Years ago in the US some people started making laws that targeted specific breeds, making it illegal to own these breeds out of fear of their possible aggression. People who know dogs know that breed-specific legislation is unfair, and what we really need is a standard of good behavior in dogs. So if you have a Rottweiler who can pass a standardized behavior test, that dog is as safe as a Golden Retriever who also passes that same test. Let's objectively judge the behavior, not the breed.
So the AKC set out to do just that, and created the Canine Good Citizen test, which I highly encourage you to train for and pass. This short set of behaviors is the bare minimum we should expect from any dog out in public, it's a very reasonable goal for every dog owner. The test consists of these items, performed by the dog with its owner, and judged by someone certified by the AKC to perform the test:
The 10 Items
1-Greeting a friendly stranger
2-Sitting politely for petting
3-Appearance and grooming
4-Walking on a loose leash
5-Walking through a crowd
6-Sit and down on command
7-Coming when called
8-Reaction to another dog
9-Reaction to distractions
10-Supervised separation
This page explains each of these items in more detail, and how they are tested.
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