Last night Buddy and I started a Bronze Good Citizenship Dog Scheme course of lessons.
The scheme is run by the Kennel Club and promotes responsible dog ownership. Not only do you have to train your dog to do certain tasks, but you as the owner have to know certain things. One of the most important of these to me is that you have to demonstrate that you are carrying some form of poop scoop.
The responsibility to ensure we are the best ambassadors we can be for the dog world rests on the two legged half of the partnership, and this course sets you firmly on that path. The other good thing is that the Bronze award focuses on developing behaviour that is useful for everyday situations, like being able to control your dog while you put on or take off the collar and lead. I can remember when Buddy was a puppy that the mere sight of his collar had him leaping up in the air trying to launch into it!
Buddy seemed to enjoy the class, and my biggest problem was to convince him that he wasn’t there just to greet all the humans and play with all the dogs. We shall be doing our homework – five minute sessions a couple of times a day – ready for our second session. The plan is that over the course of seven weeks we train, and then on the eighth week we pass the test. Fingers crossed.
For more information on what the Good Citizen Scheme entails visit the Kennel Club website. (www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/good_citizen.html)