Canine Good Citizen!

Bow doing her perfect down stay, one of the parts of the Canine Good Citizen test

February 12 marked an important milestone in our household. Bow passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test!

We have been working on obedience almost since the day Bow arrived nearly two and a half years ago. In January we began an intense course for the Canine Good Citizen test with two other rescue dogs -- a gold retriever named Paddie and a Heinz 57 named Pablo who was rescued just hours before he was scheduled to be euthanized. All three passed the test which is pass fail, not based on a cumulative score.

Considering that Bow has dealt with seizures and her brain tumor I questioned a few times if I should put her through the training. Should I just indulge her and let her do whatever she wants with what time we have left together. I am glad that I did not go with that scenario. Bow loves to "work" and has come to enjoy the socializing in the class. When she arrived she would freak out if she saw another dog within 50 feet and would start whimpering, spinning and chewing her leash. She can now let Paddie pass within inches and have no reaction. She has built trust of her slowly. She will probably never want to play a game of chase with her, but they have a respectful tolerance of each other I never thought possible two years ago.

Basenjis teach and remind us of many life lessons each day. I am glad that Bow and I pushed ourselves to reach this milestone. I think it has helped her health and agility to have gone through the process. I did indulge her with extra treats as a celebration.

Cancer Chronicles: Staying Well, Staying Positive

Last month's post and the news about Bow's tumor was grim, but it was encouraging to get so many supportive messages.

She had a seizure in early January which was hugely discouraging, but she was put on a low dose of phenobarbital (an anti-seizure drug) and prednisone (a steroid). Not only has she gone more than a month without a seizure (she has had only one to date), but her energy level and alertness were back to normal within barely 12 hours. Besides struggling a bit going down the stairs and having muscle wasting around her forehead, she is back to her old self.

My primary vet keeps using the term "Let's keep her comfortable for the time she has left." But she too has been very encouraged by how stable things have been the past six weeks. She got a blood test a couple of weeks ago, and all her levels are right where they should be, and we cut back the prednisone to half level.

Our life is happy for now, and we cherish each day together. This coming weekend we will take our Canine Good Citizen certification. Whether we pass or not isn't the biggest issue. The fact that we have come so far in training over the past two years is reward enough. When Bow arrived two and a half years ago, she was very dog reactive and would chew on her leash, spin and put up her basenji Mowhawk if we saw another dog even half a block away. Today she can pass even the yappiest Chihuahua with relative calm, looking at it condescendingly but not lunging and walking ahead on a calm, loose leash.

UPDATE: Bow passed the Canine Good Citizen certification today! We'll write all about it in next month's post.

Aiming for Canine Good Citizen Certification

“I lived with a basenji once. I had no idea they could be good citizens.”

That was one of the first comments that popped up from a friend when I posted in my Facebook status update that Bow and I were planning to give it a go to work towards the Canine Good Citizen certification. Almost immediately I also received positive, supportive comments from my BRAT friends (most of whom I’ve yet to meet in person but have been supportive during my first year in the land of basenjis).

Bow and I have made great progress during our first nine months together, and most of the learning has been mine not hers, I think. And it was the idea of our trainer to try for the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen Program. As a whole, the ten tests can look a bit intimidating. But Emma, our trainer, is convinced Bow (and even I) have what it takes to ultimately pass the tests. In reality, the first seven tests have already been achieved during our journey together thus far.

The two that we still need to master are number 8 (reaction to another dog) and number 9 (reaction to a distraction). We’ve made progress on both. Bow no longer starts biting the leash when she sees a dog from the distance, and with a little coaxing she can not stress out over distractions. It’s just not all distractions at this point. We have the basenji challenge of living down the street from the busiest skateboard park in North America.

But inch by inch, class by class, dog by dog, we are making progress. I’d be interested to hear from others who’ve attempted the CGC program and their successes, setback and suggestions along the way.