[BeausMama]

First and foremost, i took Beau to the park for the second time today, right after going to the vet. The first time we went, a few weeks ago, there were no dogs and only a couple people. Today was beautiful outside so there were 15+ kids and about 10 dogs! The youngin' we brought with us, Leeland (3), has a dog of his own that's bigger than Beau so I wasn't too worried about him. But Beau isn't around many little kids so I tried to keep him in the lay-down position when kids wanted to pet him. He was really good most of the time and even let the kids "feed" him leaves. (kind of scared me a few times when he almost nipped them!) The kids ranged in ages from about 1yo to 4yo. I'd like to one day be able to take him to the park, tell him to sit/lay, and let the kids pet him without me having to hold his collar as a precaution. Any suggestions on helping him develop munchkin-manners?

Secondly, any tips on how to practice for the CGC? or how to train for the specific tests?

 

[MikaTallulah]

Muchkin manners are develop through lots of contact with kids and repetition.

You can take a class for CGC exam. Buddy and I will be taking 1 in a few months once we are done with obedience 1&2. Studying and practicing for that should also help because it is all about the bond btw. owner and dog really. If you say sit they do it because you said to.

Good Luck

 

[inge]

You can find the requirements for CGC online, so that helps with focusing on the things he doesn't do yet, but on the whole: take him to places where there are lots and lots of people and walk him around. Have him approach people, other dogs, strange objects...I took Tess to the Green in New Haven and to Central Park,New York. That helped a lot! The hardest part usually is the point where you have to leave him in the hands of the examiner and walk out and stay out for 3 minutes. Practice, practice...but it is so worth it... Especially if you have any therapy dog ambition, most of the facilities want a CGC on the dog...