Canine Good Citizen Training Tips: Preparing for a CGC Class

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Before paying and registering for a Canine Good Citizen class, you should consider how prepared you and your dog are for success. Most CGC classes will be structured with the final class being your CGC test, which means once you start the training course, your practice time has been limited.

Rather than feeling rushed or pressured to perform all ten of the CGC tasks within six or eight weeks, take some time to evaluate whether or not you and your dog are ready for this next level of dog training.

Do you and your dog want to pass the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen Test? If you’re thinking about signing up for a CGC Class, consider these four questions before paying for a class.

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Have you identified high value dog training treats?

Note: You are not allowed to use treats during the actual CGC test. However, while you’re training your dog, using treats is fine. You may want to start with the absolute best training treat in your dog’s eyes. As your training progresses, you may want to either fade that high value treat, or start using regular treats your dog sees as good, but not the yummiest.

For example, I have three levels of treats I can choose to use.

The top tier, highest value training treats in our house are Full Moon’s Organic Chicken Training Treats. Bernie and Lizzie adore these treats! Whenever I’m in class with them or teaching them something new, I rely on these small chewy treats to keep them motivated. They’re also easy to cut in half, so I can make the 6oz bag last.

My middle option is Fruitables Skinny Minis Apple Bacon Flavor Pet Treats, another delicious option for chewy goodness that keeps Bernie and Lizzie wanting to learn. These tiny treats are so soft that I can break them apart in my hands while I’m training. I will throw in other flavor varieties of Fruitables as well to keep the pups interested.

Finally, once the pups have the new behavior down, I use Wet Noses Little Stars as their regular treat. These tiny peanut butter and sweet potato treats are organic and hard, so they’re easy to throw into your pocket or treat pouch and retrieve as needed. They’re also organic and Non-GMO Project verified.

Is your dog proficient with basic obedience commands?

  • Sit

  • Sit-Stay

  • Down

  • Down-Stay

  • Recall or Come

  • Loose Lease Walking

Your dog does not need to be perfect with these commands, but if performing these commands presents a major challenge to your dog, you and your dog are probably better served by enrolling in a basic or intermediate obedience class. Take the time to practice the commands, and build your bond with your dog.

Do you have a basic understanding of the 3 Ds in dog training?

  • Distance

  • Duration

  • Distractions

Have a plan for increasing one of the 3 Ds at a time. Once your dog has successfully done what you’ve asked several times in a row, you can increase one more D.

When I was a new dog mom, one of the mistakes I frequently made with Bernie was increasing two or three of the 3 Ds all at once. While my intentions were good, my results were not. Here’s how my training looked back before I truly understood the 3 Ds.

In our condo, Bernie and I would work on a skill, like down-stays. We would practice before meals. I would randomly ask for down-stays during the day. Commercials were a great time to practice in short bursts. I could place Bernie in a down-stay, walk to the kitchen for a snack, and start eating with Bernie doing seemingly really well.

Once I felt like he had that down-stay, I would incorporate it into our walks…in all the wrong ways. I would put Bernie in a distracting environment like grass with birds chirping around him, I’d place him in a down-stay, walk too far away from him, and he’d break the stay.

I forgot that when I increase the level of distraction, I need to help Bernie by decreasing the distance and duration of the desired behavior until he understands that the behavior he was rocking inside is the same behavior I’m asking for in this new environment.

If your dog cannot do what you’re asking twice in a row, then the task is probably too hard for him. Reset your expectations by decreasing the distance, duration, or number of distractions, or decrease a combination of the 3 Ds.

If you have a solid understanding of the 3 Ds in dog training, then your practice sessions over the course of the CGC class will more than likely be more productive.

How do you and your dog perform on a CGC pre-test?

If you have a friend who has never met your dog, that person is the ideal helper for running through the CGC test items to see how your dog behaves.

Before you start the test, you decide how much you want to manage your dog’s behaviors versus how much you want to observe their behaviors so you know their strengths and weaknesses without much support from you.

Decide whether or not you want to use treats on your pre-test. If your dog completes any of the tasks well, you may want to reinforce that behavior with food.

Think about what you might say to your dog too as your run through these ten tasks. While you’re not allowed to use treats on the actual CGC test, you’re allowed to talk to your dog as much as you like to help him.

1. Accepting a friendly stranger

  • Coordinate with your friend where you’ll meet, preferably someplace with few distractions.

  • Once your friend sees you with your dog, ask them to causally walk toward you, but ignore your dog.

  • Say hello to one another and shake hands.

  • Your dog may sit or stand for this task.

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog lunge toward your friend? Or jump on them?

  • Did your dog hide or try to hide behind your legs?

  • Did your dog growl or whine or make other noises indicating discomfort?

Need some help with Task #1?

Read our Training Tips for Accepting a Friendly Stranger .

2. Sitting politely for petting

  • As long as the person-to-person greeting went well with your dog, have your friend ask you if they can pet your dog.

  • When you say yes, be sure to tell your friend WHERE to pet your dog. Many people will pat a dog on the head. Advocate for your dog and avoid this unpleasant greeting, by directing people to a different body part.

  • Your dog may sit or stand for this task. 

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog lunge toward your friend? Or jump on them?

  • Did your dog shy away from the person trying to pet them?

  • Did your dog growl or whine or make other noises indicating discomfort?

Need some help with Task #2?

Read our Training Tips for Sitting Politely for Petting .

3. Appearance and grooming

  • Hand your friend a brush or comb that you know your dog is familiar with and likes. On the actual CGC test, you are supposed to bring a brush or comb for this task, so identifying one that your dog likes is a good strategy.

  • Tell your friend to let your dog sniff the brush or comb for 10-20 seconds, or whatever time length you think will help your dog.

  • Tell your friend that they should kneel down to your dog’s level. Remind them NOT to hover over your dog.

  • Tell your friend to lightly check your dog’s ears, gently pick up each front paw, and softly comb or brush your dog.

  • You can instruct your friend to do these three tasks in any order. 

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog growl or whine or make other noises indicating discomfort?

  • Did your dog move around excessively, indicating nervousness, shyness, or resentment?

Need some help with Task #3?

Read our Training Tips for Appearance and Grooming .

4. Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead)

  • You will make a short walk with your dog showing that your dog is paying attention to your cues and changes in direction.

  • Walk straight with your dog on either side.

  • Make a right turn.

  • Make a stop.

  • Make a left turn.

  • Make an about-face turn.

  • Stop at the end.

  • These actions may be performed in any order. Remember to stop at the end.

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog strain on your leash creating a consistent tight leash?

  • Did your dog sniff the ground excessively?

  • Did your dog completely ignore you and miss turns or stops?

5. Walking through a crowd

  • You’ll be loose leash walking with your dog again.

  • Ask your friend to walk around you and pass by you.

  • If there are other people around, walk around them as well.

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog lunge at anyone or pull on the leash?

  • Did your dog excessively sniff anyone?

  • Did your dog jump on or try to jump on anyone?

  • Did your dog try to hide behind you or shy away from people?

Need some help with Task #5?

Read our Training Tips for Walking Through a Crowd .

6. Sit and down on command and staying in place

  • Swap out your leash for a 20-foot lead.

  • Place your dog in a sit.

  • Place your dog in a down.

  • Choose the sit or down placement for demonstrating stay.

  • Place your dog in a stay.

  • Walk out 20 feet. Be careful not to tug on the lead.

  • Turn around and walk back to your dog.

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog refuse to sit and/or go down?

  • Did your dog break the stay?

7. Coming when called

  • Place your dog in a sit or down.

  • You may tell your dog to stay or wait, or you may just walk away from your dog.

  • Walk away ten feet. Again, be careful not to tug on the lead.

  • Call your dog to you.

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did you have to call your dog numerous times (more than 2-3x)?

  • Did your dog refuse to come back to you?

Need some help with Task #7?

Read our Training Tips for Coming when Called .

8. Reaction to another dog

  • This task is the hardest one to pre-test since it requires another person with a neutral dog who won’t be interested in your dog.

  • While on walks with your dog, notice how your dog reacts to other passing dogs.

  • Notice the body language and energy level of those passing dogs too.

  • If your dog consistently looks at other dogs, but keeps walking with you, no pulling or lunging, then he probably won’t have an issue practicing this task during a CGC class.

  • When dogs pass by, if your dog has a hard time remaining neutral (i.e. barks, pulls, lunges, whimpers, or shows other signs of discomfort, fear, or shyness), then you’ll want to spend time working on this skill.

Need some help with Task #8?

Read our Training Tips for Reaction to Another Dog .

9. Reaction to distraction

  • For this task, most evaluators will use two distractions: one visual and one auditory.

  • Ask your friend to jog by your dog.

  • Ask your friend to drop something or clap their hands.

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog growl?

  • Did your dog bark more than once?

  • Did your dog lunge toward the distraction?

  • Did your dog try to run away?

  • Did your dog urinate or defecate?

Need some help with Task #9?

Read our Training Tips for Reaction to Distraction .

10. Supervised separation

  • Leave your leashed dog with your friend.

  • You hide out-of-sight. Go around a building corner, or to the other side of a pillar or fence, anything that prevents your dog from seeing you.

  • Listen for how your dog reacts. For the CGC test, you must remain out-of-sight for 3 minutes. For this pre-test, try a time limit that seems reasonable to you.

  • If your dog begins pulling excessively toward you while you try towalk away, then that’s your indicator that you need to work on supervised separation.

How did your dog behave? Any of these reactions would result in failing this task:

  • Did your dog whine excessively? Or bark or howl?

  • Did your dog pace around panting nervously or breathing hard?

  • If you have a small dog, did he try to jump into your friend’s lap?

Need some help with Task #10?

Read our Training Tips for Supervised Separation .

How did you and your dog do?

Remember, you’re a team. If you failed more tasks than you passed, you may want to consider what your next obedience class option should be.

Instead of taking a Canine Good Citizen Class, maybe you take a Basic Obedience or Intermediate Obedience class to work on core skills. Even if you’ve already taken those classes, it’s okay to take them again.

Think about how we structure education for humans. Teachers repeat concepts and spiral key ideas back into lessons over and over. Your dog trainer is teaching you, not your dog. You’re not going to truly learn everything you need to know in six or eight weeks, so go ahead and take an obedience class again.

Can you find a drop-in obedience class to attend? Can you afford one package of one-on-one consults with your trainer to hone in on key behaviors? Do you want to work with more than one dog trainer?

If you’re struggling to find a dog trainer, I highly recommend the book Fetching the Perfect Dog Trainer by Katenna Jones. You can read this concise guide in under an hour and walk away knowing exactly how to identify the dog trainer for you.

If you decide that you want to laser focus on CGC and sign up for a Canine Good Citizen Class, you’ll definitely get practice and tips for the ten tested skills. If you don’t pass CGC the first time, that’s okay. You can take the class again. You can revise your training plan. You can keep building your bond with your dog. And then you can re-test for CGC.

You will get there! With persistence and practice, you will get there!