AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Training and Certificate program – The CGC class is appropriate for people looking for a well mannered dog in their home and in public places. This certification program from the American Kennel Club (AKC) encourages owners to be responsible for their dog’s behavior, well-being, and good citizenship throughout its life.

Training a dog to pass the CGC should be a fun and bonding experience for both the dog and the human. Well-trained dogs also behave better in general, and a CGC assures that the dog will be welcomed and respected around the house, around guests, and throughout our communities.

The CGC training can be the beginning of a beautiful life with your dog or even the launch pad for pursuing other activities such as Agility, Obedience, Tracking, etc., or perhaps even to becoming a Therapy dog.

The Canine Good Citizen Program is a two-part program that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs. All dogs who pass the 10-step CGC test may receive a certificate from the American Kennel Club.

The CGC test and title can only be formally administered and conferred by someone who is an official AKC Evaluator authorized to test dogs for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) title.  GPCDFA has several volunteer Evaluators.

After the owner signs the Responsible Dog Owners Pledge, their dog is ready to take the CGC Test. Items on the Canine Good Citizen Test include:

Test items in the dog’s portion of the test:

1.    Accepting a friendly stranger

2.    Sitting politely for petting (no jumping)

3.    Allowing grooming

4.    Out for a walk on a loose leash

5.    Walking politely through a crowd

6.    Sit and down on command and stay

7.    Coming when called

8.    Behaving politely around other dogs

9.    Reaction to distractions

10. Supervised separation from handler

As far as the owner’s test items, the owner must pledge to take responsibility for their dog’s health, safety, and quality of life and to not allow their dog to infringe upon the rights of others, such as by roaming the neighborhood or leaving dog waste uncollected (yes, you have to scoop the poop—all the time, every time).

The dog and owner who pass all of these criteria are eligible to order CGC merchandise such as a collar tag, patch, and certificate for display. If the dog is AKC-registered, the title “CGC” is added to the dog’s name.

For more information on AKC’s CGC certification, please visit AKC at http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/.