I am so incredibly proud tonight!!

[Horace's Mum]

Horus passed his Gold Good Citizen test first time tonight!! I am soooooo proud of him, it wasn't an easy test, because we combined with the silver we were there for 2 1/2 hours (very thorough tester too!), and its not been an easy few weeks for him recently given that we are living half in one house, half in the other, and we have had people coming and going as well. When I think back to that rather scary boy I had at the start, I really never thought I would see this day. I didn't even know if we could pull it off tonight. But we did it, he has a lovely big gold rosette, certificate and a little gold tag to wear on his collar.

For those who don't know, the Good Citizen tests are set by the Kennel Club, and run by various training clubs, with the aim of teaching pet owners basic skills and obedience. For the Gold he had to do 2-5mins relaxed isolation, be examined everywhere by the tester with just mild avoidance allowed, stop on recall 10paces away, recall to heel and remain at heel for 30 pace including turns (outside) walk to heel for 40 paces including change of pace and direction (outside), road walk incl change of pace and direction and crossing the road under control, send to bed 10 paces away, and do a 2 min down stay incl 30 secs out of sight. I had to answer several questions on behaviour, training and health of the dog.

[Leigha]

That is fantastic! You should be proud of your boy, AND of yourself. You have done wonderful things with him

Want to come spend the summer in LOVELY North Carolina and help me with my scary boy??

[luvmydogs]

Good for you..What a great feeling that is...I remember when I went into my first obedience show with my first shepard and I came in first place I was on cloud nine for the longest time..It is such a good feeling knowing all the work you put in means something..Keep up the good work..

[Fundog]

Wow, that's incredible. Horace has come such a long way.

[Mattie]

I am incredibly proud of you and Horus as well,

Well done both of you, it has been a long hard journey to get to this stage but you never gave up on him.

[***Melissa***]

Oh wow, that's fantastic. Well done - both of you

[maximoo]

CONGRATULATIONS HORUS!!! Mum, give him the biggest meatiest bone you can find! And get yourself your favorite treat too.
You are an incredible trainer.

[Noobs]

Yay! Congrats to you both!!!

[meggit]

well done that is a fantastic win for both of you, big hug to you both (((((((((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))))))))))))) from me and buddy

[Horace's Mum]

Thank guys!! Leigha, I would love to come to Carolina but don't know where I would find the time and what would I do with Horus!!!

He celebrated last night with a lovely bone, and he had fish cooked for him for tea today I treated myself by doing a bit more packing and moving!!!

[Wicket]

Congratulations! What are your plans for Horus since he passed the test?

[Horace's Mum]

No idea!! Have been wondering that myself. I will keep on with our classes (they only run half the year anyway and it is good for him to work in that environment when its not too busy) but I don't think I will take it further and try doing competitive obedience - it will be too stressful for him I think. I stopped agility competitions partly because I wanted to see what reducing that stress would do, I am quite enjoying having a really chilled dog (compared to how he was anyway!!)

TBH, in 2 1/2 years he has gone from knowing one sign to knowing over 50, he has competed in agility well enough to be placed 5th in huge classes, he has worked through the Good Citizen awards and he has won a heelwork to music class. I don't want any more from him competitively, I just wanted to show that deaf rescues can do just as well as any other dog and I think we have proved that. I think he has learnt to relax in life enough to just enjoy being with me - we have wonderful walks around us, we are out in the campervan most weekends exploring, and he has the biggest collection of interactive toys going to keep us both amused in the winter. So I think I might just enjoy having a happy dog for a while!!!

[Leigha]

I think that sounds like a wonderful plan for both of you. You and Horus are an inspiration for a lot of people. I think you should write a book.

[Horace's Mum]

Lol if I ever had time!! A few people have said that, maybe one day I will, but I feel at the moment the story is still happening, I can't write a book before the ending has appeared can I?

Funnily enough I have done things a little backwards - most people start trick work and stuff to make life more interesting for their dogs and themselves. For us, training of any kind was the ONLY way Horus could cope with life. Literally every second of every day was a training exercise, which is a brilliant way to train but very mentally tiring for me. Without enough work Horus would find other "jobs" for himself, and find more things to be anxious about, so it was me that suffered if I missed a day, and I have the scars to show for it. So it is actually quite a novelty for me to have a dog who DOESN'T need 12 hours a day of work, one that can just settle and be himself and be more than content with cuddling up on the sofa for the evening instead of 2 hours clicker work. He won't even do 30mins clicker work these days!!

[Leigha]

Just make sure you take plenty of notes so you don't forget anything!