An unexpected accomplishment

Today our wonderful Odin received his Canine Good Citizen badge!!

About a month ago we talked about getting Odin tested for the CGC designation. So, we looked it up online and read through the description of the exam, what would be expected and we talked about practicing with Odin to work on some rough spots that we were concerned about. We were pretty concerned about one item in particular -- the owner has to put their dog in a down-stay and walk away about 50 feet and the dog is supposed to stay in the down-stay. LOL... but we did not feel confident about Odin being able to do that. He's a velcro dog and doesn't like to be away from his people. He doesn't mind being left with a friend of his people, but not by himself. So, we had no intention of getting him tested until we had practiced.

Today, the whole family and Odin went to a dog show in Muncy Pennsylvania. We were invited to attend the annual specialty show for the Leonberger Club. We had a wonderful time and met some super people and got to cuddle some fantastic dogs! The Leonberger is a gorgeous breed with a terrific personality. They love the outdoors, water and kids. So, we are very drawn to them.

So I'm just talking to some nice folks and this lovely woman approaches me and asks if Odin had his CGC, and I said "no." So she invites me to bring Odin to her area and let her test him for his CGC. She said she had been watching him since we arrived at the show and was very impressed with him. I was so proud!! And I told her that we hadn't been practicing with him and that I wasn't sure he would be able to pass. She talked me into it, and I thought "why not?!" Wouldn't you know he did us proud!! He passed with flying colors!! We were so proud that we thought we would bust our buttons.

We had a fabulous day. The kids had a fantastic day and it's so nice to see them experience new things. After the show we came home and had a wonderful cookout with the whole family and all five dogs outside in the most beautiful weather... so nice. These are the kinds of days that make life so wonderful.

[NOTE: We always bring Odin to outings like the one we went on today because he's so wonderful with crowds, strangers, unknown dogs, kids, and anything else we throw at him. Our older boys are just too old for that much physical exertion, and Schnooker is not good with strange dogs.]