It is not a requirement to be a graduate of Canine Obedience by Claire Silver. You should review the 10 required excercises to pass this test. This is a fun introductory examination designed to reward your obedience acheivements and your responsible pet ownership. I hope you plan on participating - it really is lots of fun.Please remember that prong collars may not be used during the actual CGC testing.

Course Fees: $25.00 for the Canine Good Citizen test. To reserve your space, payment is required prior to class. Checks may be payable to Claire Silver.

Class Location and time: The Dog House at Ann Ford's 1326 Sunset Drive West Charleston,Vermont from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Training Equipment: A six foot leash is required. All leashes and collars will be available at test. Please, no prong collars.

Note: Learn more about being a canine good citizen by clicking on the link below. http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/index.cfm

Contact Claire Silver to Sign Up

 

Items needed for the test:
Rabies Certificate, 6 foot leash and training collar,
Clean well groomed dog.

You are allowed to test in the following type of collars:
Buckle collar, nylon training collar from class, choke chain.

Prohibited Equipment: Prong Collars, Head Halters

During the test you may interact with your pet verbally and praising them. No food, praise should be verbal or petting. You may not harshly correct your dog, but, you can redirect them with little collar reminders and guidance as needed.

Make sure your dog is toileted well before the test. Any dog that eliminates during the test should not pass the test.

• Accepting a Friendly Stranger- This is where the evaluator will approach you and exchange pleasantries. The dog needs to stay by your side and not lunge, jump or approach the friendly stranger. There will be no interactions with the evaluator and your dog. Your dog may not be fearful, shy or aggressive. If the handler (you) uses excessive force to restrain the dog he will not pass. A gentle reminder such as leave it if they think about moving is fine.
• Sitting Politely for Petting- The evaluator will ask if they may pet your dog. The dog needs to be mannerly for this petting of the head and body. You may talk to your dog during this exercise to remind him to be polite. No lunging or jumping on the evaluator allowed. The dog may move slightly forward or accidentally stand to receive the petting.
• Appearance and Grooming- The evaluator will gently comb the dog with a soft brush, examine the front paws for nails that are clipped, check ears for cleanliness. The dog should not attempt to pull away in fear, the evaluator will give you specific instructions on the position she wants the dog in and how you should handle the dog. Such as having you hold the front paw so she may look. You may give lots of verbal encouragement and support to your dog during this test. The question to ask yourself is, “Would a vet or groomer be able to examine my dog safely and easily”?
• Out for a walk- Walking on a loose leash. This is demonstrating that your dog can heel without pulling. You may give a sit command when you halt if needed. There may be directional changes and speed changes, (left turn, right turn, slow, fast, normal, about turn.) Excessive sniffing, pulling, is not allowed. Heel position doesn’t need to be even close to perfect.
• Walking through a crowd. Dog needs to heel around people and possibly dogs without pulling, jumping, shying, lunging at people. Brief interest in the person is allowed, and should be easily redirected by you the handler such as saying leave it.
• Sit and Down on Command/ Staying in Place- The dog must down without any force or physical direction. Meaning you can not pull the dogs legs or put pressure on the collar. You may point to the ground and say down. The stay is done on a 20 foot line. You can either sit or down your dog. The evaluator will ask you to take your leash off and hook the 20 foot line on the dog. The long line will be set on the ground as not to cause you interference. The evaluator will instruct you once your dog is sitting or downing to tell your dog to stay and walk to the end of the 20 foot line and turn and walk back toward your dog. The dog needs to hold their position and not break when you return to them. Return to them and immediately go to heel position like we do in class. The dog can not start coming toward you at any time or they will not pass. They need to stay.
• Coming When Called- On the long line again, you will tell your dog to sit and stay and go out only 10 feet, turn and face your dog and call them to come. You may use body language as well as voice. You can not pull the dog into you with the long line. You do get multiple tries at saying come if needed. The dog needs to come to you and allow you to replace his leash on his collar. The dog doesn’t need to do a perfect front, but, if he does sit in front of you, it will be easier to place his leash back on. You can bend down when you call your dog if that will help them come into you better. This exercise is not about the stay, it is about the come and the dog willingly and happily getting to you when called.
• Reaction to Another Dog- The evaluator will have her dog on a leash. You will walk toward each other from about 20 paces, stop , shake hands and visit with each other and continue past each other. Your dog should stop and be patient while you visit. He should not attempt to pull toward the other dog and show nothing more than mild interest in the evaluator and her dog. When you and the evaluator leave each other your dog should walk off in a heel command and not attempt to follow the other dog.
• Reaction to Distractions- The evaluator may use an auditory and or visual distraction. This can be dropping of a clip board, clanking a pan, running, pull a wagon, have a person in a wheelchair go by. She can use anything that your dog may encounter in real life. You can use the commands learned in class to help keep your dog focused on you and not become overly reactive to the distraction. You can interact with your dog through the entire exercise by saying Leave It, or Watch Me. The dog may show interest or be mildly startled, but, they can not attempt to run off, or hide behind you, they must maintain their composure and appear under control.
• The Supervised Separation- You will leave your dog in the presence of a stranger and go out of site for three minutes. This is done with your dog on lead and the person will hold the leash. Your dog doesn’t have to stay still the entire time. But, they can not show sign of high levels of anxiety in the absence. This means no barking, no constant whining, no continuous pulling, lunging, jumping on the person holding him. Mild anxiousness is acceptable, such as, mild panting, a little whine, changing position, walking or looking at the area where you exited is fine. The person holding your dog will not give any commands to your dog, they will not speak or pet him either. This means the dog should not be constantly nudging, licking etc…the person holding him. The person holding the dog will make every effort to ignore your dog. Your dog should be mannerly and behaved while you are away.