Today at Urban Dawgz they had Yappy Hour along with an evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. I had been really looking forward to this, hoping to have both Lassie and Petal ready to take this test. Then when the day finally came, I freaked. Haha. I was so nervous that they weren’t ready and that if they didn’t pass, it would mean that I’m a terrible dog owner.

Silly, I know.

I really did feel that Petal wasn’t quite ready yet and so I decided to work with her some more before we take the test. I think it was a good decision.

I decided that Lassie might be ready. I only thought might because I was really worried about the 10th and last part of the test. Supervised separation. Lassie is such a momma’s boy and hates it when I leave him, even for just a second and even when he’s left with my Mom. I was so nervous about that part, but I knew we were ready for the rest of it, and I knew that the evaluator would be a woman. As much as Lassie is a momma’s boy, he’s also a ladies man. So, despite my nerves, we went for it.

And guess what?

HE PASSED!!

Ahh, I’m SO proud of him and so excited. He was given a very nice yellow bandana with the AKC Canine Good Citizen logo on it and a free box of Canidae treats! And as soon as I send in our form, we’ll be receiving a certificate in the mail!

I’m so glad I went through with this even though I considered skipping it many many times. I doubt myself so much sometimes and worry too much about the negative criticism (that is often just mean and completely untrue) I sometimes receive. I worry too much about receiving more criticism. But I decided to just do this for Lassie and for myself. I decided to do it for fun and to prove to myself– no one else– that I have done a good job with his training.

Lassie, you’re a very good dog and I’m so proud of you.

And I hope you’re up for a photo shoot tomorrow, because we need some pictures of that snazzy bandana of yours to show to everyone. ;]

Edit:
Here’s some pictures of Lassie wearing his bandana. 😀