Author: Your Pal Cal

Bring your dog to pet friendly Salt Lake City, Utah

Posted on by Your Pal Cal

things to do with your dog in salt lake city

Dog Friendly Places to Visit in Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City has plenty of dog friendly hiking trails for you and Fido to explore.  Additionally, there are many dog friendly hotels near Salt Lake City. Even if you aren’t visiting Salt Lake City with a dog, be sure to check out all the great Utah hiking trails.  If you have extra time, Park City is also pet friendly and a fun ski town to explore.

We recently took the dog to Salt Lake City & Park City in Utah.  We had a great time exploring the great outdoors and met lots of friendly people and dogs throughout the weekend.  Although the outdoors are extremely dog friendly, there are some extra regulations for bringing dogs to certain parts of the city that are important to keep in mind. Overall, we definitely recommend visiting Salt Lake with your Dog, especially in the spring time when the tulips are blooming throughout the city.  The city is pristinely clean and well maintained and the people are very friendly!

When to visit Salt Lake City with your Dog

We visited Salt Lake City in May unknowing to the fact that the entire city is blooming with tulips! We hear the tulips start wilting by the second week of may so we would recommend visiting in April or early May. The sun was shining all weekend and shorts were a must! The last snow had been a few weeks before we arrived so definitely wait until April if you want to enjoy your time outdoors!

Pet Friendly Hotels in Salt Lake City

Many hotels in salt lake city allow pets so there are lots of options when traveling with your pet.

Pet Friendly Kimpton Hotel in Salt Lake City – 10 minutes from Temple Square and right in the center of downtown.  Higher price point than an Airbnb, but great service. Check it out here

Pet Friendly Sheraton Salt Lake City – Walk to temple square and stay in downtown! Check it out here

Pet Friendly Airbnb- We stayed at an Airbnb because we just wanted a place to sleep at a very cheap price. Our host had the cutest collie named Violet who was very friendly with Calvin. To search pet friendly Airbnb, add “pets allowed” as an additional filter. You can get $40 off your first booking if you book through this link.

things to do with your dog in salt lake city

Dog Regulations and Patio Laws in Salt Lake City

The law requires restaurants in Utah to receive special “Paws on the Patio” permits to allow pets onto their outdoor patios and they do officially enforce this. Most restaurants do not have this permit.  As of 2017, only 12 eating establishments in the city had successfully filed for the permit.  Once on the patio, the restaurants do not allow dogs to sit on chairs (obviously duh!), to eat any food from the table, or to be touched by restaurant staff.  For patios that are not pet friendly, you are always welcome to sit on the patio and keep your dog away from the “general vicinity” of the restaurant.  We successfully used this method for a few meals and kept Calvin about 10 feet away from the restaurant – people are very nice there so no one bothered him!  Additionally, restaurants ask for proof of rabies vaccinations (a photo will do) before entering the patio.  Of course, trained Service Dogs (ESAs are not trained service dogs) are allowed access. There are a yummy variety of pet friendly establishments to choose from! Here they are….

things to do with your dog in salt lake city

“Paws on the Patio” Establishments in Salt Lake City

Here are some restaurants with pet friendly patios.

Pet Friendly Breweries in Salt Lake City
Campfire Lounge – lots of friendly dogs, they check vaccine records at the door. Game day type food.
Fisher Brewing Company
Uinta Brewing Company
Wasatch Brew Pub Sugar House
Collie’s Sports Bar (in Park City) – very dog friendly and amazing cheeseburgers! Their mascot is a Border Collie.
Wasatch Brew Pub (in Park City) – call in advance to make sure the patio is open.  The patio was closed when we visited.

Pet Friendly Breakfast/Lunch in Salt Lake City
Eggs in the City – get your egg fixing.
Alchemy Coffee – get your caffeine boost before starting the day.
The Park Café – 45 minute wait but put your name down and then walk through the park across the street.  Sip coffee while you wait. Service is extremely fast and friendly once you are seated.
Pig and a Jelly Jar – good quality southern style breakfast (biscuits, chicken & waffles ect).

Pet Friendly Restaurants in Salt Lake City
Flatbread
Log Haven
Taqueria 27
The Copper Onion (No dog permit, but Fido can wait beyond the patio fence) – totally worth it for the amazing dinner food!

Map of Dog Friendly Activities in Salt Lake City

Hiking near Salt Lake City: Dog Friendly Hiking Trails in Salt Lake City

If you visit Salt Lake City with your dog in the spring or summer, there are unlimited trails for you and Fido to explore.  Salt Lake City hikes are easy to find on All Trails but we will include some of our favorites below.

Millcreek Canyon – $3 fee to enter (cash or card). Dogs are allowed off leash on certain days and we ran into lots of friendly pups.  We took the Pipeline Trail which leads to a scenic view of the entire city if you head to the “Overlook.”  To get to the overlook, turn left when you get to the fork in the road on the Pipeline Trail.  If there is any confusion, ask around for where the Pipeline Overlook is. The trail seems intimidating at first but after about a 15 minute uphill struggle, the trail plateaus around the mountain to the overlook.

Although we did not check this out, The Big Water Trail is a 2.5 mile hike to a dog Lake!  Check out all the trails to see which would be best for you. See more about the trails here

salt lake city per friendly hiking trails
Freedom Trail & Memory Grove Park – Check out the pet friendly park near the State Capitol Building! Check out the Capitol and then walk down to the off-leash Memory Grove Park and Freedom Trail.  The park has a small pond, beautiful flowers, and historic landmarks.


Tanner Park – This park is not officially off leash even though you will see many dogs romping off leash when you get to the trails.  Although this is a park, it is more like a hike to a creek. The water access is refreshing after the walk. 


Horsetail Falls – This trail is a little more difficult and can get quite steep.  It does lead to a beautiful waterfall over the valley.  Check out more information about the trails here.

The Living Room Trail – this trailhead is right off the University of Utah.  The walk is about 2.5 miles that leads up to a great view over Salt Lake City.  The trail is rather rocky and steep but has beautiful foliage and wildflowers. At the top of the hike you will find fun Flintstone like living room furniture overlooking the city.

Salt Lake City Activities with your Dog

City Creek Mall – City Creek Mall is across the street Temple Square. Because the mall is outdoors, you can walk through with Fido.  A creek flows through the mall and there are a lot of beautiful fountains sprinkled throughout the mall.
The Temple Square – Temple Square was one of the most breathtaking parts of our visit.  We walked through a few times over the weekend because we couldn’t get enough.  The temple square is a complex owned by the LDS church and is the most popular tourist attraction in Utah.  We visited a few times and found that the best time for a “peaceful” stroll is around 8-9am.  The square fills up with tourists groups throughout the day.  During April and May, the square is decorated with beautiful tulips.  Check out the temple square blog post on what to expect in every season. Please note, you do not have to be a part of the LDS church to visit (we are not), and the members of the community are very welcoming and respectful.


Capitol Hill – Another pristine part of Salt Lake City.  Park near the Capitol, check it out, and then take a 5 minute walk to the off-leash Memory Grove Park and Trails. The best time to visit Capitol Hill is first thing in the morning. We visited around 8am and tour groups were already beginning to arrive.  By the time we left the area, the plaza was crowded.

pet friendly salt lake city
Brigham Young Historic Park – This well maintained park offers a peaceful stroll through flowers, historical statues, and a flowing stream.  It is a quiet park around the corner from Temple Square.  We found that it was less touristy than the square. This is a historical site run by the LDS church so it is important to keep pets on leash.

Gilgal Sculpture Garden – This is a hidden gem of Salt Lake City.  It is off-the-beaten-path and therefore very quiet.  We went on a Saturday and only one other person (with two doxies) was in the entire park. We kept Calvin on leash while walking through the park but did not see any signs indicating otherwise, and the other pups were off leash.

Liberty Park – Liberty park is across the street from The Park Café.  Put your name down for breakfast and then take a walk around the Lake at Liberty Park.  This park is on leash but very friendly.

The Great Salt Lake – We accessed the Great Salt Lake through the State Park.  Your navigation tools will likely want you to navigate to the “Great Salt Lake Marina” but there is a small CASH ONLY entry fee here and not much to see except to use the restroom.  We found that the best way to take a walk on the Salt Lake shore was to navigate to “The Great Saltair.”  This appeared to be an abandoned concert venue with free access to walking along the sandy shores of the Lake.  No restrooms so head to the marina for that. The photos below are from this location:

pet friendly activities in salt lake city

salt lake city pet friendly

Tanger Outlets – half way between Park City and Salt Lake.  You’ll get a great deal without having to battle through crowds.  The outlet plaza is very pet friendly and so are most of the clothing stores. We didn’t intend to stop here but are glad we did.  A restroom break turned into a shopping spree.

Park City – Park City is only about 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake.  It is a quaint ski town with an old western feel.  It is worth a visit for strolling through the main street and popping into cute shops.

Happy Travels,
Your Pal Cal

No comments yet

Impulse Control Dog Training: Teach your dog to “Wait” and “Leave it”

Posted on by Your Pal Cal

Impulse Control Dog Training

Leave it and wait dog training is very important for a well trained dog with impulse control. Impulse dog training is important for safety and harmony. Teaching impulse control to a puppy is challenging!

One of Calvin’s most reliable commands is “Wait” – wait at doors, wait before entering the elevator, wait before eating, wait before taking a treat.  Building up the wait command takes a very long time.  It wasn’t until about a year that Calvin could reliably hold 10 slices of bacon on his face without moving a muscle.  We can now leave his food bowl in front of him, leave the room for 5 minutes and he will still be waiting patiently (ok…impatiently) when we get back.  This command is great for impulse control, and one of our most used commands.

Training your dog to Leave It vs Wait

Teaching a dog to leave it similar to teaching a dog to wait, but not exactly the same. There is a small but important distinction between the way we taught the “wait” and “leave it” commands. “Wait” means don’t touch it or move until told.  “Leave it” means don’t touch it or look at it. Ever. With “leave it” the dog learns that the command is final and they should just forget about whatever it is they are focused on.  With “wait” they will eventually be released and given an ok.  This is an important distinction to make because if your pup thinks that “leave it” means they will eventually be allowed to grab….a chicken bone off the ground….they will remain fixated on it and will be more likely to grab it when you turn around.

Start Small

We started teaching wait the day we brought Calvin home – he has always been expected to wait before eating his food.  This is a very common command, but needs to be generalized if you want your pup to be able to hold treats on their nose.  You’ll have to start with one second..and then build up to more time.  With the food bowl, we covered the bowl with our hands until he moved away from it.  If we released our hand and he would go for the food, we would cover the bowl again and say “wait”. It is common for the dog to paw your hands here and we had many scratches to prove it. We repeated this until he could wait a few seconds before digging in.

IMG_4435
fullsizeoutput_567
fullsizeoutput_263 (1)
fullsizeoutput_244

Build Up

After a few weeks of waiting to dig into food, we started introducing “wait” with treats and waiting longer before starting to eat meals (Calvin was about 3 months old).  We started with just one treat on the ground in front of him (not on his paws yet!). We covered the treat with our hands and said “wait.”  Again, It is common for the dog to paw your hands here but don’t let them think that they can paw their way to what they want. Once the dog is done pawing and has calmed down, you can lift your hands and let them have the treat.  Once they learn to stop pawing at your hand as a first instinct, you can slowly lift your hands up a little bit off the ground and say “wait.” They will be able to see the treats but won’t be allowed to have them yet.  Let them have the treat with an “ok” and repeat the process – as the dog gets more comfortable you can lift your hand up higher above the treats.  Eventually you will be able to use the word “wait” and “ok” as the command and release while the treats aren’t covered by your hands.  For the first few months, you will have to be ready to cover up the food or treats to reinforce that “wait” means no yummies until told.  Another tip is to wait until the dog looks at you to release them – that way you know your dog is looking to you for direction instead of just focusing on the treat.  Once the dog understands the general concept, don’t let them have the treat until they check in with you and make eye contact.

Next up: when you dog has mastered waiting while the treat is in front of them, you can try putting the treat on their paws.  Be prepared to swoop in and cover the treat if they try to go for it.  Repeat the process on their nose or any other place you want to have them hold a treat.  If the treat drops on the ground, grab it before they can so they do not think that they can break the “wait.”  Eventually, you will be able to command your dog to wait no matter how close the food is to their face.  This process takes time to master so be patient.

 

dog sitting with a pile of cheeseburgers from inn and out

Have a release word for your dog

We use the word “ok” as the release word.  Other words we’ve heard used are “release”, “free”, “go.” To make sure your dog understands the release word and isn’t just responding to random words, you can test out words and make sure your pup only digs in when they hear the “ok.” We like to say a string of words that are similar to “ok” so that Calvin knows that the only word that releases him is “ok,” no matter how similar other words may sound.

Reward your dog during training sessions

Luckily, “wait” is easy to reward.  The reward is being released! For “leave it”, we personally do not use rewards.  We consider “leave it” to be a non-negotiable command (our other non-negotiables are loose leash walking and “stay”).  Our decision not to use treats for “leave it” is a personal choice that works best for Calvin.  Sometimes, Calvin is too clever for his own good – “leave it” for a treat is cool most of the time, but when there’s a yummy bird, or something more exciting than a treat, he prefers the distraction to the treat. When we realized this, we turned “leave it” into a non-negotiable command and used the gentle leader to pull his head away from the distraction (and towards us) when he was too fixated on something.  Over time, “leave it” came to mean, “look at me. No ifs or buts.” This took time but we have found him to be a lot more consistent in the long run than when we used treats.

Patience is a virtue,
-Your Pal Cal

1 Comment

Heel Training: Training Your Dog to Walk Nicely on a Leash

Posted on by Your Pal Cal

 

dog sitting in front of a letter board sign while wearing glasses

labrador dog sitting in front of a letter board sign

 

Walking your dog on leash at a heel does not have to be a constant battle.  In fact, with a few simple steps you can teach your dog to stop pulling on the leash and walk nicely at a heel.  Teaching your dog to heel while on the leash will help eliminate the tension of them walking ahead of you. We have found some pointers effective for teaching our dogs to walk on leash without pulling and would like to share them!

Are you walking the dog, or is the dog walking you? For many, this is the hardest nut to crack.  Luckily, there are many training tools that can help you master the walk. The process is very long, and may even take up to a year! With consistency & persistence, even the most distracted pups can learn to move with you. Please note, we are not professionals in any way and we highly recommend that you work with a professional about your particular issues.  We are sharing our experience but this may not work for everyone. 

How do you know if your dog is walking nicely on leash?

Dogs are curious creatures – they love to sniff, they love to look at birds, and they love distractions.  Each time they get sidetracked, they are signaling that you no longer have their attention.  While on walks, you ought to be seen as the your dog’s role model.  Your dog can do their business, sniff a thing or two, but they don’t need to stop and sniff every few minutes.  You (the human) have places to go! Places to be! On the ideal walk, your pup remains focused on you as much as possible.  They walk by your side (on a flat!), and look to you for guidance whenever they hear a loud noise, see a distraction ect. A great goal to work towards is to be able to achieve this all with a handsfree leash!

Choose your training tool for leash training your dog

We tried a few training tools before we found the best one for our needs.  Our tool of choice ended up being the gentle leader which has now transitioned into the martingale collar.  This allowed Calvin to know when he had walked too far without putting any strain on his neck or hurting him.  Please investigate pain free training tools available to decide which you think would be best for your needs.  It is important to note that training tools are just TOOLS, they must be used with some sort of positive reinforcement to ensure that your dog understands what behavior you want from them.  With the gentle leader, the first “correction” we used was just stopping in our tracks every time Calvin got ahead.  Sometimes, we would pull the leash just one quick time (be gentle, don’t hurt!). Now, we use the word “nu uh” to let Calvin know when he has walked too far and he corrects himself.  Be sure to praise your pup when they do the right thing – treats can work great, but for us, Calvin responds a lot better to praise and “yes” to know when he has done something great. Treats actually make him more excited and likely to pull ahead after he has popped one in his mouth.  Lucky for us that keeps the weight off since praise is enough for him.

Practice, practice, practice

There’s no trick – new behaviors take a LONG time to learn especially if your dog has been wired to behave a certain way.  It’ll take a lot of practice to rewire them to walk the way you’d like.  This means endless hours, maybe some tears, and potentially a lot of frustration.  If you are aiming for the ideal walk, you may be looking into almost a year of practice.  Even though Calvin now knows what we expect of him during walks, there are times where we need to remind him that he has gone “too far.” We expect this process to continue for at least a year before he is near-perfect in all situations.

Don’t allow failure

This is the hardest part because it can take FOREVER to get places.  When we committed to fixing Calvin’s walking on leash we began with very short walks to ensure that he didn’t fail.  It once took us a whole hour to walk a few blocks.  Every time that you allow your dog to step in front of you, you are reinforcing that they are allowed to do so.

Don’t let your dog pull on the leash: Walking is non-negotiable

We followed the non-negotiable mentality on the walk.  It was all or nothing and Calvin could not make the decisions on his walks.  To go on a walk, he was expected to walk by our side and check in with us.  After TWO MONTHS of our non-negotiable attitude towards walk and support from our trainers, we have a dog that walks on our side on a flat collar and self corrects if he walks too far ahead.

Start transitioning away from the training tool

Once your dog understands how to walk using the training tool, start transitioning to a martingale collar.  This collar will tighten itself as the dog gets ahead letting him know he has gone too far.  If your dog is having a bad day, stick to the gentle leader so they can have a successful walk.

Pre-empt exciting situations and set your dog up for success

We have transitioned 85% of the time to the martingale/flat collar and the other 15% we use the gentle leader.  The gentle leader is kept for exciting situations such as the beach, waterfront walks, the airport, or if Calvin is having an off day.  As a rule, he has stopped pulling but will sometimes forget if he is in a very stimulating environment.  To not undo any training, if we pre-empt an exciting walk, we use the gentle leader.  Even though we will start with the gentle leader, if he is being calm in the exciting situation, we finish the walk on the flat collar.

Persistence & Patience,
Your Pal Cal

calvin the dog sitting in front of a felt letter board sign

No comments yet

Make Your Own – DIY Dog Bandana

Posted on by Your Pal Cal

homemade dog bandana. diy dog bandana. how to make your own dog bandana

Make your own Dog Bandana (Video)

Ever wonder how to make a bandana for your dog? Turns out making a dog bandana at home is easy! Here’s a simple video tutorial for homemade Dog Bandanas.  Note that you will need a sewing machine for these slip through collar bandanas. You can find the full list of materials used below or in the description box. Your dog is sure to always win best dressed!

Materials

Sewing Machine
Iron
Fabric Scissors
Rotary Cutting Set
Starch Spray
Disappearing Ink Marker
Bobbins
Sewing Needles
Thread

Measurement Guidelines

17 inch neck – 12 x 12 inches
15 inch neck – 8 x 8 inches
11 inch neck – 7 x 7 inches

Best Places for Fabric

Our favorite is Spoonflower when shopping online because it is the only online option that allows you to order less than 1 yard. Joann’s is great in person for the same reason, but has a 1 yard minimum when ordering online.

http://www.spoonflower.com
http://www.fabric.com
Joann’s Fabric

10 Comments

Make Your Own – DIY Dog Bow Tie

Posted on by Your Pal Cal

how to make homemade dog bowties

How to make a DIY Dog Bow Tie (Video)

Homemade dog bowties are fast and easy! Here is an simple tutorial for how to make No Sew Dog Bow Ties.  For those of you with sewing machines, we have included a clip at the end showing how you can use your sewing machine to make these bowties. You can find the full list of materials used below or in the description box. Your dog is sure to always win best dressed!

Materials for your Homemade Dog Bow Tie

Iron
Fabric Scissors
Rotary Cutting Set
Starch Spray
Disappearing Ink Marker
Velcro Strips
Fusible Bonding Tape
Fusible Bonding Web
Glue Gun
Baker’s Twine

Additional Materials For Sewing Option:
Sewing Machine
Bobbins
Sewing Needles
Thread

Measurement Guidelines

6 inch bowtie: 9 x 13 inches
4/5 inch bowtie 8 x 10 inches

Best Places for Fabric

Our favorite is Spoonflower when shopping online because it is the only online option that allows you to order less than 1 yard. Joann’s is great in person for the same reason, but has a 1 yard minimum when ordering online.

http://www.spoonflower.com
http://www.fabric.com
Joann’s Fabric

2 Comments

How to Pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test

Posted on by Your Pal Cal

How do you prepare your dog for the Canine Good Citizen Test?

Passing the Canine Good Citizen Test – Preparing Your Dog

Preparing your dog to pass the CGC Canine Good Citizen Test doesn’t have to break the bank or run your patience.  Review all the Canine Good Citizen test items to be best prepared. The unique challenge of the CGC test is that it is taken on a flat collar with absolutely no treats. It consists of ten steps and successful completion of each one is required. Completion of the test is considered the gold standard of pet ownership. Successful completion indicates that your pet is under your control and recognizes you are the authority figure of your pack. Luckily, with a little bit of practice you can get your pet ready to pass. Training for this test can be frustrating and may be a long process depending on how much your pup needs to learn – you can do it! Don’t worry if your dog is having a bad day – you can retake the test as many times as you want! Note: you do not have to be AKC registered to be an AKC Canine Good Citizen – any dog of any breed can succeed and get CGC certified.

What are the requirements for the Canine Good Citizen test? CGC Test Items:

Why test basic obedience with the CGC test?

The AKC considers this test an indicator of a well behaved dog (see their page here). Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and they are right – all dogs are great but that does not mean they are able to adapt to new situations & consistently follow directions. This test is a very honest and objective evaluation of your dog’s behavior and is a great indication of what skills you can continue to work on. CGC certification is required for therapy dog programs but we strongly believe that it should be a requirement for all service and ESA work as well – does an ill behaved dog really provide a service to help its handler? (some may disagree but that is our take on the matter).

Can you retake the Canine Good Citizen Test?

Absolutely – in fact many dogs don’t pass the first time. Try not to be nervous since your dog can sense that and may not perform if it does.

How much does it cost to take the Canine Good Citizen Test?

This will depend on where you live.  Our K9 Good Citizen Test cost $20 to take at the local SPCA.

How old does a dog have to be to take the CGC test?

A dog can be any age to get their CGC title.

How do you prepare your dog for the Canine Good Citizen Test?

We can’t take credit for most of the preparation. We called in professionals to help us get Calvin on the right track and he learned how to “dog” over months of work with certified trainers. Additionally, we completed a CGC prep class to familiarize ourselves with the process. Good citizen training can be done with trainers or at home. Look up “Canine Good Citizen Class” or “Canine Good Citizen Tests Near Me” or “CGC Dog Training” to find more information in your area. These resources are also great for therapy dog training.

What are the requirements for the Canine Good Citizen test? (CGC Test Items):

1. Accepting a friendly stranger
You will be approached by a stranger – the dog is expected to stay at your heel and not lunge towards them as you exchange pleasantries. This can be especially challenging for those extra friendly puppers.

2. Sitting politely for petting
Although it is preferred for the dog to remain seated for this, it is ok for the dog to stand up for petting as long as it doesn’t jump on the person or get into their personal space.

Practice: We practiced 1 & 2 together. If strangers on the street wanted to pet Calvin, we asked them to walk away from us and approach us. We explained that he was in training which led to chatting about what we were training him for. Then, I would tell the stranger that they could pet him. If he tried to get into their personal space, we walked away and tried again. Strangers were very willing to help us with this!

3. Appearance and Grooming
You will bring your own grooming tools and the evaluator will brush your dog. They will also look into his ears and lift up its paws. The goal of this section is to ensure that your dog does not have any sensitivities on this body that make it reactive or uncomfortable.

Practice: You are likely already brushing your dog a few times per week so they should be familiar with the brush. If not, introduce the brush with treats. For paws, it’s a good idea to teach your dog to shake so that the evaluator can easily touch their paws with a shake.

4. Out for a Walk Loose Leash
You will be evaluated as you walk with your dog on a flat collar and loose leash. Tension is ok at times but it must be clear that your dog is focusing on you and listening to commands. You will be asked to stop, speed up, slow down, u turn, turn left, and turn right. Your dog will be expected to stay focused on you.  The evaluator will give you the directions as you are out for a walk and you must be quick to react to them.

5. Walking through a crowd
You’ll walk your dog through a “crowd” of 2 people while on a loose leash.

Practice:
We practiced 4 & 5 together. Since your dog will be on a flat collar, this part is potentially difficult if you haven’t been working on walking this way. It took many weeks for Calvin to become 95% reliable on a loose leash. If your dog has difficulty on a flat collar, it will take time to re teach them out to walk on leash. Some helpful commands: heel – to keep your dog on your heel, here – if your dog falls behind you can call it back to catch up, touch – you can redirect your dog’s attention to your hand if they start getting distracted.

6. Sit, down, stay (20ft)
You’ll put your down in a sit, then down, and command him to stay. You’ll walk away with your back to him for 20ft, turn around, then release him.

Practice: If your dog has had basic obedience training it is likely already capable of these commands. The challenge is that there are no treats to get him to listen – the best way to practice is to go through these motions in multiple different scenarios – at the Park, in your hallway, on the street ect so that he is used to listening to these commands in different situations. Practice out of sight stays, and walking away with your back to him while in a stay.

7. Recall
You will put your dog on a long lead, get him into a sit-stay or down-stay and then walk 10 feet away and call him to you.

Practice: Our recall word is “here” but “come” works too. We started recall training with a long lead so that there was no chance we would fail while practicing. Always praise your dog when they come to you.

8. Reaction to distractions
The exact type of distraction will differ based on your evaluator but expect about 2 types of distractions – this could be an object falling, a loud noise, medical equipment or items with wheels. The dog can look at the object but should not panic or dart ahead. Their ability to recover is most important.

Practice: Calvin used to be skiddish around loud noises so we spent a lot of time desensitizing him. We got him used to skateboards, bikes, strollers, walkers, wheelchairs, dollies ect. The process took multiple weeks. We desensitized him by exposing him to the objects while on leash and ignoring him (dogs can tell if you are worried for them and if you comfort them you will confirm their fears). We would walk by the objects without looking down at Calvin to teach him that there is nothing to worry about. Over time, he looked to us for guidance instead of focusing on the scary object.

Our Distraction: This was the hardest part of the test for us.  In our testing room, 3 people came in and started throwing folding chairs around.  The chairs slammed onto the ground in our path and we were expected to keep our cool.  Additionally, they called for Calvin, made hooting and kissing noises at him, and put their hands out to him.  We were quite honestly shocked at his focus and successful completion of this step.  The distraction section will be different for everyone, but that was ours!

9. Approaching other dogs
You will approach a dog and handler head on and are expected to stop when you reach them, exchange pleasantries, shake hands, and then keep going. The dogs can look at each other and show mild interest but cannot greet each other or pull to say hi. This is very difficult for those extra friendly doggos, but can also be tough for those with leash reactivity.

Practice: a reliable “leave it” command is required for this section. However, if your dog is used to greeting everyone in its path, you will have trouble here. We do not let Calvin greet dogs on the street (some are claimed to be “friendly” but aren’t actually, he gets very excited, he used to jump on them, ect). We say “leave it” as we approach dogs on the street and he walks right past them. This also helps us get to where we want to be without stopping to say hi to every dog along the way.

10. Supervised separation
You will leave your dog with the evaluator for 3 minutes and walk away, out of sight. Your dog is expected to remain calm and not show signs of nervousness or panic.

Practice: We never practiced this so unfortunately do not have any tips. It definitely helped that we frequently leave Calvin with friends, with his dog walkers, and at daycare so he is used to trusting others with his care. It’s a good idea to practice leaving your dog with people outside your household so that he has a better time adjusting to new situations without you.

Next Steps: You can take the CGC Urban Test and get evaluated to become a Community Canine (CGCA)!

You can do it!
-Your Pal Cal

CGC Test Items

No comments yet