Canine Good Citizen

[TylerDurden]

All, have your dogs gone through the test, or are you planning for them to go through? Generally, what‘s your opinion? Valuable? Beneficial? We are planning on doing it. I know it depends on the individual dog, but what would you generally consider a reasonable age?

 

[Boxergirl]

I encourage everyone to do it. Especially those of us that have breeds of dogs that are easily misunderstood. I would suggest looking in your area for a positive reinforcement facility that offers a specific class and testing. Not every training facility will have a specific CGC class, but may offer the test after a certain level of obedience classes have been finished and the desired skills have been worked on. As for age - it really is very individual. I've known dogs as young as 6-7 months that passed and as old as 10.

 

[TylerDurden]

I encourage everyone to do it. Especially those of us that have breeds of dogs that are easily misunderstood. I would suggest looking in your area for a positive reinforcement facility that offers a specific class and testing. Not every training facility will have a specific CGC class, but may offer the test after a certain level of obedience classes have been finished and the desired skills have been worked on. As for age - it really is very individual. I've known dogs as young as 6-7 months that passed and as old as 10.

Thanks, that‘s helpful. I‘ve reached out to a local certified evaluator who offers a few tests every month (they need a minimum of three dogs each time).
Here are the test items for everybody that is interested (source akc.com).

• Test 1: Accepting a Friendly Stranger. The dog will allow a friendly stranger to approach and speak to the handler (the dog owner) in a natural, everyday situation.

• Test 2: Sit Politely for Petting. The dog will allow a friendly stranger to pet it while it is out with the handler.

• Test 3: Appearance and Grooming. The dog will permit someone to check its ears and front feet, as a groomer or veterinarian would do.

• Test 4: Out for a Walk (walking on a loose lead). Following the evaluator’s instructions, the dog will walk on a loose lead (with the handler/owner).

• Test 5: Walking Through a Crowd. The dog will walk through a small crowd of pedestrians, passing in close proximity to at least three people.

• Test 6: Sit and Down on Command and Stay in Place. The dog must demonstrate sit AND down on command, then the owner chooses the position for leaving the dog in the stay.

• Test 7: Coming When Called. The dog will come when called by the handler (from 10 feet away on leash).

• Test 8: Reaction to Another Dog. The dog will behave politely around other dogs. Two handlers and their dogs approach each other from a distance of about 20 feet, stop, shake hands and exchange pleasantries.

• Test 9: Reaction to Distractions. The evaluator will select and present two distractions such as dropping a chair, etc.

• Test 10: Supervised Separation. This test demonstrates that your dog can be left with a trusted person. The evaluator will hold your dog’s leash while you go out of sight for three minutes.

Bane should be able to pass. The only test I‘m a little worried about is #8. He loves to play with every dog and gets really excited. Working on this right now.

 

[Boxergirl]

Things like #8 are one of the reasons I like formal classes. It gives us the opportunity to work in close proximity to other dogs in a controlled environment.

 

[DennasMom]

Denna achieved her CGC when she was about 15 months old.
It was a fun class, and being able to tell people she's certified by the AKC as a Canine Good Citizen (which means I've also signed a contract to be a Good Dog Owner) is priceless!
It doesn't change BSL rules at, say, private RV parks we want to visit whose insurance doesn't allow "mastiffs"... but, that's their loss.

#2 and #10 are still hard for Denna.... she gets excited when strangers want to give her love and pets (and over-reacts at times), and she has become more and more of a mommas-dog as the years have progressed, which makes sitting with a nice stranger difficult if I'm out of sight - but she does manage when needed.

 

[DennasMom]

I think there is a minimum age for taking the CGC test - maybe one year? Puppies can definitely respond to strangers differently than adult dogs, so that part makes sense.
We just went from one class to the next at reasonable intervals - puppy socialization, obedience 1, obedience 2, CGC prep & exam. 4-6 weeks per class with a month or two off in between each.

 

[Boxergirl]

http://www.annarbor.com/pets/the-canine-good-citizen-testrules-and-regulations/

This is a good overview. It doesn't look like there is a minimum or a maximum age requirement, other than the dog be old enough to have received all vaccinations unless the dog is being evaluated as a therapy dog. Then there may be a minimum 1 year requirement depending on the group.

 

[TylerDurden]

Thanks for all the input. We will go for the "Star Puppy" first, which is probably a good prep for the actual CGC test.