Back to school doesn’t just have to be for the kids, it can be for dogs as well! I’ll admit, we slacked a little with training over the summer. With vacations, family visiting, and extra trips, I just didn’t dedicate as much time to training as I should. Now that life is settling back down and we’re getting into a routine, it’s time to get back into it.
As many of you know, Atka is training to be a therapy dog. I’d love for him to meet with military individuals with PTSD and kiddos with autism as these are two things I feel passionate about. Atka has such a wonderful, loving personality and I know he will bring light and happiness to so many individuals.
Right after Atka turned 1, he took and passed the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. I knew he could do it; I was mostly worried about myself! I get easily stressed and worked up about these things. Our next step is for him to take the advanced CGC, or community canine, test. While I know he could pass the test, I’m a little apprehensive due to him still having a few puppy habits that we are working on (leaning on a grown man might be okay, but leaning on a kid is not!).
I work a lot with Atka on his self-control and I plan to ramp that up this fall. I’ve talked about how giant breeds mature much more slowly than other dogs, so even though he is 2 years old, he is not mentally 2. Time and maturity will do wonders, but for now I have to work with what I’ve got!
I hope that in the next few months Atka will have passed his advanced CGC and be on his way to therapy testing (I know you don’t have to have these titles before therapy, but I wanted the extra practice taking tests). He has almost all of the skills down for the therapy test, so I’m excited for us to start visiting people in the near future. It’s going to be so rewarding and who doesn’t want to snuggle a big, white ball of fluff? 😉
My goal for Mauja is much different than Atka. When we moved, she suddenly became nervous in new buildings; although she does great outside. I’m still trying to figure out what exactly happened, but ultimately that doesn’t matter. We have made definite improvements over the past two years, but we still have a long way to go. I need to set aside more time to work with her.
So there you have it – my training goals with the start of the school year. What are your training goals with your dog?
I bet Atka would be a wonderful therapy dog… this fluffy fur is made for hugs :o)
we only work on our show training… but it seems there is no apple for the teachers from Easy :o)
I think so too 😉 Show training is difficult though!
Great goals!! I haven’t really set any to be honest. My youngest daughter just started school this year so that has been pretty tough for me to let go of my little baby!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Oh I can’t even imagine!
Great goals. I hope you’ll keep us posted.
Burying my face in a big fluffy Pyr sounds like the best therapy in the world. I bet Atka will be a natural!
It seems like moving is usually hard on dogs. I’m sure Mauja will be back to normal soon, especially since you’ve noticed her anxiety and are working on it.
I hope so – we’re going on 2 and a half years of work. She had moved several times before this one, so I’m not sure why she was thrown off this time : /
I might be taking the urban CGC with Mr. N. Atka would make a great therapy dog!
Let me know how it goes! I think we’re going to do that one after the Community Canine just because 😉
I worked on CGCC skills a bit in the spring because we had a chance to take the test in June… but it was too hard to keep up with training as summer approached. So we are back to it too! What therapy dog test are you going to take? I thought the Therapy Dogs International test was easier than what is required in the CGCC. My dogs all (relatively) easily passed the TDI test… Huxley when he was only seven months old and still too young to get certified (he just took it with the other dogs for fun!) I am looking forward to getting the CGCC title for my boys before the year ends. Fingers crossed!
We’re looking at the Therapy Dogs International as well. The only skill I’m somewhat worried about is Atka leaving a treat that is offered to him. I can walk him through a maze of treats and he’s fine, I just don’t know how he’ll do with a stranger shoving a treat in his face!
I would love for Boca to get her CGC title and have considered therapy work for her, as well! I imagine it would be very soothing to be near your beautiful giants! Thanks for joining the hop, Kelsie!
Boca would be awesome for therapy!
I am SO BAD at training. Gretel has even gotten lazy about sitting for treats because I don’t make her half of the time. She was very anxious when we adopted her but she has mellowed out a bit. Part of me wants to see if I could train her to pass the canine good citizen test because, well, that would be a miracle. I am pretty sure I don’t have the dedication to do it but I might pick just one of the challenges to see if I can train her to “pass it”.
It can be kind of fun to see what you are able to accomplish!
I haven’t set any training goals with my girls but having your read your article, I think it is time to start doing this. I am going to work on having them sit and stay before walking out of the house or back into the house until I have have walked out of walked back in to help remind them I am the alpha.
What great training goals! Just remember, when you get stressed out, your dog senses this and it can affect their performance, but it doesn’t sound like they are having problems. Love Dolly
I love reading about training goals, as that is something I am constantly working on with my own dogs. My goals are always changing and growing as I notice my dogs’ progress. It is a fun way to keep myself on track with training!
Please update us on how that all goes over the following few months! I have always wanted to have a therapy dog, but never had a dog with the perfect temperament. Diego will be 18 months in January, and we will be starting agility then. So up until that month we are going to practice our recalls, and basic obedience so when we finally can train in agility, we can focus on that.