Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Results Are In...

HE DID IT!!!!  Ziggy is now an AKC certified Canine Good Citizen. The test went something like this:
Part 1: Accept a friendly stranger
Ziggy did very well with this, since the friendly stranger ignores the dog during the test.  Ziggy has great manners with people who ignore him.  He sat quietly while I spoke with the friendly stranger, and then walked away with me when I asked him to. 
Part 2: Sit politely for petting
This was a bit more challenging for Ziggy.  He doesn't particularly like people to pet him, so this was the thing we worked on most during the past six weeks of training.  He did well and I was very relieved when he passed this section!
Part 3: Appearance and grooming
This is the other most challenging section for Ziggy.  Instead of being brushed, he wanted to eat the brush.  But he managed to pass this section as well.
Part 4: Walk on a loose leash
Ziggy does well at this.  He stayed focused on me the whole time, which was awesome.  I took him for a 30 minute walk before the test and again during the entire walk he stayed focused just on me.  It's so much easier when there are no cows to distract him.  He passed this section easily. 
Part 5: Walk through a crowd
Ziggy had no problem with this part of the test.  If people ignore him, he's happy to ignore them in return.  Unless of course they have food - but fortunately no one was trying to eat a hotdog while being part of the crowd, so Ziggy passed this section easily as well.
Part 6: Sit and Down on Command and Stay in Place
Ziggy mastered these commands when he was a puppy, so this was pretty easy.  He had to sit and then lie down on command, and then stay while I walked away, and remain in place until I returned.  As usual, he didn't bother to get up even once I returned to him and released him from his "stay".  Once he's down, he makes himself comfortable and usually won't get up unless I ask him to move!
Part 7: Come When Called
This is another one that Ziggy has known for a long time, but we've worked on it a lot over the past six weeks just to practice.  Ziggy is one of the slowest pit bulls I have ever seen.  He generally comes when called, but at his own pace.  Even when he's in a hurry (for example, while chasing some bunnies in the back yard this morning), he only has a top speed of about 5 mph. Ziggy came as fast as he could when I called him, but it's a good thing it wasn't a race or a timed contest.  He got there eventually and passed this section too.
Part 8: Reaction to another dog
Ziggy had to walk with me to meet another dog and handler, then stop and sit while we (the handlers) greeted each other, all while he ignored the other dog.  This was easy for him too.  Just like with people, Ziggy has great manners with dogs who ignore him, as long as there is no food involved.  Ziggy passed this step easily.
Part 9: Reaction to distraction
This test is making sure the dog doesn't panic or become aggressive when faced with a distraction.  They are allowed to show some interest and curiosity, which is exactly what Ziggy did when an umbrella suddenly opened up in front of him as we were walking.  He didn't startle at all - just sniffed it as if to say "is this edible?" and then realizing it was not, continued walking.  Another easy one!
Part 10: Supervised separation
This test shows that the dog can be left with a trusted person while their handler is gone for three minutes.  This can be challenging for some dogs, but not for Ziggy.  Remember how I complained that Ziggy never missed me when I left him at adoption events?  That trait was very useful for this test, since Ziggy really didn't care if I was gone for 3 minutes or 3 days.  He passed this section easily as well!
And that was it - Ziggy became a certified Canine Good Citizen.  Great Job Ziggy!  He celebrated on the way home by drinking the Pepsi I had left in the car.  He then got the cup stuck on his nose.  I guess you're right - being a Canine Good Citizen will probably not cause an end to future Ziggy stories.

24 comments:

Kari in Alaska said...

Congrats Ziggy! It is always number 10 that my pups struggle with!

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

Two Pitties in the City said...

We were thinking about you; congrats! It sounds like he completely aced it.

H Ski said...

Great work Ziggy!!!

Frankie Furter and Ernie said...

CONGRATULATIONS ZIGGY!!!!

I am very very much proud of you. THIS is a Hard test.. I KNOW that. I had to study fur like 87 hours. BUTT it is soooo well worth it, RIGHT Buddy!!!
Way to Go!

Unknown said...

Good job Ziggy!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Cupcake said...

YAY Ziggy, I knew you could do it!!

I passed my Canine Good Citizen test too but once in a while I do bad stuff just for fun and Mom says they are going to come and take my certificate away!

Love, Cupcake

Corbin said...

Congrats, Ziggy!!!! I also wanted to eat the brush... then when I had to "come when called" I started towards mom, then I made a beline to that brush that was on the ground... picked it up and brought it to mom, BOL! Go figure... they still passed me!
-Corbin

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Ziggy and Laurie! You are both champions!
Linda

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

I knew I should have started a pool! I would have cleaned up!

Congratulations to both you and Ziggy!

Total awesomesauce!


Happy, Waggin' Tails, FUREVER!
Stumpy and me

FANCY the Red Standard Poodle said...

Hi Y'all,

We've been waiting with baited breath! CONGRATULATIONS ZIGGY!!!!

Y'all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog

Stefanie said...

Yay Ziggy! We knew you could do it!

Stefanie & foster dog Scarlett (she doesn't eat the brush, she just plays "duck and weave" when I try to groom her).

Sheltie Times said...

We were thinking about you Ziggy. Congrats on being a good citizen.

-Katy & Bailey

meowmeowmans said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
meowmeowmans said...

Way to go, Ziggy! We are so proud of you, buddy! :)

brooke said...

Good job Ziggy!!!
Youre probably a better citizen than Darwin!
Darwin loves to bark, she's quite vocal for a Dane. Wants to play, bark. Scared of something, bark. Wants something, bark. Excited, bark. Whats that noise, bark.

Unknown said...

Hurray for Ziggy I knew he could do it, all that ignoring comes in handy during this! I have been meaning to do this with Koda for a long but just haven't gotten around to it. Sophie would never pass she is way too clingy and loud and self-centred LOL.

JacksDad said...

Many many congratulations. It seems the time you spent was well worth it!

Of Pit Bulls and Patience said...

Congrats Ziggy!! One of my goals this year is to prepare and pass the test with Skye. Now I can tell her to be more like Ziggy!

Anonymous said...

Congrats Ziggy, I know you would pass! You have such a tough mom, we are not at all surprised that she prepared you so well :)

pibble said...

Congrats, Ziggy and Foster Mom! I hope Ziggy got to play with the brush as a reward. :) Seriously, great work!

Unknown said...

Congrats!!!!

Sue said...

He he.. I loved this post. I'd so like to try for a CGC with my dogs, but they don't want me out of their sight and they're much too interested in everything around them. We'll keep working on it, but I'm not counting on getting there.

Congrats to you and Ziggy.

ForPetsSake said...

Congratulations! Tons of hard work paying off. I'm glad to hear he drank the pepsi...it's like the kid celebrating passing middle school by tossing spitballs in the school bathroom.

Tucker The Crestie said...

Way to go, Ziggy! We're so proud of you!!!