Where did you serve and what did you do?

I retired from the New Jersey National Guard after 33.5 years of service. I was deployed with the 119th Corps Support Battalion to Iraq and serve3d as Command Sergeants Major for the Battalion.

Tell us how your dog is helping you continue Still Serving in your community.

My wife and I have 4 Italian Spinone. They are a versatile breed that hunts, tracks and retrieves. I work with others to get their dogs ready for the field or improve at hunting birds and give Canine Good Citizen (CGC) demonstrations and testing. I became qualified through The American Kennel Club (AKC) to test dogs for CGC 10 or 12 years ago. CGC is the only activity offered through AKC where any dog full breed or not can receive an AKC title by passing the 10 qualifying tasks. CGC allows owner / handlers to work with their dogs as a team to teach dogs tasks that improve the dog. I usually start with a demonstration using two of my canine partners. Then give time for owners to go home and work with their dog on the tasks. A week later the dog and handler come back and we test. That is an example of ideal planned training and testing. My team of dogs and myself have given planned demonstrations at schools, day care centers, Boy Scout meetings, a Veterinary Hospital, hunt clubs, public events and most recently at the Slade River Bird Dog Club annual picnic. We also offer the opportunity to individuals to learn about the program and many times demonstrations are given at a minutes notice at a location we are at doing life activities. We have given demonstrations at banks, the American Automobile Association Office, and a municipal dog shot clinic whenever people show they want to know about the CGC program. The 10 tasks are: Accepting a friendly stranger, siting politely for petting, appearance and grooming, out for a walk, walking through a crowd, sit and down on command/staying in place, coming when called, reaction to another dog, reaction to distractions, and supervised separation. You can learn more about CGC at akc.org.

Why do you do it?

I do CGC to show people how they can enjoy spending time with their canine partners and how their dogs can improve with training. Also most CGC tasks are a part of good yard work for pointing dogs.