Canine Good Citizen
What is Canine Good Citizen?
The Canine Good Citizen (CGC) scheme is a NZKC-endorsed programme which identifies and rewards dogs with the issue of a qualifying certificate. The certificate is indicative that your dog can be a respected members of the community because it is trained and conditioned to act with good manners in the home, public places and in the presence of people, other dogs and animals, and shows your dog has a good temperament.
The CGC assessment is not a competition and does not require that you and your dog perform with "competitive" precision. Although primarily aimed at the pet dog owner, it is growing in popularity amongst the various dog sport factions.
The CGC Committee is also working towards encouraging local councils (nationwide) to recognize and reward handlers who have made the effort to have their dog CGC qualified.
What are the levels?
There are four levels to the CGC Scheme (Foundation, Bronze, Silver and Gold). Each level must be assessed and passed in the above order before you may proceed to the next.
Foundation: This level is designed to test not only how well your
dog follows the handler's basic commands (eg: sit, down, stay, walk beside you,
etc), but most importantly, the dog's temperament and good manners. For
example, do you know what your dog will do:
1. if walked in a crowd?
2. when meeting another dog?
3.if he hears a sudden and unexpected noise?
4. if he is patted by someone he doesn't know?
Foundation is designed to reflect what may happen in real life so you can know (with confidence) that you have complete control and can predict reasonably well what your dog will do when faced with these situations.
Bronze, Silver and Gold: These levels continue to expand on the above, with an increased degree in difficulty of distractions and off-lead exercises. For example, how quick does your dog lie down when told and you are at a distance? Can you go out of sight and your dog is happy to be tied up without showing signs of stress? Can someone else handle your dog with the same degree of control? Car manners are also emphasized. There is also (at all levels) a Responsibility and Care section which will need to be read and understood. At all assessments, there will be questions asked from this section.
For a dog to reach “Gold” standard, would mean that dog is considered “bomb proof” (ie, if something sudden or frightening happens to that dog, he will not react in a defensive aggressive manner). For example, if you tie your dog up outside a dairy, and a child or person the dog does not know comes along and hugs or pats your dog, it will calmly accept it without biting, pulling or growling.
Let’s face it, in a perfect world, no one should put their dog in an unsupervised situation in the first place, but in the real world, safe dog education is still not extensive, so it is nice to know, your dog will be safe, stress free and happy, if such a situation arises.
How do I go about getting my dog CGC qualified?
Follow the link on the left hand side to the CGC website.
1. Frequently asked questions.
2. A list of the exercises at each level (index only).
3. Care and Responsibility section.
4. A list of participating clubs that instruct CGC exercises and may hold assessment days.
5. When the next assessment day is in your area.
6. Progress Indicator Forms.
If you think this would be an extremely useful, achievable and proud title to have for your dog, feel free to contact any of the Assessors.
