Most evaluators will not pass you if your dog whines. Some are more liberal than others. To work on this, get someone your dog doesn't know or doesn't know well. Go to a public place (again, Petsmarts are great). Have the person hold your dog. They can even give her treats to begin with if she is very anxious. You leave for just a few seconds (competely out of sight). Wait just a few seconds (about 10 or so) If she isn't acting up, return. your friend can yell "OK" if she's not acting up. If she's acting up, obviously your return will reward her bad behavior. If she starts acting up, you friend should distract her. Play, walking a bit, whatever to get her to calm down so you can return. Build up your time slowly until you reach five minutes. If you work for even more than required, you will be more likely to have success in the stresful situation of the test. Do this over several training sessions with several different "strangers." You might even be able to "hijack" a Petsmart trainer to help you, but the price you pay may be to have to listen to their pitch for classes.

Well, I don't want to say the test is a breeze. It will depend on how well trained your dog is. In the scheme of possible dog "titles" and competitions, the CGC and TDI would be considered passing kindergarten. Now, of course for someone in college, that's pretty easy, but someone in kindergarten might find it very difficult. But, I believe, as long as your dog doesn't show signs of aggression or being overly shy, I think you can retake the test. If you fail, just train some more and retake!

One thing I have learned showing dogs is that failure is not a big deal. It doesn't mean your dog or you are failures. It truly just means you need more training. No biggie. One of the best lessons I have learned showing dogs is how to deal with failure and success.

Mr. Chi,

As far as whether it's best to go through Delta, TDI or TD Inc. depends on what you want your dog to do in Therapy work. If you want to visit hospitals and nursing homes, TDI is an easy choice. It's easiest to get a TDI. If you want to work in rehabilitation clinics or go into educational settings in addition ot hopsital/nursing home work, Delta or TD Inc is your best bet. (The above info. may have changed since I looked into it about two years ago) However, you also might see what Therapy groups in your area use. You may want to go with whatever they use, as that group will be most inbedded in your area, and thus easier to find and work with.