Canine Good Citizen and Tracking Activity?

Question

Okay, now that we've decided on a redbone coonhound pup in our very near future (see my 1st question http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtgUyMTTeVAzfdkHFWrTOtTsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090621085425AAmQrRL), my mind is positively whirring with possibility - maybe he could be a certified Canine Good Citizen! Maybe I could work with him in tracking! (He is a scenthound, after all, one of the best).

I love all wildlife and certainly won't be using him for his original purpose, but all the same would like him to use his natural talents as much as possible.

Can anyone give me a firsthand account of working for and achieving the Canine Good Citizen designation? And is anyone involved in tracking activities, to give me an idea of what is needed?

Thank you, all! And please star for maximum exposure. : )

Answer 1

The CGC is not any for of certification, it actually not even an obedience title. It's just a test that shows your dog has basic manners. Pretty much any well trained dog can pass it.



visit the AKC website http://www.akc.org to find out more about the CGC test and tracking. Also, ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America) offers tracking tests, which is open to all breeds and mixes.

http://www.asca.org





Rather than doing regular tracking, which is fine, consider to teach your dog to track wounded game. This type of tracking is called

"blood tracking". You and your dog do not harm the animal in anyway, what you do is help find the wounded/killed game for the hunter, so the hunter doesn't loose his kill and it doesn't go to the coyotes. It is not legal in all states, but here's some links to read that you may enjoy. I actually did this with my wirehair dachshund and found it real interesting. The Wirehair Dachshunds are the breed mostly used for this, there are other breeds that are successful including mixbreeds.



For more information visit: http://www.deersearch.org

http://www.born-to-track.com

http://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org



Also, visit the United Kennel Club website http://www.ukcdogs.com

visit the coonhound message boards, find out about the UKC Nite Hunts and if the raccoon is only tracked and treed and not killed. If the raccoon is not killed, then there's no reason you wouldn't be able to let your redbone do what it's originally bred to do...guilt free :)



BTW, I love the redbones and the blueticks. My favorite breed, besides the wire dachshunds of course :)

Answer 2

My GSD is CGC certified. It basically shows that your dog has a basic level of obedience and is temperamentally sound enough to be around other people and different situations. There are several parts to the CGC test.



http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm



The AKC highlights each one and describes in great detail. The hardest one for me was the supervised separation. I had to prepare weeks in advance to make sure he wouldn't pace, whine or bark during the supervised separation.



It is also quite easy to get the GCG title and some dogs that achieve it SHOULDN'T be getting an AKC "title" at all. I would continue past the CGC maybe have him TDI (therapy dog) certified. Or get Rally-O titles or CD/CDX obedience titles.

Answer 3

CGC is very easy to do- all you need to do is have basic obedience training for the dog. It should be able to stay (on a leash) while you are 20 feet away. It needs to remain calm, be good with other dogs, not jump up, and not show any aggression. No special training is required for it. As long is the dog is friendly, fairly well trained and obedient it will easily pass.

Answer 4

Not sure about CGC, but, tracking depends on what type you are interested in, foot step or real tracking?

Bill Koehler wrote a book on the subject that covers just about everything related to real tracking and I have used that method to train several dogs. If you are REALLY interested in "real" tracking, check out some books and DVD's about the RCMP on the subject...I believe they have some of the best tracking dogs in the world!

Hope I helped.

Answer 5

I love to hear posts like yours. Really refreshing that someone has thought about exactly what they are getting and what the dog is going to be happy doing.



And you of course.



There is nothing like working a dog to get the best out of them, and although I don't do tracking I know people that do and they all have great fun.



Hope it all works out for you.

Answer 6

A CGC is NO big deal. Any dogs with half manners can get one. My old Chow, who had NO training, got one, a piece of cake. It's CGC and it's NOT certified in any way. It really means nothing.

Answer 7

Asking for stars is a violation.