Canine Good Citizen Class, Day 1

And away we go!
Louie and I had our first day of class today. We are taking the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class at a local doggy day care and dog training center called 'Tails-a-Wagging'. I got Louie ready by taking him on a walk about an hour before we had to leave to go to the class. A great way to get him to take a big giant dump and get some of the wiggles out. We walked downtown and found a big empty parking lot, he did a big poop on the way. When we got there, I just thought I'd practice a real official 'sit and stay'. We hadn't done that old trick for no reason in a really long time. We use it around the house and in the yard, but Louie and I haven't practiced basic commands just for the heck of it for a few years. I found a white line of a empty parking space and had him sit. I walked away from him. I didn't look back, my mind was elsewhere really. I have total confidence in this with Louie. When I turned around I was surprise in how far I walked and far he was away from me. 'Good boy, come!' I shouted and he did!

'Running' as fast as he could.
You may picture a handsome Louie bounding toward me. It's more like a strange march really. His form is much different that sighted dogs. He sets his head low, lifts his front legs high and swerves a bit from side to side. I just keep talking, softly. He can hear so well. He speed marches toward my voice. I stretch my hands out to cushion the landing and tell him 'stop'.  Wiggle wiggle wiggle! Yay! He found me! Louie is excited. This is fun for everyone! I think we're going to do okay.

When we got home, Louie knew more exciting things were still to come.
I didn't take off his coat and harness. He was following me so closely because he didn't want to accidentally get left behind. I borrowed my moms car because mine is in the shop. I went over to her house and got her keys and borrowed an old blanket to cover the backseat, mandatory keeping the moms car clean. 'It's not a dog car', whatever that means, I don't know. The sound of the keys left Louie almost bouncing in place.

He loves riding in the car.

Louie has always been a good passenger. One of the first things we did together a few days after I took the tiny puppy home was to take a trek about five hours east of here to tiny A frame cabin on a little lake near Omak, WA. Louie has always been such a happy camper.

I snapped a few good pictures of Louie in the car, but don't worry, I was always stopped. I had very precious cargo.

I'm always a tad nervous when I arrive to a new place.
Actually, that's downplaying it a bit. I get really nervous when arriving, front door jitters I call it. Having Louie with me for an appointment for school was the best thing ever. I felt so much more comfortable than if I was headed to take a class on my own for the first time. Look at this therapy dog in training already getting to work!

Watching where I last said 'stay'

The class was an extreme success!
The space was very nice and we got there with plenty of time for Louie to 'look around'. We did our usual 'smell the perimeter' routine until he was comfortable and then just explored around. Okay, big empty room with plastic chairs lining the walls, got it? Got it.

There were five dogs total in the class. Pretty small class but that is pretty cool. Louie acted curious each time someone new would arrive. The classroom was upstairs and the hallway was very narrow and echo-y with wooden steps that had rubber no-slip strips on them. The sound would alert Louie and he would listen intently until he could hear who or what was coming. Then he would give the air a good sniff until he got it was a dog and a couple of people and then it was back to hanging out.



Watching where my voice came from

When class started, Louie was on his best behavior.
First we just practiced sit for a while. Then lay down. That is harder for him for some reason. It seems like he's uncomfortable to get into that position. I've put a lot of thought into it. He knows what I mean when I say 'lay down' but he always hesitates. I have to put my hand down and tap the ground or snap where I want him to stretch out. I think it's because otherwise he doesn't really know if he's going to bump something. When he lays down on his own he always does a few circles first and clears a place. When I was first understanding he was going blind and started training him as a blind dog, I thought of every space as a 'runway', or a 'landing'. Runway could be a rug or a path we always kept clear or the trail he blazed into the grassy yard. A landing could be the rug at the bottom of the staircase indicating no more steps and time to turn to the right. For 'lay down' in class, I don't have a landing. No dog bed or towel. I guess leaning down and snapping will have to do. I think he'll get better at it with all the practice we'll be doing.

As for sit and stay, he smoked it!
He did a great job for the first day of class. Sit and stay for about a minute or so with me walking around and him just waiting there so patiently. He only got up twice after a pretty long time considering all the stimulus around us. I know with more practice we are going to be awesome! A couple complimented us when we were leaving saying Louie was the most well behaved. Me, beaming inside.

Louie zen after a nice walk and an hour class

Thing is...
Louie and I may have never taken a training class before, but we have done a lot of work. A LOT of work over the years. I had to. He was going blind as a six month old bundle of playful puppy energy. Zing! What would stop him from going full speed into a tree?! I wanted him to be able to be like any other dog, I didn't want him to have to be on leash constantly. The only way around that would be having a dog that would respond so well to your spoken commands that your voice could be your leash. We worked and worked and have a ton of strange cues and Louie does great. The awesome thing about this class is that we get to practice in a controlled environment, with others around as distraction and someone there to look to if I get stuck. Someone there to watch and gauge our progress. This is the beginning of a beautiful thing!