Canine Good Citizen Test

Ours in Canada is known as Canine Good Neighbour - similar in testing to yours I think. The facility where I had them tested also offered courses for this, but I didn't know that, so I worked on my own. Liam and Natalie were added at almost the last minute.

Emma did fine. Liam lay down during the out-of-sight time, which was okay. Natalie had gotten frightened by barks out of some labs that were brought in towards the end of the testing session - this should not have been allowed as it was a real distraction for the testers, the owners and the dogs - it was just so so noisy. The examiner knew she was scared and passed her any way. Natalie is not one who is comfortable away from home - and you can tell by her ears and her demeanor. I am glad I was able to put this on the three - it says a lot for the dogs.

I am sure you will be fine. Like Ann says, find someone who has done it or offers courses in preparation. Let us know how you make out.
 
Edan earned his when he was just under a year and a half old. We took a class that offered testing at the end of the class and he passed on the first attempted.

The reason he did so well was we proofed the basic skills everywhere. I'd take him to the vet's office for no reason and asked the ladies at the counter to touch him. I'd take him to a strip mall and have him sit near doors to stores with people coming in and out. At pet stores he had to sit for treats and pets. This allowed him to learn that the behavior I was asking from him was applicable everywhere, not just at home or the classroom.

I plan on getting a CGC on Keiran as well and would like to get a CGCA for Edan and CJ.
 
Bailey passed hers when she was 10 months old. She also got her Star Puppy at the same time. Like many others, she passed after taking an obedience class that prepared us for the CGC. She lunges at other dogs on leash, barks when I walk away from her and doesn't like strangers petting her, but she still somehow passed. :lol:
 
Tres passed his CGC on the first try. He had been through basic obedience, but nothing specifically geared towards the test. He is just a well mannered boy (in spite of the mistakes his Mom has made . . .)

Several dogs that day were frightened by the crutches being used. Fortunately (or unfortunately for me), Tres was used to crutches as I used them when I broke my leg.
 
We also passed the CGC on the first try. We also took a 6 week class to prepare for the test. Shelby was the only dog in our class that took the test. The other owners just felt they were not ready.

My only concerns were allowing the tester to brush her. Shelby goes crazy excited to be brushed. She was only 1 at the time so she also loved to try and play with the brush (she still does). So we worked very hard on that and fortunately she did good enough to pass.

I was also worried about the distraction test. Because if they would have bounced a ball or thrown something to induce her prey instinct we would have failed terribly. But fortunately for us she just dropped a metal lawn chair on the floor and then walked around Shelby with a walker. Shelby didn't flinch.

Surprising to me Shelby broke her down stay as I walked away from her. She was always solid at staying until released, even my trainer was shocked. Fortunately the tester allowed us to do that part over and she was spot on.

All in all I didn't think it was too difficult of a test. I figured if I failed I would then know what to focus my training on and retake in the future.

Good Luck!
 
They do need some basic obedience skills. The leash walking is pretty important - they need to show that they can be respectful and well behaved in a situation where they may see other dogs and people. You don't want to take the dog to a nursing home and have them wanting to jump on people to say hello. Work on this outside and then work on it by going to petsmart or somewhere similar on a busy day. You need to be able to do left / right turns and the dog needs to stay by your side and not pull.

Leash walking takes a lot of practice but with consistency and patience they all can learn this skill. Use lots and lots of tiny training treats.

I took my Romeo dog through a basic obedience class and he did so well that we tried the CGC. We got it no problem the very first time. We also went for his TDI certification but he misses that by one 'fail' - he did not walk up to the person in the walker to say hello. He didn't shy away, he just didn't walk up to them. Everything else was not a problem at all.

As far as the 'startle' response. It's okay if the dog starts at the loud noise. (They threw a heavy metal pie plate on the ground behind us when we were walking away) What they want to see is that the dog looks and then gets over the start immediately. They do not bark like a nut or run away or anything like that.

I am going to get Romeo retested for the TDI as he adores children and would love working with them, in either a reading program or visiting at the hospital. The TDI tester told me she felt bad that she failed us on our first try, as clearly he has the makings to be a brilliant therapy dog. We'll get it next time around.

My Juliet pup would totally fail a CGC. She is way too attached to me and doesn't like when I'm out of her sight. So, she's going to school for agility training which she LOVES.
 
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