On June 26, 2014, Lady, a 7 month old Standard Poodle and Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD) in training at Michigan Dog Training Inc. in Plymouth, Michigan earned her Advanced Canine Good Citizen (CGCA) title. The CGCA is the American Kennel Club’s newly formed advanced title above the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) title. Lady was handled by Michael Burkey and trained by Kalin Turri of Canton, Michigan. To earn a CGCA, a dog and handler must be able to perform obedience skills in community situations such as:
- walking on a loose leash through a crowd
- walk past distractions and not pull on the leash
- sit-stay in a small group of three other people with dogs three feet apart from each other
- dog allows a person who is carrying a backpack or computer bag to approach and pet it
- dog walks by food and follows the owner’s instructions to “leave it” alone
- down or sit-stay while owner walks away from the dog 20 feet and moves an item
- come when called at a distance of 20 feet with distractions present
- sit or stand stay while owner enters/exits a doorway or narrow passageway and is called through when ready. Think of the handler having the leash in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other hand
Lady will finish her training to become a Diabetic Alert Dog by January 2015. If you are interested in being matched with her or MDT’s other Standard Poodle DAD in training, Radar; call Michigan Dog Training at 734-634-4152.