Golden Boy

Hey, hey, hey, here's my certificate! Pretty nice isn't it? Do you like my expression? I'm trying to act like getting my gold was no big deal. Whatever! I am REALLY pleased with myself! It's already up on the wall with my other certificates and rosettes.

Here is is in close up.

To get my gold award I had to:

1 Sit - Dog to sit on command whilst a distance away from handler

2 Down - Dog to go into down position whilst a distance away from handler

3 Walk without a lead - Dog to walk by the side of handler and be able to halt, sit and move on without being on a lead

4 Come to heel - Dog to return to handler's side when called and continue walking to heel

5 Leave it - Dog to walk past and ignore food, tit bits and toys on the floor

6 Sit-stay - Dog to stay in the sit position for 5 minutes whilst a distance away from handler

7 Down-stay - Dog to stay in a down position for 5 minutes whilst a distance away from handler

8 Seek - Dog to seek out and bring back an article (one of the dog's toys or article supplied by trainer)

Along with my silver award which I passed in March. Here's what I had to do.

1 Sit - Dog to sit in front & at each side of the handler & stay until told to move

2 Down - Do to go into a down position in front & at each side of handler & stay in that position until told to move

3 Walk on a loose lead - Dog to walk in a controlled manner in a circle & a figure of eight pattern

4 Come when called - Dog to come back to handler on command ignoring any distractions & have a lead attached

5 Leave it - Dog to walk past & around other dogs in a controlled manner

6 Calmness - Dog to wait patiently whilst owner has a conversation with another person

7 Fetch - Handler to throw an article. The dog must pick up the article, bring it back & allow the handler to take it from them

8 Car - Dog to enter & leave a car in a controlled manner

And my bronze which I passed just before Christmas. In order to pass this I had to:

1 Sit - Dog to sit in front of the handler

2 Down - Dog to go into down position in front of handler

3 Walk on a loose lead -No pulling

4 Come when called

5 Leave it - Leave/ignore a titbit of food

6 Play - Dog and handler to play with a toy and dog to allow handler to take the toy

7 Controlled greeting - Dog to meet people without jumping up

8 Vet check - Dog to allow handler to inspect teeth, ears, eyes and body

9 Grooming - Dog to allow handler to groom it

10 Doorway situation - Dog to allow handler to go through a gate or doorway first while waiting calmly until called through

When I first started classes at the end of October I had only been with mum and dad a month or so and I was pretty crazy still. It was hard to imagine I'd ever pass this level, never mind progress any further. I guess that goes to show you what you can do if you put your mind to it. I love a good challenge!

And I'll need to. Tracey gave mum and I the criteria for the platinum award last night and all I can say is....GULP!

1 Drop on recall - Dog to be left in the sit position, to be called but must stop and go into down position where indicated

2 Stand stay - Dog to stay in the stand position for two minutes

3 Sit stay - Dog to stay in the sit position for five minutes whilst the handler is out of sight

4 Down stay - Dog to stay in the down position for five minutes whilst the handler is out of sight

5 Heelwork - Dog to heel at normal, slow and fast pace whilst off the lead

6 Leave it - Dog to walk past/over food and toys whilst off lead. Only voice commands are allowed

7 Distance control - Dog must go into the sit, down and stand position whilst the handler is at least 2 yards away (just under 2 metres)

8 Scent - Dog to retrieve the piece of cloth with the handler's scent on it (from 3 pieces of cloth)

9 Send away - Dog to go to an indicated point. No aids are allowed

10 Retrieve - Dog to retrieve and article of the judges choice

Yikes! I reckon I can do numbers 2, 5, 6, 7 and 10 without too much difficulty, but 5 minute sits and downs while mum isn't there, hmm! Ah well, I guess learning that little lot will keep me out of mischief for a while!

Licks

Oscar x