Good Citizen Award Scheme

I'm thinking of giving the "Good Citizen Award Scheme" a try as they do it at the new training club I've just joined.

The Bronze award seems quite straight forward, I think the most challenging part will be examining the dogs mouth and throat which he isn't keen on.

I only have just over 2 weeks before they have an assessment day so I might give it a go and see if I can get Barney ready for it.

All tips welcome

Get your dog used to 'doing' the test itself, so when it comes to The Day it will be second nature to him.
Glad to hear you've found another (and lets hope better) training class

Good luck.

Go for it, you can then progress to the next level. Good luck.

Make sure you read it all fully.......when I was getting Mabs ready for Puppy Foundation I was doing 1 minute stays with her, mentioned this at training, and she said, but June it is only 10 seconds....no idea where I got 1 minute from, unless I was remembering Bronze or something

Good luck loved doing the good citizen my girl is up to gold level and boy silver as they stopped doing it before i could do gold though my agility instructor is thinking of doing it so he may make gold yet

I've heard some great things about the scheme -most importantly to me is that it's relevant to the dog's everyday life.
So many things at old fashioned obedience training don't actually help out on day to day situations.

Too true. I've been to classes where loose lead walking would be much more appropriate than the heel that seems to be taught in many classes.

Anyhooo, Shane, re the checking mouth. Begin by using doggy toothpaste on your finger and rub puppy's side teeth, (easiest to get at). As he gets a taste for it, after a few sessions, start with front teeth. He'll know something tasty is coming so pop your finger into his mouth and work up from there. George has Gold GCA and never have I had to or an examiner looked down his throat! That will all change next year when the examiners will have to have passed an exam. I just put my fingers right into his mouth and tipped his head back.

You are doing so well with your puppy training, I'm sure you will pass with no problem.

I'm assuming you have been grooming/touching him all over every day and going over paws, pads and between claws.

The theory is mostly common sense to dogwise people but do read the blurb just to be sure and if a question is not clear, you can ask for it to be rephrased.

Oh, one more thing. If the stay is 1 min, train for 2. If it's 10 secs, train for 20.

Looking forward to you telling us he's passed.

Nicky

Thanks for all the advice. I think he's almost there in regards to most of the training, He's easy to handle and gets a quick brush everyday with rewards.

Apparently most fails (or not ready's) come from recall problems, I'm not concerned about that as his recall is very strong.

I've started thinking ahead though for the silver and gold and need to train an emergency stop and a "go to your blanket" He already knows "in your bed" but that refers to his crate.