WE DID IT. We passed. Yay! What a great experience. To me, this certification exemplifies a lot of what Dog Momma is trying to accomplish with this website… making it easier to have good experiences with your dog(s).
Happy Canine Good Citizen
It is not realistic to think many people have time to “go all the way” with obedience titles and other doggie skills. But the CGC test focuses on useful, every day skills that we should all think about.
And the key to success, in our experience, was maintaining good vibes. What a life lesson! I promised both of us we’d prioritize fun, even if we screwed up. And guess what… by staying upbeat, we didn’t screw up too much ☺
The benefits of this overall experience include:
- Your good dog will be even better behaved, and practicing together will even further strengthen the trust between you.
- The process is fun – practice is relatively easy to work into a busy schedule. Take as long as you need and enjoy the ride.
- You can prominently display the certificate and reflect on how awesome you both are!
- God forbid any unexpected conflict ever arise, this certification puts you in a strong position to prove your dog is a good dog.
- You could get into therapy work with your dog, which would make you feel like a million bucks on an ongoing basis!
- Oh, and I would be remiss in leaving this out – your friends and family can give your dog new nicknames – “Mr. Perfect”, etc.
Rio joined the ranks of CGC on August 16, 2013!
So now you have a pretty good summary of why the whole experience was good. Let me focus a bit on the test itself. The most surprising thing was how hard it was to actually find a test. My first problem was, I was looking for a test. A few phone calls and e-mails later, I realized it was smarter to look for an evaluator near us. The first available test within driving distance was four months away; the evaluator I contacted offered to test us at our earliest availability at her facility.
We paid $15 for the test and an additional $8 for the certificate. This is more than I had originally heard about, but still, not much. This cost was well worth the pride and enjoyment.
