Tucson, AZ | Sharing what we've learned about training to become a certified therapy dog team, managing atypical Addison’s Disease, and raising happier and healthier dogs.
If you’re looking for someplace indoors to practice dog training in the real world, Bookmans welcomes well-behaved leashed dogs. Bernie and I spent another afternoon browsing at dog-friendly Bookmans while working on our Canine Good Citizen skills. Every Bookmans location offers interesting distractions like used books and novelty items plus friendly people.
Read MoreKnowing that I'm managing Doodle enthusiasm, I spent most of February and March focused on the Canine Good Citizen test tasks that I thought Bernie would have the most trouble with.
During the five weeks of preparatory classes, Bernie made huge strides. Unfortunately, we missed two items on the CGC test.
Read MoreAs our Canine Good Citizen Test closes in, Bernie and I decided to train at a location entirely new to him.
Thankfully, Bookmans Entertainment Exchange is a dog-friendly local store with late hours. They're open daily until 10pm. We spent about an hour practicing loose-leash walking and walking through a crowd.
Read MoreTwo of the most difficult tasks for our Canine Good Citizen test will be Accepting a Friendly Stranger and Sitting Politely for Petting. Bernie's enthusiasm for greeting everyone really has no limits.
Matthew and I have been practicing Accepting a Friendly Stranger and Sitting Politely for Petting almost every day with Bernie, so we knew he was ready for some real world meet and greets.
Read MoreSince I remembered our 33-foot lead on yesterday's visit to La Encantada Shopping Center, Bernie and I focused our efforts on practicing two tasks for the AKC's Canine Good Citizen test:
Coming When Called
Sit and Down on Command / Stay
Over the weekend, Bernie and I decided we needed to get serious with our prep work for our Canine Good Citizen Class. The CGC test is a mere five weeks away, so we decided to see how many skills we could pack into a Friday afternoon visit.
Read MoreOne of my training goals this fall is to visit different places with each dog separately. Give them each some special time with me and work on their socialization, basic commands, and loose-leash walking.
Sunday morning Bernie and I ventured over to the Home Depot. At first he was super distracted by the smells.
He wanted to sniff every cabinet and all of the lumber. I should have known. We joke about Bernie being a Sierra Club Member with all the sniffing and twig chewing he does. Even when I put him in his first sit-stay for some practice, he was not focused on me at all. He kept looking around and sniffing the air.
Read MoreSince last fall, Crystal Blaker from Ruff House Dog Training & Behavior Modification has been our favorite resource for helping us figure out how to manage various behaviors and scenarios with Bernie. A few weeks ago, Crystal invited me to observe four dogs taking the AKC's Canine Good Citizen Test.
While just two of the four pups passed the exam, I could tell that all of the human-pup teams had put in hours of work toward mastering the ten different tasks required for CGC.
Read MoreMcSquare Doodles chronicles how we're training to become a certified therapy dog team with both our Labradoodles in Tucson, Arizona. We share what we've learned about dog-friendly places to visit, and tips for raising happier and healthier dogs. Join us on our journey.
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