Earning the “Good Canine Citizen” Title
The American Kennel Club, in answer to the different rules and regulations passed by our government regarding dogs, created the Canine Good Citizen program. The goal of this program is to show that dogs are not only great companions for humans but also can be good citizens of the community. This Good Canine Citizen program teaches human owners about the advantages of having a well-behaved pet and shows the general public that dogs can be good and productive “citizens” of the community.
This Canine Good Citizen Program is comprised of a test with ten steps. This test recreates situations from every day life that you as the owner may experience with your dog. It is not a competition; rather a dog and his owner are graded as an individual team. Each step has a pass or fail grade. If your dog passes all of the ten steps, he receives a certificate from the American Kennel Club and can use the “CGC” title after their dog name.
Here are the ten steps towards earning the Good Canine Citizen title:
1. Accommodation of a friendly stranger – This test shows whether or not your dog will tolerate it when a stranger approaches you, the owner, in a normal situation. If your dog shows no signs of timidity or antipathy, he passes.
2. Sitting courteously when petted – If your dog will sit calmly and accept a stranger petting him or grooming him, he will pass. Of course, this stranger will thoroughly inspect your dog to see if he shows signs of bashfulness or resentment.
3. Evaluation of Grooming and Appearance – If your dog will permit someone other than you to inspect him as if were being groomed, he passes this step.
4. Walking via a leash – You must show that you are in control of your dog. Your dog must walk with you on a leash on your left hand side without heeling. You must turn left and right and even do an about turn to demonstrate your dog’s ability to walk on a leash with trouble.
5. Integrating in a crowd – You must walk your dog in pedestrian traffic to demonstrate that he can control himself and behave politely in a public place. It is ok if your dog seems interested in the strangers around him. However, he will fail this part of the test if he seems overly excited, timid or upset.
6. The sit-stay-down command – Your dog must prove that he has had training in these commands and will respond to your direction.
7. The call command – You and your dog must demonstrate that he understands when you call him and that he actually responds to your command. An evaluator may try to distract him from his task.
8. Interactions with other dogs – You must prove that your dog can interact appropriately without misbehaving around another dog. Your dog can be friendly with the other dog, but show no additional signs of encouragement for further interaction.
9. Distraction reactions – Your dog can show reactions to certain distractions however, he must not retreat pr appear panicked by them. In addition, they cannot bark or become aggressive at these distractions.
10. Separation – This last test shows that your dog will behave politely and confidently when you leave him with someone you trust. You must then leave the area for several minutes so that your dog can be evaluated. If he does not whine, bark or appear strongly agitated, then he will pass this last test.
