through it and they chased a rabbit in there. I was expecting Beryl to get impaled on something or get lost but it wasn't long before they were both back with me, safe and sound, whew!
And people still drive on it!
I expected all that tearing around the dunes for a good hour would have laid them both out for about 12 hours but after a couple of hours rest they were both pestering me for another walk!! I think I've created a couple of monsters, lol!
When we got home I Googled the error message and the first few pages I looked at said the camera would have to be sent away and the repairs would probably cost more than buying a new camera:( Then I looked at this page which has a list of about 7 things you can try (which won't damage your camera) to unstick the zoom and the 1st one on the list worked:) I know a lot of people have digital cameras these days and if you go to the beach at all you're likely to get a grain of sand in the zoom and have the same problem. I've bookmarked this page should it happen to me again.
I have a confession to make ... I'm a very bad Dog Mum:( It was Beryl's 1st Gotcha Day on Tuesday and I didn't tell anybody. We were going to go to the beach to celebrate but it was a lousy day, wet and miserable so she had a special breakfast and extra treats and cuddles and I hopefully made up for it by taking the kids to the beach on Wednesday!
This is what the kids spent most of Tuesday doing
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| Frankie is under the green jacket! |
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| First time cuddled up for the year:) |
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| No beach to play on here! |
And the kids had a lot of fun exploring a new place and tearing up and down sand dunes and hills
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| Beryl is there in the middle of the photo, no zoom now! |
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| Beryl at the top of the pine plantation |
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| Lots of sand! |
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| And native tussock grasses |
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| The sign near where I park my car. |
I expected all that tearing around the dunes for a good hour would have laid them both out for about 12 hours but after a couple of hours rest they were both pestering me for another walk!! I think I've created a couple of monsters, lol!
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