Canine Good Citizen (CGC)

This course prepares you and your dog to take the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test, a certification program designed to reward dogs who demonstrate good manners at home and in the community. The class is a guided forum to practice all of the skills necessary to pass all ten items on the test, along with other related skills.

Passing the CGC test has many benefits. It can help with acceptance into Animal Assisted Therapy programs, or doggie daycare or boarding facilities. Therapy Dog International’s certification test is built directly off of this test. The CGC also lays the foundation for other activities such as obedience, agility, tracking, and performance events. Some apartment complexes, neighborhood associations, and insurance companies are asking for this. Many discounts for a Canine Good Citizen exist.

The CGC is actually a title now, open to all dogs both purebred and mixed.

The most valuable thing, though? The pride and peace of mind that your dog is a well-behaved member of your household and the community, showing everyone he or she meets what great dog manners are supposed to be.

Need to know:

Age: 19 weeks of age or older.

Prerequisite: This is an advanced class; previous training of some sort is highly recommended. Dogs must be friendly with other dogs and people. Reactive or overly disruptive dogs will not be allowed to participate.

Vaccines: Rabies and vaccines must be up to date.

Length and Fee: 

Fee is $160 including sales tax.

Class fee includes six consecutive weekly sessions, your CGC testing fee, and weekly email notes.

Each session is approximately 50 minutes and will meet on the same day and time each week. A minimum of 3 dogs is required to run a class.

The CGC Testing fee is included in the class price, although the AKC’s fee for submitting paperwork to obtain your dog’s certificate/title is not. The test must be taken during the week #6 class in order for it to be free.

Resources: Learn more about the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen Program.

Watch the video below to see a real test.

Further details about scheduling and cancellation policies can be found on the Policies Page.

BOOK NOW!
Schedule my CGC Class!

Example video by SmartyPup

This video shows a typical CGC test as conducted by SmartyPup Training. This should give you a good idea of what it looks like in general. Remember, we’re not looking for “dog show” perfection. It’s all about demonstrating confidence and control.