The Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program, established in 1989, is an American Kennel Club program to promote responsible dog ownership and to encourage the training of well-mannered dogs. A dog does not have to be registered with the AKC to earn a CGC, nor does he/she have to be a purebred or registered with any canine organization. The goal is to simply promote good citizenship for all dogs.

A dog who graduates from this class and passes the evaluation earns the highly respected Canine Good Citizen certificate, which many people represent after the dog's name, abbreviating it as CGC; for example, "Fido, CGC".

Since its inception, the CGC program has become the model for similar programs around the world and is the backbone for many other exams, such as those given for therapy dogs, and is an advanced level class for dogs who already have a great foundation of Basic Communication established with their pet parents.

*All dogs must enroll or have graduated from a Basic Communication Level 1 class as a prerequisite for our Canine Good Citizen Class.

We offer a 7 week Canine Good Citizen Class (60 minute classes - on leash)

Click here for when the next Canine Good Citizen class is being offered!

The evaluation consists of ten objectives. All items must be completed satisfactorily or the team fails. Test items include:

• Accepting a friendly stranger.
• Sitting politely for petting.
• Allowing basic grooming procedures.
• Walking on a loose lead.
• Walking through a crowd.
• Sitting and lying down on command and staying in place.
• Coming when called.
• Reacting appropriately to another dog.
• Reacting appropriately to distractions.
• Calmly enduring supervised separation from the owner.

Evaluators sometimes combine elements during the actual test.

If all ten objectives are met, the handler can apply for a certificate and special dog tag from the AKC stating that the dog has earned the CGC.

Dogs do not have to be registered with the AKC to earn a CGC, nor do they have to be purebred or, in fact, registered with any canine organization. The goal is to promote good citizenship for all dogs.

Since its inception, the CGC program has become the model for similar programs around the world, is the backbone of other exams, such as those given for therapy dogs, and is a good starting point for more advanced dog training.

*We offer a free trial introductory class to see if our Canine Good Citizen class is the right class for you.