by: Lori Weise, Founder and Director of Downtown Dog Rescue
Last Sunday, Downtown Dog Rescue organized another Canine Good Citizenship Test during our Sunday class with Dog Man. I’m happy to announce that we have 13 new Canine Good Citizens and all but two were pit bull type dogs. Why is this so important? First and foremost, to pass CGC one has to have put a lot of work into their dog. Some of the simplest things in life look easy to the bystander watching the event. I guarantee you that the test is only “easy to pass” if you have been faithfully working with your dog including socializing him or her with people and other dogs.
Sara Araoz of Pedestrian Pooch, a certified CGC evaluator, tested more than 20 dogs with no penalty for failing. Taking the test if often the best way to find out what your dog and you need to practice in order to pass the next time. My old man Clancy was the distraction dog. I must say that once again, he did a fantastic job serving as a calm distracter, while reminding all of the dogs testing that even an elderbull can pass CGC and go on to become a therapy dog just like him. As you can see in these photos, all of the dogs were on leash and wore collars during the test. However, despite the pinch collars in some of the photos, the handlers were not allowed to use them in order to control their dogs during the test.
I was really happy to see some of our volunteers like Jennifer and her dog Daisy pass and Royce passed both of her dogs Chase and Chevy. Our friends and classmates from Angel City Pits passed the test too. Trainer Larry Hill of Puppy Imprinters passed his dog Ryder and his student Sinbad passed his dog. Larry trains his students in all of the basics to pass the CGC test every week as “the basics” The two dogs passed the test with flying colors!
Our location is special because we are the only location in South Los Angeles where a Canine Good Citizenship test is held. Although we are in one of the highest intake areas for LA Animal Services. One of the top three reasons why dog owners surrender their dogs to the South LA shelter is because they are moving and they can’t take their dog or their landlord has changed a pet policy and they are no longer permitted to keep their dog. A large number of those dogs are pit bull type dogs. One way we can actively reduce the number of pit bull type dogs coming into the shelter for this reason is to certify more large breed dogs not just pit bull type dogs but all large breed dogs, the same ones that are more unlikely to be rescued or adopted out of the shelter.
Imagine if the dog owner who is told by their landlord, sorry but we have a no pit bull policy now, showing his landlord a CGC certificate, a dog license, and demonstrating their superior handling skills. If the landlord was open minded and fair, why wouldn’t they make an exception or better yet, why wouldn’t they re-examine their pet policy to reflect the new CGC standard. I can’t tell you how many calls we receive from great dog owners who are desperate because financially they can’t afford to move out of their rental and the dog is getting the boot. Sometimes, a CGC certificate, a dog license and a letter from DDR and or a trainer stating the dog is social and well trained, saves the day and the dog becomes the exception. So how can we create more EXCEPTIONAL large breed dogs in South LA? Move towards a goal of No Kill at every shelter not just the Westside?
Spread the word about training, the classes that are available in the community such as Dog Man’s Sunday class at the Coliseum and Larry’s class on Sunday at St Andrews Park. You might call it South LA, I like what Larry calls the area, Greater Los Angeles because it is great! As Dog Man tells us at almost every class, we pit bull people have to work harder, our dog have to outperform the other breed just because we have pit bulls.
I always smile when people tell me I’m a pit bull person. I guess I am because a pit bull person has to be a dedicated, hard working, committed individual who does not give up, even when the people surrounding them say it’s not possible, the pit bull person keeps working with their dog. The pit bull person has many faces, look at the faces of these wonderful dog owners who have achieved something few dog owners ever achieve, Canine Good Citizenship Certification. To learn more about what you need to do to practice with your dog, visit http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/ We will be testing again in early August so you have time to get ready to pass and join Clancy in the list of exceptional dogs.
