City Walking with my Canine Good Citizen

City walking gives Abby and me a chance to put into practice many things we have learned in our "dog classes", particularly the class prepping us for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test.

The CGC exam is a series of 10 mini-tests (see link above) that evaluate how your dog reacts to several common situtations including be petted by a friendly stranger, being able to walk nicely on a leash (that is, not drag the human down the road), and do so when there are distractions like kids on bikes or a person in a motorized scooter around. When I have done the  CGC exam with my dogs (my first dog Morgan need three attempts to earn her initials, Abby passed on the first time), it was done at the training facility where we took our classes. Going live on the streets of a major city takes it to a new level.

Walk nicely on a leash for the CGC is defined as having the dog at your left side and walking so that the 6 ft lead (not a flexi-leash) is loose and not taut. The dog does not have to be in "obedience heel" position where the dog is precisely positioned at your left leg / hip as you walk. As long as the dog's head is within arm's reach and the leash is loose (there is a bend or J), that is acceptable. This is pretty much how I usually walk with Abby. I'll let her forge ahead or lag behind so that her hound dog nose can get a full workout. Our daily walks are for fun and exercise, and fun for Abby is sniffing stuff.

However, there are instances when I do have to call Abby to "heel". I use the word "heel" as a noun to describe a position rather than an action. Thus, in our house, "heel" is Abby sitting (or standing) by my left leg  with her shoulders pretty much even with my leg. Other people use "heel" as a verb and as a command for the dog to "stay glued to my left leg and keep your eyes on me" wherever I go.

From the list of CGC tests, these are the ones Abby and I encounter the most:

• Walking through a crowd (#5)
• Reaction to another dog (#8)
• Reaction to distraction (#9)

The crowds that we encounter share the sidewalk with us. These include people waiting at bus stops, walking with their groceries or other shopping treasures, families with strollers and plenty of clueless people yakking on their cell phones paying no attention to their surroundings.  There are also a lot of restaurants with outdoor seating in our neighborhood, so people dining al fresco with tasty food also attract Abby's attention. In these spots and at bus stops, the sidewalk often narrows such that I do call Abby to heel and ask for a few moments of controlled walking by my side.

I am fortunate that Abby doesn't react to other dogs, and we do meet several each night on our walk. She does show interest, but if I give a "with me" or "leave it" cue, Abby will, for the most part, keep walking by my side and just give the other dog a passing glance. It also helps if I have remembered to bring the treats and can instantly reward her for giving her attention to me rather than the other dog (or people).  This meeting a friendly dog exercise in the CGC test was the one that gave my first dog Morgan the most trouble and why it took us 3 tries to pass.

Distractions are plentiful on the streets of Miami. Cars running red lights. People honking their car horns all the time. Bicyclists. Trash, especially from the fast food restaurants, which means the possibility of finding a half eaten roll (GROSS!). Again the "with me" and "leave it" commands are the ones to let Abby know she needs to pay attention to me. There are a few spots where there are elevated planters with densely packed bushes. These planters are right at Abby's nose level when she is standing erect, thus making it very easy for her to "survey" for such trash. If she had her way, she would methodically search under the bushes inch-by-inch! I try to remember to walk on the other side of the street. Saying "leave it" continuously for three city blocks is not fun.

Finally, there are the intersections. I would like Abby to have a nice "auto sit" in that if I stop moving, she automatically sits. We are working on this in the apartment, and the apartment hallways. I would also be very happy if Abby would "sit on command" even with all the above distractions and obstacles. However, her "sit on command" in these situations is 30/70, rising up to 50/50 if I have good treats. At the intersections, there is too much going on, and if I do ask her to sit and actually want some hope that she will do it, I really do need to have eye contact before I give the sit command. At intersections, I do use food as a lure to try and get Abby to sit, but it doesn't work every time.

On the bright side, Abby does have an AWESOME "wait". As we are walking along, I can say "wait" and Abby will stop moving. Yes, she is standing (not sitting), but the key thing is that she has stopped moving. This has been invaluable when we come across someone on bicycle, a jogger, or fast walking people approaching from the opposite direction. Of course, it is very important at street corners while we are waiting for light to change so that we can cross the street.

Not quite as good as a "sit", but "wait" accomplishes my goal: having Abby be still until it is safe for us to proceed forward. 

I often wonder if Abby longs for the walks we had while living in Indiana. The subdivisions in the neighborhood there were loaded with rabbits. We would play "I Spy a Bunny" and I would try to keep track of who found the bunnies first. When Abby got a rabbit in her sight, she would stop moving, stare, have her front paw come up and bend, like this beagle below. Sometimes, Abby would do her version of a "bay" which was more like a "Aaaaarrrfff"than an "Aaarrrr-ooo". Some nights the rabbit count hit double digits. 

No bunnies here. When we go visit my parents on the gulf coast of FL, we might see a bunny or two in their neighborhood. I guess the other native critters in my parents' community (alligators, bobcats, and the occasional coyote) keep the rabbit population in check.

The Hound Retrieves!

Yes, Abby can now fetch a dumbbell! I am actually surprised at how quickly she has put it all together. Here is what "it" is:

1. Sit by my left side while I throw the dumbbell about 5 -10 ft away
2. When I say "Take it", go out and get the dumbbell
3. Put dumbbell in her mouth and carry it back to me
4. Sit in front of me with the dumbbell in her mouth
5. When I say "Give" put dumbbell in my hand
6. When I say "Finish", return to my left side and sit

I only work with her on this exercise for about 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week. I have been using a mixture of her food (kibble), jerky and stinky tuna treats as her reward.

I do vary her reward in that if it is something she already knows how to do, I will just give her a few pieces of kibble. If it is something that I have been waiting for her to do (i.e. sit with dumbbell in her mouth) I will jackpot her with a whole handful of kibble and treats but I give it to her a few bits at a time so it seems like 5-10 "little treats" rather than 1 big one that she immediately inhales. I let her "savor" the reward. 

I guess I should say that there are a few caveats to Abby's retrieving in that 1) I have a bag of treats within arm's reach and 2) we have only done this in my apartment.

We need to take our show on the road! I will try to remember to bring her dumbbell and treats to the park and go back to square one which is Abby simply "taking" the dumbbell in her mouth when there are all those distractions about: squirrels, kids, other dogs, squirrels, people on bicycles, yoga class and squirrels. Yeah, the squirrels are going to be a major distraction.

I also need to work with Abby in the apartment and see if she will retrieve for the sound of an "Atta Girl"and not reward her with food *every* single time she retrieves. Now that she understands what I want, we should be able to transition to verbal praise and begin to fade out the treats.

Marlin's Baseball Bark in the Park Night

Abby went to her first baseball game last night, Marlins v. the Nationals. The Florida Marlins with the Humane Societies of Broward and Miami-Dade counties sponsored a "Bark in the Park" evening. I think the number I heard after the game was over 665 dogs were in attendance and I didn't hear or see of one incident. Yeah well-behaved dogs, and yeah for over $4,000 being raised for the local animal shelters. The dog tickets were $6 with all the proceeds going to the humane societies, and they were also collecting additional donations through t-shirt and water bowl sales. 

The Marlins play in Sun Life Stadium, formerly known as Joe Robbie, Pro Player, and Land Shark stadium (I think I got most of the former names). It is the home of the Dolphins and University of Miami Hurricanes football teams and it is definitely a football stadium, not a baseball park. The dog section was in the upper tier sections 400-410 or so. They has to open up additional sections to accommodate the dogs! It was general admission seating which was nice, all the dogs could have plenty of room to sit, stand or lie down.  Abby and I were up in section 403, what would be endzone seating in football, but along the left field line and above the visiting team's bullpen.

I have to say I was really proud of my Abby. She handled the walk up the stairs to the nose-bleed seats very well, and that was with me holding onto her leash, a hotdog and a drink. Once we settled on seats, she spent most of the evening either sitting or lying down. I had brought a lot of her treats and doled them out liberally whenever she did sit (or down) on her own accord. She really didn't take much notice of any of the other dogs near us. She was, however, very interested in the humans, and really wanted to sniff them up good. She spent quite a bit of time sitting with her head on my lap, which is somewhat unusual for Abby. Abby likes her space and isn't much into "displays of affection", public or otherwise.

The game was a snoozer, with the hometown Marlins losing 7-1. The Nats jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then tacked on 2 more in the third. The Marlins had a chance to tie it when the game was 5-1 and they had the bases loaded, but alas, the Nats centerfield made a really nice catch on a shallow blooper to the outfield.

I think the Marlins have another Bark in the Park scheduled in late September. The Florida weather in the summer time really isn't conducive to it, but I wish there were more "take you dog to the ball game" nights. Last night's attendance was listed as 20,856, and I would guess that about 3,000 people were there with dogs. There were plenty of empty seats, so it isn't like the Marlins are packing in the fans. It is so nice to have a dog that I can take out in public and it makes all the time (and money) that I have spent learning how to work with and understand her worth it. Yes, most people call it "training", but it has been more like learning how to work together as a team.