Years ago the American Kennel Club developed an objective standard of good canine public behavior called the Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) test and certificate, to help people assess their dog’s suitability to be out in public with them based on its behavior, not its breed(s).
I just learned last night that the Lomita Obedience Training Club (of which I am a member)will be offering the test in October.
In my opinion, the skill level required to pass the CGC is the minimum that every dog and owner should have. So I'm writing to encourage you to plan to take it. The test is only going to cost $5.00 to take, and if you pass you get a nice certificate from the AKC and you also get to send your dog's photo with a brief paragraph to me, to be included in the Canine Good Citizenship Hall of Fame at http://www.dogtrainingwithdiane.com/.
The skills needed are intermediate level skills-- if you've successfully completed the entire curriculum for a beginning level class you'll only need a little more work to pass the CGC. (Examples of exercises in the test include walking up to another person who also has a dog on leash, and greeting him by shaking his hand, while your dog either sits or stands quietly at your side and does not reach over to sniff or interact with the other dog. Another example is having your dog stand quietly for an exam while a stranger brushes your dog and does some simple handling. So you can get an idea of the kind of practice and distraction training that your dog will need).
For more information about the CGC test, including a description of all the exercises, go to http://tinyurl.com/be-a-cgc .
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