Monday, June 27, 2011

Angel-faced, poop-eating squid-dog is also a Good Citizen (with the help of Oscar Mayer's miraculous powers)

If you read last Friday's post to the end, you might recall that I mentioned the dogs and I would be attending AKC all-breed conformation shows this weekend (as spectators to cheer on Jon Farleigh's sister Georgia). (I also promised photos from the event, which, incidentally, will have to wait until another day because I'm still sorting them out and mulling over them.) Anyway, what I did not mention - because I was chicken - was that Dewi and I would be taking the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test - being offered to the general public - on Sunday afternoon at the show venue.

Some of you - who've been following the blog for a while (at least since February) - might remember that I had a bit of a struggle with Dewi in his Basic Obedience class. But in case this is news to you, let me summarize: Dewi is a brilliant, and also HIGH-ENERGY. He also (sometimes) loves other dogs more than they might love him in return. On the last day of obedience school, however, under the influence of an Oscar Mayer wiener, he transformed into the obedient dog I paid $90 for him to be, and graduated like a champ.

But enough background.

So at 2:12 p.m. (not that I was cognisant of the exact time) yesterday, Dewi did it again. That is, despite huge odds against him in Vegas (okay, not really, but I wouldn't have bet on him) and in spite of himself (and my huge nerves), he passed. He is a Canine Good Citizen. :) (Yay!)

Now, let me tell you what happened before the test
(remember the test was administered within a dog show venue crammed with hundreds of dogs and people):

  1. Dewi dragged me halfway through the parking lot toward the first dog he laid eyes on.
  2. Once inside the venue, Dewi continued to pull toward the faces (and butts) of most every dog in our path.
  3. I had serious doubts about going through with the test.
  4. Dewi spotted a familiar dog (Jon Farleigh's sister) and lost all his marbles.
  5. I decided that humor would be the best response to Dewi miserably failing the test. (I might as well give the evaluator a good laugh, no?)
  6. Dewi's fairy godmother (aka: Oscar Mayer wiener) popped out of my bag.
  7. Dewi temporarily forgot where he was and performed a brilliant sit-stay.
  8. I slipped Dewi some fairy dust (courtesy of Oscar Mayer "pharmaceuticals").
  9. I repeated #s 7 and 8 several times.

    30 minutes and 1.5 wieners later...

    This is Dewi's brain on crack Oscar Mayer wiener.

  10. I plunged my left hand into the wiener baggie and coated it with "Eau de Smoked Hot Dog."
  11. I gave Dewi one last hit of crack fairy dust wiener the second before entering the test ring.
  12. The test evaluator reminded me of the "no treat" rule and then (somewhat playfully) motioned for me to show him my open palms (which I did). He also (visually) examined my person for pockets/treat dispensing devices.  
So let me just recap (for those who might have a dog with similar temperament to Dewi and aspire to get your dog CGC-certified):
  • Attend obedience training with your dog.
  • While in obedience training, experiment with drugs treats.
  • When you find one that makes your dog look at you with the expression in the above photo, stockpile it (if needed) and use it ONLY when you need a miracle from said dog.
Happy training! ☺

20 comments:

  1. Love it...
    also love the fact that on teh AKC CGC site there is a pic of a cardi being good: down at the bottom pic...
    http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/program.cfm

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  2. Ahahaha! I think my sister was there, she said she saw this really cool dog (blue merle) doing "stuff". That's her technical term at least. Congratulations Dewi! I will have to use the Oscar Meyer crack sometime on Nick....

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  3. We hope JF's sister did well at the show & congratulations to Dewi for earning his CGC! BOL! My hoomie used to do the "rub treats on hand" technique.

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  4. YAY!!! YIPPEE!! Congratulations! I knew you would do it! I saw the immediate down-stay you got after his run-up to Georgia and he was perfectly intune with his mommy! Great job!

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  5. Woohoo! Congratulations! That's the start of the alphabet soup after Dewi's name :-) Based on the drug (er, weiner) - crazed expression on his face, a Rally title would be a breeze for him!

    Pardon the mother hen in me but.....

    Since Dewi is such a puller, I highly recommend this harness:

    http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1771&ParentCat=202

    It won't stop him from pulling but it sure saves wear/tear on his neck/throat. Jimmy has one and wears a SM sized one. It's great for when Jimmy sees the bunny before I do. It keeps him from swinging in a circle on his neck when he hits the end of the leash.

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  6. . . . cannot stop laughing . . .

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  7. Yay! So proud of both of you but not the least bit surprised. Sorry Georgia nearly ruined the moment for you but you did a great job of getting his attention back on you. Taryn is right about getting him a harness though and I feel stupid that I didn't think to mention it to you.

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  8. Congrats Dewi! Great recap... LOL. :)

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  9. Good grief this was like a recap of almost exactly the series of events (and thoughts) that went through my head when we took Reese to get her CGC testing! lmao So great. Congrats on the triumph though (and great ingenuity)! ;)

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  10. I love it! My guy was very uniterested in food during agility....never thought to try the weiner!! haha

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  11. Congratulations! And your recap was both funny and encouraging. Honey has similar traits to Dewi but I'm now feeling very hopeful.

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  12. Congrats, Dewi! We're super proud of you! So proud, in fact, that we want to give you and Jon Farleigh the Versatile Blogger award! Drop by our blog at www.tuckertellsall.blogspot.com and grab the badge!

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  13. Thank you, thank you, thank you, all! Some of you might not be surprised, but I'm still in shock.

    @corgimas - Thanks for the link. I hadn't noticed the cardi there before!

    @Taryn - Everyone needs a mother hen (as long as it's not actually their mother). ;) Thanks for the harness link. I know he needs one, but I needed someone with cardi to tell me which one to buy.

    Rally? I have heard it can be fun for the dogs. Maybe one day I'll check it out. ;)

    RDM (and Ann) - Oh no. Georgia cannot be blamed. If not her, someone else's dog. :) And don't worry about the harness thing. I've been putting off getting one (see comment to taryn). :)

    @Ashley - :) I hope Reese passed.

    @Veronica - Yes, try wieners.

    @Pamela - I'm glad you're hopeful! Down deep I was hoping someone would be!

    @Tucker - OMG - Thank you! You are very kind. (blush) I'll hop on over there and look.

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  14. that must be the most hilarious CGC test story i've ever read! you almost sound like you're on crack [slash] drugs [slash] OM yourself. has anyone ever tested what goes into those things?

    congratulations Doo-we. who cares how you got it? you did and that's all that matters. right? RIGHT?!

    don;t mind me, i'm just jealous because the odds of Georgia not kerfuffling in the environment you just described would be... hmmm, let me see... ZERO?

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  15. @Yes, GLP's Typist, I am on OM!!! (snort)

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  16. Congratulations to you and Dewi! I just cackled while reading this. I sure do love your blog :-D

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  17. When oh when will I learn not to have a mouthful (now a noseful and perhaps a little bit of screen full) of hot coffee when I read your blog??? It's a rhetorical question, don't worry. Congrats on Dewi's CGC.
    Also, I DID experiment with drugs while Caeden was being obedience trained, but all they did was make me sleepy. Oh wait. You meant let the DOG experiment. I see. I'll try that then. My bad.
    Please oh please write a book.

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  18. oh and about the harness? Maybe Cardis are different than Pems on this one, but Caeden drops to the floor when I put on his harness and will NOT move or go out in public. He's listening to me type and he just knows I'm talking about him...

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  19. ROTFLMAO...Congratulations Dewi (and Mom)! Still looking for the ultimate Corgi crack, er, treat for my little one. Got as far as down in puppy obedience and then developed Corgi-tude. *sigh* maybe someday soon I'll try again *smile*

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  20. @Peggy - Ha ha! No, save those drugs for when you get home.

    I don't know about a book. I'd have to charge you a lot of money for it, since you'd be my only customer. :)

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