Canine Good Citizen: How to Train Your Dog to Go Anywhere With You
Marty and Laura dig into what it really means to have a well-behaved dog in public and why good manners don’t happen by magic.
Help your dog become a welcome guest anywhere — from brew pubs to barbecues — with expert guidance on the AKC Canine Good Citizen program, basic obedience fundamentals, service dog distinctions and therapy dog opportunities.
Topics include:
- The core skills every dog should have: loose leash walking, settling, recall and reliable housetraining
- Why consistency, fairness and repetition are the foundation of any training success
- The AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program — what it tests, how to find a trainer and how any dog (purebred or not) can earn the title
- The AKC Farm Dog and Trick Dog titles as fun alternatives
- The legal differences between service dogs, emotional support animals and pets — and why it matters
- How a CGC title can open doors to therapy dog work in libraries, nursing homes and beyond
- Puppy raising programs like Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) and how to get involved
The Marty & Laura Show is produced by Pure Dog Talk Inc., with sound design and editing by Premium Audio Services.
Hi! I love your content and listen to every episode.
I just listened to the canine good citizen episode and there were many great pieces of information.
As a service dog handler of a glucose alert service dog, I just have a few quick thoughts I wanted to share with you if you have the time to read them. It is so appreciated!
You mention that service dogs are “certified” and given cards, etc. upon graduation. I just wanted to share that per the ADA, there is no nationally recognized “certification”, documentation or paperwork to prove a dog is a legitimate service dog. Many people do obtain service dogs through a program, however, when this cost is prohibitive for people, like myself, there are other avenues of obtaining a service dog. For example, I work with a professional service dog trainer to guide me to owner-train my dog. This is still a large expense, but doesn’t compare to the tens-of-thousands of dollars a program—bred and trained service dog costs upfront. And unfortunately, there aren’t enough grants to go around for everyone who needs a sd to get one free of charge. While my dog and I are part of a training program and have to pass a public access and task-proving test to remain part her specific program, I will not receive any sort of certification or card of “proof” that he’s a service dog upon graduation. Other than a vest with her company‘s logo, which I would have to return in the event that my dog’s behavior ever changed to the point that the trainer wouldn’t be comfortable keeping him in her program.
There’s a large misconception in the community that this card or documentation of “proof” is required and I’ve had a few instances of access issues where I was asked to present a card to be allowed access, but I don’t have such a thing. I *could* go online to get one of those bogus “certified service dog” cards, but I refuse as I recognize the harm this causes the community as it furthers this misinformation. I try to let our etiquette as a team and his behavior as a dog extensively trained in public access speak for itself, but goodness is it embarrassing to not be allowed access due to not having a piece of paper to present, thus leading people to think we are “fakes”.
I appreciate you touching upon this topic as, I know you’re aware, faking a service dog is a real issue and I’m thrilled to have more discourse around the importance of not faking one. But anything that can be done to further the public knowledge that only those 2 questions are allowed to be asked without the requirement of presenting additional “proof”, cards, paperwork, etc. (outside of specific situations like the DOT form to bring your sd on a plane) would be so helpful for me and for all other well-intended service dog teams out here trying to live our lives as independently as possible.
Thank you for your time if you made it this far!!
Hi Olivia!! Thank you so much for sharing your story!! Do you have a suggestion of a qualified individual to join our show and discuss this in further depth?? If so, please email me directly at laura@puredogtalk.com with contact info.