Your dog will probably pass the test if he:

Walking Through a Crowd

Walks with you on a loose lead through a crowd

Shows only casual interest in the people in the crowd

Does not inhibit your ability to walk normally through the crowd

Does not inhibit any of the crowd participants to move around normally

Does not shy away from the hospital equipment being utilized by crowd participants

Also keep in mind that:

Your dog may walk on either side

At least one person in the crowd will probably be using some type of hospital equipment including, but not limited to, a walker, cane, wheelchair, crutches, etc.

Your dog will need additional training in this area before he can pass this test if he:

Pulls on the leash excessively while walking

Jumps up and nudges, bites or mouthes the handler or any member of the crowd

Sniffs the ground excessively, thereby inhibiting the handler's freedom of movement and showing that the dog is not truly under the handler's control.

Stops moving to sniff the crowd participant

Wraps or partially wraps the leash around a crowd participant, thereby stopping the normal movement of that person

Shies away from any of the hospital equipment or any of the crowd participants

Growls, snaps at, jumps up on, or exhibits any fear / self-defense response or is overly-friendly to any member of the crowd

Common errors made by the handler, causing the team to fail this exercise:

Giving harsh, overly loud verbal commands or yelling at the dog

Snatching / jerking on the leash, hitting, or using other physical corrections

Jerking on the lead while walking, even though the dog was not pulling on the leash

So what exactly is this test like? If you are taking this test under me, you can expect something like the following:

I will show you where to set your dog up

You will see a crowd of at least 4 people directly in front of you.

At least one of those people will be using some type of hospital equipment such as a wheelchair, walker, cane, or crutches. My crowd participants have also been instructed to talk to one another and act as if they were walking down a hallway.

I will ask you if you are ready and instruct you to pass through the crowd, go to some specified place, then turn around and pass back through the crowd.

My commands to you are "forward" which sets the crowd in motion, and "exercise finished" which signals the end of the test.

Have other questions about this test? E-mail me for an answer.