Canine Good Citizen (CGC)
The AKC’s Canine Good Citizen program is the gold standard of behavior for dogs in our communities. As you work with your Biewer Terrier to teach the CGC skills, you’ll find out about the many benefits and joys of training. You’ll enhance your bond with your Biewer, and dogs with basic obedience training are a joy to live with—interacting well with other people and other dogs and responding well to household routines.
The Canine Good Citizen Program teaches good manners to dogs and responsible dog ownership to their owners. The 10-step CGC test is a non-competitive test for all dogs, including purebreds and mixed breeds. It is a prerequisite for many therapy dog groups and some homeowner’s insurance companies encourage CGC testing. There is also an increasing number of apartments and condos that require resident dogs to pass the CGC test.
AKC Community Canine (CGCA)
AKC Community Canine is the advanced level of AKC’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program. As with CGC, AKC Community Canine has a 10-step test of skills that your Biewer Terrier must pass to earn the official AKC Community Canine title. This is a title that appears on the dog’s title record at AKC.
All skills on the test are tested on a leash. The AKC Community Canine (CGCA) test may be done in a class, at shows, in pet stores or in the community. While Canine Good Citizen tests are simulations of real-world skills, (e.g., dog/handler walks through a “crowd” of evaluators in a ring), the goal of AKC Community Canine is to test the dog’s skills in a natural setting. For example, rather than your BiewerTerrier being tested in a ring, in AKC Community Canine, the “walks through a crowd” test item will involve the dog walking through a real crowd at a dog show, on a busy sidewalk, in a therapy dog setting, or at a training club.
AKC Urban Canine Good Citizen (CGCU)
AKC Urban CGC is a title in the Canine Good Citizen family of awards and titles that also include AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, Canine Good Citizen, and AKC Community Canine. AKC Urban CGC requires that the Biewer Terrier demonstrates CGC skills and beyond in an urban setting. As with Canine Good Citizen, AKC Urban CGC has a 10-step test of skills that your Biewer must pass to earn the official AKC Urban CGC title. This is a title that appears on the dog’s title record at AKC. All skills in the test are tested on a leash. AKC Urban CGC should be administered in a place where there are cars, streets to be crossed, noises, and distractions. This test is administered in the real world; it should not be simulated in a ring at a dog show. When test items (such as riding on an elevator) are administered in public buildings, the buildings must be dog-friendly or evaluators must have permission in advance from the business owners, managers, etc. The goal of AKC Urban CGC is to test the dog’s skills in an urban (city) setting.
