Canine Good Citizen

As most of you know, I teach several classes at Sportsmen's Dog Training Club ( http://www.sportsmens.net/ )and also take classes there.

Totty and I have taken Puppy Kindergarten, Beginner and CGC classes.

At the end of the CGC class students are supposed to have the chance to take the CGC test and potentially be granted the CGC award.

Unfortunately no one could give us the test because class is on Wednesdays during the day and all the evaluators work.

Of course everyone was disappointed.

Totty did eventually take and pass her test and has been awarded the CGC.

I am now also certified to give the CGC test. I would love to be able to do that next year at the east coast gathering of the AISC.

Some people have asked for the ISIB website information. Here it is: - http://www.icelandicsheepdoginternationalbreeders.com/

It may not come up when you Google it, but you can cut and paste it into your browser and it should work.

We've also started a chat room which is open by invitation only.

Some of us love showing our dogs in dog sports like agility, rally, obedience, tracking, flyball, wrc. Some of us actually use our dogs for their original purpose, herding.

Some of us have had our dogs certified as therapy dogs and we visit schools, retirement homes, hospitals, libraries, etc.

Some of us are hobby breeders and have only one or maybe two litters a year. We all want to keep the wonderful temperament (personality) of our dogs.

All of us like to read the paper, a magazine or a book with our dogs curled up at our feet even if we do nothing organized with them. Our dogs are all pets and members of our families first and foremost.

We all want to be able to share stories and help one another answer questions and solve problems in a safe, non-threatening way.

We want to make this chat room a safe comfortable place for all. We want to make it as easy and as safe as possible for people to enter our room.

People who are rude or who slam or flame one another will not be allowed in the room. People who want to talk politics will be removed.

We are all fairly new to Icelandics but are willing to listen and learn.

Some of the new arrivals will not have any Icelandic Sheepdogs - yet. They are trying to find out if Icelandics are right for them.

Others may have one dog and may be looking for another one as a companion for their current Icelandic or maybe even one day they may decide to join the ranks of hobby breeders.

If you have a dog, it does not have to be purebred or even registered.

We want to help one another make informed decisions by discussing both positive and negative things about our Icelandics.

We will not denigrate a particular breeder or kennel. We will be honest about the pros and cons of the breed. We will explain what to look for and what to avoid whether a person is looking for an adult rescue or a puppy. We all realize that there are no perfect dogs or breeds. However, we want to provide prospective new Icelandic owners and people who want to add another dog relevant information about the importance of hip x-ray tests and eye tests on the parents because we are dedicated to preserving the temperament, health and enormous diversity of our breed.

We want to be able to educate ourselves and others whether we use the dogs for herding, or are pet owners, sports dog enthusiasts, therapy dogs owners, breeders etc.

We do not want to discourage or chastise people who make mistakes. We have all made mistakes and, hopefully, we have learned from them.

We are quite simply trying to be inclusive, not exclusive.