Is your dog a good citizen? Now there's a test for that!
Sunday, April 10, 2016 8:38 am
At some point in your life, you have probably met a dog that has passed the Canine Good Citizen test. The Canine Good Citizen test, or CGC, is organized by the American Kennel Club and is a certification to recognize canine good manners. As part of the certification, dogs need to complete a test consisting of ten parts:
Sitting politely for petting - the dog must allow the friendly stranger to pet him or her
For some dog owners, passing the CGC test is the end goal for their pet's training. For others, the CGC test is just the beginning. If you're interested in pursuing further training with your dog, such as obedience or agility, the CGC provides a great foundation to build on. Some volunteers at Cocheco Valley Humane Society have started with the CGC test and moved on to therapy dog certification. CGC certified dogs have also been part of our humane education programs, serving as ambassadors for the shelter and greeting animal lovers of all ages in the community. If you're interested in pursuing the CGC certification, start by taking training classes with your dog. Remember that the CGC test involves a lot of distractions and interactions with other people and dogs, so training your pet solely at home without exposing him to lots of different people and situations will not help him pass the test. Once you are ready to take the test, there are several different options. If there is an American Kennel Club located near you, you can complete the test (and training) there. If there is no AKC group located near you, there are many individual evaluators throughout each state that can perform the test. Most towns have someone that can serve as an evaluator but, if yours does not, there is likely someone in one of the surrounding towns. CGC is sometimes offered during special events for animal shelters or other pet-related clubs or organizations, as well For more information about the Canine Good Citizen test, including further descriptions of the test components, training basics, and a listing of evaluators in each state, visit the CGC portion of the American Kennel Club website at http://www.akc.org/dog-owners/training/canine-good-citizen/
Alaina Goodnough is the Promotions Coordinator at Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, NH. She lives in Sanford, ME with two parrots, a cockatoo, a cat, and two dachshunds. She can be reached at CVHS at devassist@cvhsonline.org. To learn more about Cocheco Valley Humane Society, go to www.cvhsonline.org or call 603-749-5322.
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