Since purchasing the kennel in 2010, I have been VERY frustrated with trying to compete in any performance events with my dog. This is a 24/7 job, and if I want to be away from the kennel all day, it's usually 80 bucks to pay someone to cover, and finances haven't allowed that. It's great to have the 2 acre property with space to work my dogs, but getting to shows has been pretty much impossible.

Then, last week, I had a new neiighbour move in next door. She has 3 dogs of her own, and used to work for Loretto Kennels (used to belong to Leo Bellino, a pro handler who also bred GSDs).

I checked out the kennel's website, and found they were having a fun match on Sunday.

"You should GO!" my new neighbour said. "I'll look after the dogs for you."

I though it over. I've known her less than a week. but we've spent hours talking, and have really clicked.

Dammnit, I thought, I'm going to DO IT! And hopefully, this will be the start of me finally being able to really DO something with my female, other than work her at home. (My maile is now 10, and to work him in this heat would be cruel.)

To make a long story short, Star now had her CGN (same as the CGC) and passed her temperament test with flying colours!

I never had any doubt she'd pass the part where she has to meet people, and pass through a crowd, etc. She wouldn't be my hearing ear dog if she were frightened or aggressive with people. It was the gunshot test and the angry stranger I was concerned about. She'd flinched a couple of times at the gunshots while we were waiting our turn.

I need not have worried. She startled at the shots, then strained towards the blind, looking for the source of the noise.

When the angry stranger came out of the blind shouting at the top of his lungs, and smacking the ground with a riding crop, she took half a step back, then looked at me as if to say, 'What is this guy's PROBLEM?"

Some of the male GSDs pulled towards the man, wanting a piece of him, but of course, you don't want a service dog acting that way. The tester said she was ideally suited for the work she is doing for me, as she stood steady, and looked to me for cues as to whether she should be worried about what was going on.

I got many compliments on her from different people, and several commented on how pretty she was, and how unusual her colouring is. (They were NOT conformation people! Star is a very faded black and tan with almost no saddle. She actually looks more like a sable.)  But yeah, I thinks she's really pretty, and very feminine in expression.

The GSDs there were almost all male, and most were from the breedings of the kennels current manager, Morris Bartucci. They had very dark pigment, long tails that verged on being siclke tails, and most did very well on the TT.  I did see one half-grown pup with its pasterns right down on the ground, but most of them had decent structure, except for being overangulated.

Morris has actuallly titled a German showline, SG Tatoo von Team Zellergrund, so things seem to be slowly changing for the better in the CKC show scene. But most of the dogs I saw on Sunday were quite typical of American and Canadian show lines.

http://www.lorettokennels.com/ourmales.html 

1. Neutral Stranger.
2. Friendly Stranger.
3. Can-Rattler (actually a metal pail containing chains.)
4. Gun-Shooter.
5. Umbrella-Opener.
6.  Weird Stranger.  (NOTE: This individual should be a good actor, and, whenever possible, one who is familiar with guard dog behavior.)
   
   
   
   Other versions of the test include a change of footing such as a plastic tarp or a x-pen laid flat on the ground, someone making strange noises from hiding, and a strange animal in a cage.
   
   The second part of the test involved walking along the road while a jogger went past, followed by a bicycle ringing its bell, then a car honking its horn.
   
   After that, the dogs were tied to the fence. Each dog was then brought by the handler, and had to pass in turn through a crowd of people who were clapping and yelling as if their favorite team had just scored a big goal.
   
   The dog is scored on how it reacts to each of the situations. I think the AKC TT is pretty much identical. At least the first part is. I've never seen a TT that included the second part. It made me wonder if the GSDCA was borrowing from the German BH test.
   
   The CGN is the Canadian version of the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) 
   
   http://www.ckc.ca/en/portals/0/pdf/Other/CGN%2012%20Steps.pdf