Episode #146 Setting Goals with Your Dog via The AKC Family Dog Program - Michele Rielly

Ready to transform your furry friend into a Canine Good Citizen? This episode, with the guidance of Michele Riley from Baxter Bella, deciphers the American Kennel Club's CGC program, a comprehensive 10-step training regime. This program is designed to instill not just basic behaviors and loose leash walking, but also grooming and etiquette – a complete package for a well-behaved pet. Imagine the freedom of taking your dog to a bustling farmer's market or a lively soccer game without a worry. Plus, did you know that a CGC certification might even get you a nifty discount from your insurance or apartment complex? That's right!

In this enriching conversation, Michele also introduces Baxter Bella's Virtual Home Manners title program – a remarkable virtual platform to train your dog. Learn how this program, a potential stepping stone for those eyeing agility or obedience competitions, compares with the AKC CGC. Get to know about the AKC trick titles, an engaging way to teach your dog new cues and earn titles to their name. With Baxter Bella's Basic Training class, Intermediate Training course, and an AKC CGC Prep course, you're all set to start your pet training journey! While we're on this topic, let's not forget the crucial role of physical and mental stimulation in your pet’s life. Tune in and explore the significance of these fantastic resources!

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting Dog Goals With AKC Program
• 11:32 AKC CGC vs Virtual Home Manners
• 17:32 Farewell and Puppy Training Resources

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Puppy Training Podcast, episode 146, setting Goals with your Dog Using the AKC Family Dog Program. This podcast is designed to help you on your journey of becoming best friends through love and learning, as you train your own dog from home, and I'm here to help you every step of the way. This is the Puppy Training Podcast, and I'm your host, amy Jensen. Okay, welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast, you guys. Thanks for listening. Today I'm excited to have Michelle Riley with me. She is a trainer here at Baxter Bella and we both have a passion for the American Kennel Club's CGC, so I'm going to let Michelle get into what that is, if you don't know what that is. But first, michelle, welcome, and will you just tell us a little bit about yourself?

Speaker 2: 0:50

Hi everyone. My name is Michelle. I'm one of the trainers for Baxter Bella. I do lots of phone calls and Zoom calls with the one-on-one sessions that Baxter Bella has. I live in Greenville, south Carolina, with my two pups and two service dogs in training right now, and I am also a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. That's a lot of dogs at your house, michelle. How do you rotate your?

Speaker 1: 1:17

household.

Speaker 2: 1:18

Yes, well, it's usually a mess most days, but my one dog, she's 14. She spends most of the day in the bathroom because that's where she likes to be. It's dark and cold. The other three are under the age of two, so we do lots of, I say, putting them down for a nap Like you would have child. Everyone thinks it's hilarious, but I try to give everyone a little one-on-one time but lots of opportunities to take a break or use a tether or playpen if needed as well.

Speaker 1: 1:50

Yeah, so fun, and I mean having multiple dogs is great. I think there's a benefit and there's an. Obviously it's triple the work or I guess quadruple the work for you, but they do kind of are like siblings, right, they keep each other entertained and play with each other.

Speaker 2: 2:03

Yes, that is one nice thing that you know. If they go outside, I know they're going to have fun and run around or play together, and they all do like each other, and that's important as well.

Speaker 1: 2:13

So All right. Well, today we were talking about goal-setting with our dogs. I think it's important that we have goals for our dogs so that we have a direction, not just I mean it's okay to just have a dog, but I mean it's so valuable and so worthwhile to not only have your dog have a fulfilling life, but you do something with your dog that you enjoy doing together, and I think the American Kennel Club or the AKC, has done a really good job of focusing on the family dog and how to make it a good experience. What are your thoughts on that, Michelle?

Speaker 2: 2:42

I totally agree. It is something where I have clients on a regular basis. Be like well, what is the? Why do I need to teach my dog all these cues, or what is the point of this, like long term? And I said, if it's just something where you're comfortable just getting your dog to be able to do basic cues or commands and just be able to live in the house and be totally fine, that's okay too. But for a person like me who likes to achieve and, you know, get a ribbon or certificate at the end, it's kind of fun to have these programs where you can set goals for yourself and your dog and work through it together.

Speaker 1: 3:17

Yeah, and the AKC, what we're talking about, you guys, today. There are several different titles you can get for a family dog. The AKC originally was for purebred dogs and now they welcome dogs of any breed. They do recommend good breeding standards and that's a value, a core value of theirs, which we appreciate as well. But any dog that you have, even the mixed breeds, are welcome to compete in some of these things, especially for the family dog. So they have AKC star puppy. And then we get into AKC canine good citizen. That test was started back in 1989. So years ago, I was just a kid when that started and then in 1998, the canine good citizen program was officially established. So since then there's been over like 2 million dogs competing with 15,000 licensed and sanctioned events. It's just incredible how it's grown and I just want to get into a little bit more about that actual canine good citizen program, michelle, and what kinds of things that's teaching the dog and the human to do.

Speaker 2: 4:16

Yeah. So the big thing about it is kind of the goal of being able to have your dog in public or out with people and trust that they're going to behave and that you have a bond with them and know that they're going to be okay in public. So this goes over everything from petting, grooming, basic cues like sit down and come. It also includes loosely swapping, being a brown, loud noises or other distractions, dogs, things like that and being able to pass a 10 step program in order to get your certificate.

Speaker 1: 4:54

Yeah, and I think the 10 items that they picked are, like, as you mentioned, just really good for the everyday family dog. But we want to be able to take them to the soccer game with us on the weekend or we want to be able to go to the farmer's market with them, and it's important that we understand our dogs are able to handle that and that they like to be there and that they can behave while they're there.

Speaker 2: 5:15

Right, and on top of that I've even read that some apartment complexes will give discounts if you have a canine good citizen with your dog and it's a pet friendly apartment. I know my dog insurance gives a discount if you have a dog that's passed it. Different things like that. If you are looking into therapy, dog work or any of the other kinds of things, it's usually the minimum to get this thing started, yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:41

Let's just go through the test item, maybe a little more specifically.

Speaker 1: 5:44

So I know like number one is the evaluator walks up to you and your dog and says hi, they don't actually interact with your dog, it's just a greeting for you and then they walk away. Test item number two is the evaluator walks up to you and your dog. They'll ask to pet your dog and the dog doesn't need to do anything necessarily specific like hold a position or anything, but they just need to be friendly, not show any shyness or resentment, and definitely not jumping all over the evaluator, for sure. Number three is grooming. So the evaluator will just take a brush or a comb and groom your dog and they'll look at both ears to make sure your dog's clean and they'll lift up each front paw. Number four, as Michelle mentioned, is walking on a leash. So usually the evaluator will set up some sort of L pattern with cones or they can use things in the environment like trees or things like that, and you'll make a right turn, a left turn, a U turn and at least two stops along the way just so that they can see that your dog pays attention to you while they're on leash.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Number five is walking through a crowd. So the evaluator will provide people at the evaluation where you navigate in and around these people while your dog's on leash next to you and the dog again can look at the people and notice them. They just don't. We don't want them to show any over exuberance or shyness towards the people. We basically want them to leave them alone as you walk in and around the crowd. Number six is the sit down stay and you get to choose whether your dog does a sit stay or a down stay, but they do have to do both a sit and a down first. And then seven is come when called, you're going to walk 10 feet away. Call your dog to you. Number eight is. Number eight is one that I get in when we teach this class or this course. A lot of people stress over number eight because you're going to be walking past another person with their dog on a leash and you're supposed to stop and say hello and then keep walking and your dog's supposed to be totally chill about it. But don't worry you guys, if that's the one that you're worried about, we do help you through that one.

Speaker 1: 7:36

Number nine is distraction. So the evaluator gets to choose what they use as a distraction. It might be that somebody on a bike rides past or they drop a clipboard or a metal bowl hits the ground and your dog can show that a little bit of startling, if you will, we just want to make sure that they bounce back really quickly and aren't phased by it. And then number 10 surprises people too. It's separation. So the evaluator will hold your dog on a leash and you're supposed to disappear for three minutes. Okay, so that´s everything we have left here. I appreciate it, thank you. And then your dogs just supposed to be calm with the evaluator, no whining or pacing or showing signs that they are stressed out because you have disappeared. Did I cover them all, michelle? Yes, when coaching people and their dogs on this test, michelle, what do you find are the hard points? What are the things that people struggle with the most?

Speaker 2: 8:22

I would say the hardest part is you, number one. You can't use treats and Come from a distance. When you're in a class setting like that, some dogs really struggle with all those other dogs around and then, yes, walking by another dog. But the nice thing is, if both dogs are on a left, like a left side heel, then you just walk up and shake hands and you're so. There's two people between both dogs, which can be helpful as well. But a lot of the times it's more our nerves that were nervous about taking this test that's making our dogs nervous that I find that it might be even the silliest things like sit, because you're, all you know, excited and nervous at the same time that your pup starts to fill your emotions as well.

Speaker 1: 9:05

Yeah, and you mentioned no food or rewards or treats, I guess and that goes for toys as well, right? Yeah, I know some, some dogs are very motivated with toys. If they're not food motivated often times, a tennis ball works great or a squeaky toy or something like that. But I will say, when we are teaching families and dogs this test and we're training them how to be successful on it, please, please, please, do use rewards, please use the toys and the treats to train your dog to do these things, and then I like to have them. You know, do test item number one and then reward your dog, and then do test items two and three and then reward your dog, and then do three, four and five and reward your dog and we can start to. You know, phase the treats and the food and the toys or whatever motivation you're using for your dog out so that eventually you're doing all ten test items and then we're rewarding our dogs.

Speaker 1: 9:53

And we shouldn't forget the power of praise, and praise is something that they encourage you to use during the test with your dogs. So feel free to start to transition, when you're training your dog or working on this test, that you are praising them and giving them that verbal feedback. Petting is fine, you know, any of those natural life rewards are great, so we teach you how to do that as well, if you have any questions on what that looks like. But we definitely transition away from the food and the toys and we encourage, praise, pet our dogs and reward them that way. Michelle, what are your thoughts on the CGC for everyone and every dog like? Is this something that every dog needs?

Speaker 2: 10:26

to have. No, not, not necessarily. I think it. Like I said earlier, it's something that, if you like to have an achievement your dog past the training or Things like that it's nice to have, but it's definitely not something you need to have and it's just a great way. Even if you take a prep class and you don't feel like your dogs ready to pass, there's still good skills to have. If you do decide to take your dog in public or want to have a social dog like that, it's just a good thing to have in your resume.

Speaker 1: 10:56

And I like to tell people no training is ever wasted. Right that anytime you're willing to spend with your dog on a common goal, so you're working towards something together. I think it's valuable for sure.

Speaker 2: 11:07

I 100% agree. And just getting in a situation like that where you're set up For success or it's okay to fail and you can try again, it's kind of nice to just Be able to grow with it as well.

Speaker 1: 11:22

So during COVID, many trainers had to adjust to an online presence and AKC was no exception, and here at Baxter bellow we're all about an online presence, so it's been fun to have more people join us in the arena. But tell us more about their at-home manners program and how it's similar to the AKC CGC and how it's different.

Speaker 2: 11:39

Yes, so it's called virtual home manners title and basically it's very similar in that it follows ten, ten things you need in order to graduate or pass it. But you do it Virtually by recording a video and then you can send it to an evaluator including Amy or I In Baxter and Bella and it just goes over things where you are the one doing it with your dog. So you pet your dog, you groom your dog, and they're very specific on where you need to pet, where you need to look at. They talk, you do the sit command, the down commands. They also do come, but it's indoors. They also put a little different with.

Speaker 2: 12:21

They do some manners related to food. Either you're eating a snack in front of your dog or you wait to put the food dish down and they need to wait. They need to have someone knock on the doorbell or the knock on the door ring the doorbell and the dog has to behave appropriately. They need to go to their crate and stay there for a minute or in a place queue, and then you have to play with your dog, whether it's a game or just tug of war, go for a walk and they need to walk calmly, and then you also need to exercise with your dog, so it's kind of fun where it's a little different in that manner. But it is not Exactly a CGC Certification because it's not in person and you're not doing around other dogs. But it's still a great way to get those checklist items and a good goal to have.

Speaker 1: 13:10

Yeah, I love that they outline specifics and then you can work on it, like if I'm saying my dog is terrible with the doorbell, the doorbell goes off and they go crazy and I'm going to work on that this week. It just gives people a nice thing to focus on and a little bite-sized piece of training that they're like Okay, we can get a little better at this this week.

Speaker 2: 13:27

Yes, no, I 100% agree. And then the nice thing is, you can use these as next steps if you're interested in agility or obedience Competitions or different things like that as well, yeah that whole world just opens up.

Speaker 1: 13:41

I mean that, backstreet Bella, we focus a lot on the initial training. You know, you just got a dog, a new dog. What do you do? We also take you through intermediate levels. We take you through advanced levels. As Michelle mentioned, we there's several of us who are training service dogs or we have trained service dogs. We do therapy dogs, so we can take you to any level that you want to be with your dog when you're working with us in our program. But it's also nice if you want to go in person and do some agility classes. You know this is a phenomenal resource for you the AKC website. They have so many different titles that you can earn in obedience and rally and things like that, and Michelle also mentioned Another thing they do, I think is that's fun and that we offer here at backstreet Bella as way as being your evaluator, is the trick titles. You want to tell us a little bit about the trick titles, michelle?

Speaker 2: 14:27

Yes, so it's a fun way to teach your dog some new trick cues where they have. They give you a list of options. There's usually like 10, 10 to 20, and then if you teach your dog at least 10 of those cues and videotape them we can, you can start to earn trick titles towards your name, your dog's name, through a KC and it's just a fun way to come up with some really neat cues to teach your dog and they're cute and fun and they're called tricks.

Speaker 1: 14:57

So yeah, I know kids adore this. Adults do too. Let's be honest. It's fun to teach your dog tricks, but if you have a family with children in your home and they want to work with the dog, this is a great way where they can spend time with the dog and they're focused on some of these fun things like shake, roll, spin, you know, get inside a box, shut a door or whatever you know, and then, as a parent, you can focus on things like loosely swapping and some of the things that maybe are a little more complicated and Need a little more understanding to do successfully, but the kids can have fun with the dog doing the tricks.

Speaker 2: 15:34

Definitely. It's pretty neat watching it so you can progress that if your dog can do 10 and then they can do 20 and then they can do 30, they can go from novice to competition based things overall.

Speaker 1: 15:47

Yeah, I love getting those videos from our clients that are these tricked videos and we get to watch them. It's fun to see them working with their dog and the relationship that they've built because of these goals that they set together.

Speaker 2: 15:58

Definitely it's really a neat opportunity. It's fun it really is Just watching some of these videos of people that were in the competition last year for overall best trick performer. It's adorable what they do with their dogs.

Speaker 1: 16:12

All right If you guys are interested in some of this that we've talked about today. If you are a member of our program, recognize we teach a basic training class and then our intermediate training courses are an intermediate training course and then we have the AKC K9 Good Citizen Prep course, which is also an intermediate level training course. We ask that you go through our basic first, then come to the AKC CGC prep course and we would love to walk you through those 10 test items and give you tips and tricks and little exercises that you can do to be successful. If you do want to go and test for that in person and get that title, then, as Michelle mentioned, that home manners option is great and we're able to video evaluate you, either Michelle or myself. Amanda is another trainer here at Backstreet Rebellion. She's also certified to do that.

Speaker 1: 16:56

If you set up a one-on-one with us or just send us a video, we're happy to answer any questions you have about those and to be your evaluators. The CGC will help you find an in-person evaluator. If you choose to do that and you don't live near us, we have South Carolina and Utah, but if you're not close to us it will definitely help you find an evaluator that is close to you. Those trick titles we can do via video. Again, you're welcome to send those videos into us. We'd love to evaluate them and help you in any way we can. We just love to help you build a relationship with your dogs and go live life with your dogs. Anything that we can do to make that a possibility, we're happy to help you. All right, michelle, thanks so much for being here. I hope you have a great rest of your week. Enjoy those four dogs at your house. Say hi to them for me.

Speaker 2: 17:38

Give them a high five. Well, dude, thanks Amy, See ya.

Speaker 1: 17:42

Thanks you guys for joining us today. We will talk soon. Happy training. If you have a question about anything you heard on this podcast or any other puppy training session, visit my site, baxterandbellacom to contact me.