Taking the Canine Good Citizenship Test
The American Kennel Club (AKC) developed the Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) test in 1989 to encourage dog owners to train basic obedience and to give them a way to show their dogs behaved politely. The test consists of ten tasks. The dog must pass all parts of the test to earn the CGC title. The ten tasks are as follows:
- Accepting a friendly stranger. To pass the test, the dog must allow a friendly person the dog does not know to approach the dog and handler and say hello to the handler.
- Sitting politely for petting. The dog must allow a stranger to pet him while sitting at his handler’s side.
- Appearance and grooming. The dog must allow a stranger to groom him without a problem.
- Out for a Walk (walking on a loose lead). The dog must walk attentively at the handler’s side. The dog does not have to heel perfectly or sit when the handler stops.
- Walking through a crowd. The dog must pay attention to the owner and walk on a loose leash while walking through a crowd of people.
- Sit and Down on command, then stay in place. The dog must sit and down on command and then stay in one position as the handler orders him to.
- Coming when called. The dog must come when called from ten feet away (done on lead). The handler can encourage the dog using body language and a stay command to get him to stay so the owner can leave to walk the ten feet away.
- Reaction to another dog. The dog must be controlled and focused on the handler when passing another dog.
- Reactions to distractions. The dog must remain calm and confident when faced with everyday distractions. The distractions at the test might include a child running, a person riding a bike, someone on crutches, or someone in a wheelchair.
- Supervised supervision. The dog is held by a evaluator while the owner goes out of site for three minutes. The dog must remain calm and not whine, pace, or pull excessively.
This test is now used by several organizations to evaluate potential therapy dogs, service dogs, and other types of dogs. It can be used to show a potential landlord that your dog is a good citizen and will not cause trouble.
While the American Kennel Club puts the test on, it is open to mixed breed dogs as well as purebred dogs. To find a certified evaluator and a local test, you can check the AKC website. Many obedience trainers offer a canine good citizenship test as a graduation exercise for their classes. Many show clubs offer them when they have their obedience and conformation trials as well. You can find one close to you without too much difficulty. If your dog is purebred and you pass this test, you can add the title CGC to the end of your dog’s name.
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