CGC Training: A Turning Point
We had been in CGC training for exactly two sessions. Just seven short days between “Is she even ready for this?” and “Wait…did she really just do that?”
Lady Priscilla came in hot. Her training had been going well at home and in public, but performing her skills in a room full of dogs was another story entirely. Still, by the end of the night, she had us all floored.
1. The Bark Storm Arrival
Like clockwork, we walked into class with a bark. Or several.
Lady Priscilla was charged up—high energy, high volume, deep in her feelings. Jenny, the miracle trainer sent straight from heaven itself, offered a few ideas to try next week. But tonight, she just gave us space to work through it.
And that’s when the magic started.
2. The Fence Line Stay Challenge
First up: an off-leash stay behind a collapsible wire fence, with another dog working a nearby exercise station just feet away. Normally, Lady Priscilla’s stay is rock solid at three full minutes. Tonight? Not so much.
She didn’t bark. But she didn’t see much reason to stay, either. She kept getting up to sniff the supply racks, watch the dog next to her, try to go for the treat bowl…
Still, in the middle of the barking fade-out and the lingering adrenaline, she finally made a choice: stay-ish. A good 30 seconds or so. And for where she started tonight, that’s a win.
It’s also where Jenny’s unique CGC training strategy really started to shine. Since no treats are allowed during the actual test, she’s been gradually weaning the class off food rewards. Before each activity, we drop one treat in a bowl and ask for a “Leave It.” Then we do the task. Only after it’s done—correctly and calmly—comes the release to get the reward.
It turns out, Lady Priscilla loves this system. The anticipation, the self-control, the clarity of “work first, then reward”—it’s actually more powerful for her than being hand-fed throughout. And it’s exactly the kind of confidence-building, decision-based reinforcement that’s shaping her into the dog she’s becoming.
3. Polite Petting, With Bonus Coco Chaos
Next up: polite greetings. We rotated to the other side of the fence, clipped the leash back on, and practiced sitting calmly while Jenny approached.
Lady Priscilla nailed it. A perfect stay while we talked, followed by a calm “go say hi” and a light head pat. And she did it all while Coco — a tiny dog who would have set her off just months ago — worked off-leash only a few feet away.
No barking. No flinching. And no backing up, which used to be her go-to move before we started cooperative care.
4. Rest Break Royalty
The assignment was simple on paper: do absolutely nothing. Just sit quietly at a station along the wall, right in the middle of the action, and watch the other dogs work.
It’s harder than it sounds — even for a service dog in training. But rest breaks are part of what CGC training is really about: staying calm and collected no matter what’s happening around you.
Lady Priscilla settled like a pro. Eyes on the room, checking in with me, and using her Look at That (LAT) skills with calm precision. Her body stayed soft. Her brain was focused.
And when she wasn’t calmly watching the other dogs? She was admiring herself in the wall-length mirror behind us. Posing. Moving. Studying her reflection. The experts say dogs don’t recognize themselves in mirrors… but this one clearly does.
5. Figure 8 Zoom Diplomacy
One corner of the figure 8 brought us uncomfortably close to the dog resting at the station.
On the first lap, Lady Priscilla almost barked. But then she stopped herself mid-syllable, looked at me, and made a decision: speed up just a bit and slide past that tough corner.
Every lap after that? She used the same smart strategy. Calm walk, slight speed-up near the trigger, slow back down. Not even a hint of vocalization.
It was one of those small but powerful moments that CGC training is built on — the kind that adds up to real progress. See how it all came together in her CGC test results.
6. The Great Laundry Basket Waltz
The moment I’d been dreading from the start of CGC training: greeting another dog head-on.
Four dogs. Four laundry baskets, flipped upside down in the middle of the room, spaced about five feet apart. Two dogs at each end of a 20-foot walkway.
Each pair walked toward the oncoming dog, then made a last-minute turn around their basket — with yet another dog waiting right there on the other side.
It looked like synchronized swimming. And Lady Priscilla didn’t just survive it — she worked it. No barking, no pulling, no freezing. Just grace.
7. And Then… “See Ya.”
The last test of the night was a baby version of the CGC supervised stay.
One at a time, each team handed their leash to Jenny, said “see ya,” walked about ten feet to the closet door… and came right back. Then once more, only this time, both of us stepped inside the closet and closed the door for ten seconds.
For Lady Priscilla, that meant something big: both her people gone. Alone in a room full of dogs, with a trainer she doesn’t know all that well holding the leash.
She didn’t bark, pull, or panic.
She just watched the door with that trademark shepherd stare.
And when we came back, she greeted us like a working dog in training should—calm, centered, and in full control, just like at Epic Universe. She wasn’t test-ready yet, but she was clearly on her way.
Want to know what happened next in Lady Priscilla’s CGC training journey? Be sure to read Dog Grad School and Not a Paw Out of Place for the next chapters.
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