Eli will be taking the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test at My Dog Training Center tomorrow afternoon. I can not say that I am completely confident.
We had an incident at a department store last week. I was walking through the store, carrying Eli, when an older woman reached over and grabbed for him. I jumped. Eli snapped at her. I got very upset at the woman and loudly said that Eli is a service dog and people can not be reaching for service animals. Eli had a hard time getting over the situation, probably because my heart was racing and I continued pretty upset, and he kept growling until I decided to end our shopping trip. Since that happened, Eli has not been open to greeting strangers. Not that I blame him! I, too, have been nervous bringing him into public places since that happened. We have been out and things have been touchy. It is getting better, though. We were able to go to a department store supercenter yesterday and Eli behaved perfectly. I was impressed and proud of him, especially since the door person questioned how a Chihuahua could be a service animal and wanted to examine his service dog in training badge closely.
Moving does not only stress out the human members of the family. It also affects the furbabies. This adds to my anxiety over the CGC Test tomorrow. I have been telling myself that it is not hopeless if Eli does not meet the qualifications for passing the test right now. I confirmed with the trainer, Lisa, that Eli would be able to retake the test. I am just going to feel terrible if Eli does not pass. I already feel as though I have not been able to train with him and practice as much as we should because of moving and health issues. When we do work together, Eli does an amazing job. However, he usually is great at home. It's when we are at the training center that there are issues.
the move did pose a setback of sorts for all involved. don't let that get you down. he'll be fine -- the fact that he knew you were upset at the store and defended you is a great thing!
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