Skye has earned her AKC Canine Good Citizen Award!

From Deb Soricellie: This is my deaf boxer girl Skye. I adopted her from a rescue when she was only 6 months old. She had been with them since she was weaned, but had been too much for the other potential adopters to handle, so I took a chance (against the advice from several people).

 

Skye got along with my other male dog (who died prior to the picture below), so I took a chance at giving Skye a loving home and communicating and training her.

 

Soon after I adopted Skye I connected with Our Companions for training, and although they had never trained a deaf dog, they worked with me to revise their training to work with her. I used a vibrate collar and a penlight in lieu of a clicker, and we added a snoop loop (head halter) since she had a tendency to pinch me (nip) when I was asking her to do things – like walk on a leash. From my experience with her, and Our Companion’s help, we got to the point where she is a great companion – good with everyone, and good with my granddaughter who met her when my granddaughter was about 3-4yrs old.

I joined the deafdogs.org email list and provided people with ideas for training and protocols. Now I work part time with a local shelter, and I have provided them with a handout on training deaf dogs – and they have allowed several deaf dogs to be adopted from their facility. There are now several trainers that work with deaf dogs in our area. Skye and I are in Northern CT near the MA border.

When Skye went through to get her CGC, there was another trainer there who was surprised at her and how good she did. I hope I have helped change attitudes and save a few dogs lives all before I knew about Deaf Dogs Rock.

Note from Christina Lee: We love seeing owners step up their training and have their deaf dogs go through the Levels or C.L.A.S.S. training onto the Canine Good Citizen Training and testing. What this does is give these families a great dog for many years to come. If more folks stepped up and gave their new deaf dogs at least 6 months of Positive Reinforcement Training we would not be seeing so many dumped at shelters across our country. Trust me when I say it is so work the time and effort. My deaf dog Nitro has his and he is the best dog EVER!

From the akc.org/events/cgc/program.cfm

The Canine Good Citizen Program lays the foundation for other AKC activities such as obedience, agility, tracking, and performance events. As you work with your dog to teach the CGC skills, you’ll discover the many benefits and joys of training your dog. Training will enhance the bond between you and your dog. Dogs who have a solid obedience education are a joy to live with-they respond well to household routines, have good manners in the presence of people and other dogs, and they fully enjoy the company of the owner who took the time to provide training, intellectual stimulation, and a high quality life. We sincerely hope that CGC will be only a beginning for you and your dog and that after passing the CGC test, you’ll continue training in obedience, agility, tracking, or performance events.

To learn more about the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen program, please click here.