Canine Good Citizen
- Thread starter Lexy88
- Start date
jackienmutts
Honored Member
My boy Alfie (the darker sheppie on the left) passed his CGC test a couple years ago 
, my girl is reactive, so she's a work in progress, but I still have hopes that one day she'll be able to pass it. Get your dog as social as is possible, as handling and grooming are a big part of it. They are also asked to do sit or down (whatever you prefer) stays while you walk away from them, then return, so make sure your dog has a solid 'stay'. Make sure your dog has a good heel and 'leave it' as they are asked to walk thru a crowd with loads of distractions (at Alf's, they had lots of people parading around, with weird hats, blowing party favors, pushing a wheelchair, one kid riding a skateboard, everything you can think of like that - heaven help us if we eve encounter a crowd like that one!
). The dog needs to be able to just walk on thru calmly. I asked Alfie to 'heel' and then asked him to "leave it" a few times if he looked like he was becoming too distracted. Your dog should also be able to be left with someone else for a few minutes and wait patiently, while you are out of sight. Of course, you can practice this with friends, neighbors, etc - just ask for 3 min of their time (as I recall, it's 3 min). I think I asked a few neighbors I barely even know, they were happy to help when I told them what it was for, and all they had to do was stand there with Alfie and the leash while I disappeared around the corner. I practiced this a lot out on walks too, if I could find a spot, ask for a 'stay', then disappear around a close corner where I could still peek at him, then time it. You also have to be able to greet a "friendly stranger" and a "friendly stranger with a dog" - the dogs don't have to meet (in fact, they probably shouldn't), but they should be able to allow you to meet your friend, "the friendly stranger" without reacting. Can't remember if I've left anything out - but those are the basics.
Just practice getting your dog "solidly social" - if you know what I mean. If your dog is social, well-mannered and is solid in the basic commands, you should do ok. To be able to say your dog has passed the CGC is a wonderful thing. Go for it!!
, my girl is reactive, so she's a work in progress, but I still have hopes that one day she'll be able to pass it. Get your dog as social as is possible, as handling and grooming are a big part of it. They are also asked to do sit or down (whatever you prefer) stays while you walk away from them, then return, so make sure your dog has a solid 'stay'. Make sure your dog has a good heel and 'leave it' as they are asked to walk thru a crowd with loads of distractions (at Alf's, they had lots of people parading around, with weird hats, blowing party favors, pushing a wheelchair, one kid riding a skateboard, everything you can think of like that - heaven help us if we eve encounter a crowd like that one!). The dog needs to be able to just walk on thru calmly. I asked Alfie to 'heel' and then asked him to "leave it" a few times if he looked like he was becoming too distracted. Your dog should also be able to be left with someone else for a few minutes and wait patiently, while you are out of sight. Of course, you can practice this with friends, neighbors, etc - just ask for 3 min of their time (as I recall, it's 3 min). I think I asked a few neighbors I barely even know, they were happy to help when I told them what it was for, and all they had to do was stand there with Alfie and the leash while I disappeared around the corner. I practiced this a lot out on walks too, if I could find a spot, ask for a 'stay', then disappear around a close corner where I could still peek at him, then time it. You also have to be able to greet a "friendly stranger" and a "friendly stranger with a dog" - the dogs don't have to meet (in fact, they probably shouldn't), but they should be able to allow you to meet your friend, "the friendly stranger" without reacting. Can't remember if I've left anything out - but those are the basics.Just practice getting your dog "solidly social" - if you know what I mean. If your dog is social, well-mannered and is solid in the basic commands, you should do ok. To be able to say your dog has passed the CGC is a wonderful thing. Go for it!!
Jukes
Well-Known Member
There are 13 individual sections. It also gives you a bit more information and a few rules at the top, just scroll down if you don't want to read them.
Jukes and I are about to do the Gold (in three weeks) so I'm praying that it all goes well, it should do 
Good luck to Lexy or is it Bade?
Jukes and I are about to do the Gold (in three weeks
) so I'm praying that it all goes well, it should do Good luck to Lexy or is it Bade?
Lexy88
Well-Known Member
Jackie - thanks I will recruit some help! Lots and lots of socialization in the game plan for this month 
Jukes - wow thanks for that link!! The CGC page on our KC website only has the titles of each exercise and not what the exercise consists of, thats really helpful thanks.
Jukes - wow thanks for that link!! The CGC page on our KC website only has the titles of each exercise and not what the exercise consists of, thats really helpful thanks.
running_dog
Honored Member
I think the difficulty of the tests depend on the country and on the training centre.
Zac passed the bronze but as they passed all the dogs it was a bit pointless eg/ all but one of the dogs broke from their stay 3-6 times before they succeeded, that isn't a test it's a training session. There were no extra distractions (skateboards, wheelchairs, etc). If you go for CGC I hope your testers make it challenging enough to be an achievement when you put in the work to pass otherwise you'll end up feeling cheated like I did.
Zac passed the bronze but as they passed all the dogs it was a bit pointless eg/ all but one of the dogs broke from their stay 3-6 times before they succeeded, that isn't a test it's a training session. There were no extra distractions (skateboards, wheelchairs, etc). If you go for CGC I hope your testers make it challenging enough to be an achievement when you put in the work to pass otherwise you'll end up feeling cheated like I did.