It’s OKAY! My dog is Socially Responsible!

I bet you haven’t heard that one before!  You’ve probably heard the ‘My dog is friendly’ version, and maybe you’ve even said it!

Social Responsibility

What does this even mean? If your dog has obedience, does it automatically mean it is socially responsible? Are YOU? Maybe you can take your dog anywhere and it has a great recall EVERY time under the most difficult and inherently instinctual of circumstances.

Can your dog walk on a loose leash by your side without you cueing him to do so through turns and twists? Can you walk up to strangers and say hello without cueing your dog to sit or wait or not jump, while he just hangs out at the end of a loose leash and not tangling everyone in the process? Can you put your dog in a down while you wander away for two minutes, walk up to another person and dog and say hello, petting the other dog in the process, then going around the corner where your dog can’t see you.. and can your dog just wait until you return to him?

I mean.. this is all the dream isn’t it? We want our dogs to enjoy their time with us, to know that we will bring them to the good stuff to sniff and pee on, but we want them to feel safe and as though we have their backs and will support and advocate for them all the time.  As an owner, it’s really hard to predict what will happen in the big scary world, who or what we will run into, and how our dogs will react.. or even how we will react! So, if we can train our dogs to trust us, then they can just relax and enjoy their time with us. I mean.  How hard can that be? Right??

Turns out it’s harder than it looks.. but when you can get there and then be able to give your dog outlets for drive work, it’s a beautiful thing.

If you are wondering if your dog is socially responsible, you can test them out in this new dog sport.. GRC DogSports

This dog sport is really cool and really has driven the way I navigate the world with my dogs.  GRC stands for Gameness, Relationship and Control and it aims to help owners train their dogs to be able to navigate the world with them in a socially responsible way.  The training methods to get there are gameplay and relationship building.  The sport incorporates 4 drive sports, inherent to many dog breeds, but especially pit bull type dogs.  There is weight pull, Wall climb, Spring Pole and Mill races.. but the thing is.. with this sport.. you can’t play with those things unless you’ve passed a Social Responsibility test.  Once you pass that SR, you don’t have to take it again (Unless you want to improve your score).  Then you can play the games.. but.. the games all get carried out while keeping your dogs impulse control in check, and being socially responsible. The impulse control gets harder and harder as you move up the levels.

We have been working on this social responsibility for a long time.  It’s been a fun training journey, and through the exercises, I feel my relationship with my dogs, and understanding of who they are has really blossomed.  We use the skills in every situation.. at home, at the vet, on walks when around people, at other sport classes that are super exciting and make us want to do zoomies.. I mean.  I’m not perfect, I don’t execute all the stuff perfectly, and it certainly doesn’t always carry over in new places. Both of my dogs have failed the test 3 times.  Actually, I feel like I have failed the test 6 times.  You see, training for rally or obedience, we teach the exercises.  We can get through a course well, and then we come out of the ring.  If you’ve ever been to a rally or obedience trial.. you’ve seen it.. the team does a beautiful run, then they come out of the ring, the dog is at the end of the leash staring down the next competitor.. or.. how many times do you see a dog do an agility run and then be so hyped, that the owner practically has to tackle them to get control (yes.  I’ve done this… me flying through the air and landing on the ground at least made my dog stop and come check on me.. one way to grab his collar!).  This is also why we haven’t competed in agility yet! (Or at least a reason).

Trying to Greet a person!

Dragging chain walking with others

Just watching

The social responsibility test includes the following:

• Greet 3 strangers with your dog on a loose leash (you also have to communicate to the strangers how to interact-or not- with your dog)
• Figure 8 3 times..dog on a loose leash.. no cues or commands.. dog doesn’t have to be in ‘heel’ position ever in this test.
• Put dog in ‘middle’ position (between your legs) and turn 90 degrees left and right
• Down your dog and walk away
• Greet a stranger and your dog 25 feet away, while dog is in a down.
• Go out of sight of your dog 25 feet away while he is still in a down.
• Return to your dog after two minutes, then walk away 25 feet and call to front.
• Turn right and left 90 degrees while dog stays in front of you.
• Put dog on a long line and allow him to be at liberty without you giving him any cues or commands, he can’t do any frenetic activity, and he can’t be at the end of the line for extended periods.

You don’t realize how much you rely on cues and verbal commands, until you can’t use them.. obviously no food either.  I like the idea of building in the impulse control stuff and having your dogs back and.. there’s even a muzzle provision for the SR test.. those dogs can’t compete in drive sports.. but they can retest for the SR without the muzzle when they are ready.  Pretty cool stuff!

If you are in Massachusetts, and you think you want to check it out, I’ve started a club with some like-minded individuals.. we’d love to have you.  You can check out the BosTug GRC Crüe on the socials where we try to be responsible! On the web, Facebook and Instagram.   Oh yeah.. I’m also an apprentice judge now too.. and on the board.. so.. gotta get these goobers to pass!

Stay tuned as I’m sure I’ll be sharing more about our journey with this way of life!