AKC programs
What is the Canine Good Citizen test?
CGC is the closest thing dog ownership has to a driving test. It asks no tricks and no speed, only whether your dog can be pleasant in public for a few minutes at a time. Here are the ten steps and how a Cape Ann dog gets ready.
The short version
The short version: ten everyday situations, an approved evaluator, and no age limit
The AKC describes CGC as a 10-skill test that teaches good manners to dogs and responsible ownership to their owners. Every item is something an ordinary dog meets in an ordinary week: a neighbor who stops to chat, a groomer's comb, a busy sidewalk, another dog coming the other way, a dropped object, and being left with someone else while you step away. The dog either handles each situation or it does not.
The test is given by an AKC Approved CGC Evaluator, and the AKC lists evaluators by state. Any dog may take it, purebred or mixed breed, with no minimum or maximum age. You may talk to and encourage your dog throughout. Passing earns a certificate, which can be recorded as an official AKC title through the AKC's Title Application Portal, and the AKC notes that CGC is a prerequisite for many therapy dog certifications. The list below is the AKC's, summarized at the time of writing.
- Given by an AKC Approved CGC Evaluator; the AKC lists evaluators by state
- Open to all dogs, purebred and mixed breed, with no age minimum or limit
- You may talk to and praise your dog during the exercises
- A certificate on passing, and an official AKC title if you apply for it
| Step | What the evaluator watches |
|---|---|
| 1. Accepting a friendly stranger | A person greets you; the dog stays put without shyness or fuss |
| 2. Sitting politely for petting | The dog sits while a stranger pets its head and body |
| 3. Appearance and grooming | A stranger combs or brushes the dog and checks its ears and front feet |
| 4. Out for a walk | A loose-lead walk with turns and a stop |
| 5. Walking through a crowd | Passing close to at least three people without jumping or straining |
| 6. Sit and down on cue, stay in place | Both positions, then a stay while you walk about 20 feet away |
| 7. Coming when called | A recall from about 10 feet |
| 8. Reaction to another dog | Two handlers meet and chat; the dogs show only casual interest |
| 9. Reaction to distraction | Two distractions, such as a dropped chair or a jogger, without panic |
| 10. Supervised separation | Three minutes with a trusted person while you are out of sight |
At Dogtown
How it works at Dogtown: find the two shaky steps, then build them where the distractions are real
Dogtown prepares dogs on two tracks. For adolescents and adults, Canine Citizen Academy is the class route: 4, 6 or 8 week blocks of 8, 12 or 16 sessions, built on dependable manners in public. The 1:1 Private CGC Fast Track is 5 weeks and 10 individual sessions for a dog of any age with one specific sticking point. Both are led by Gabriella Pope and start from $94 a session, with the plan confirmed after an assessment.
The assessment walks the ten steps and sorts them into solid and shaky. Most dogs arrive with seven or eight solid, and the block goes on the rest, using what the building offers: staff who play the friendly stranger, a grooming table for step three, matched playgroups of 7 to 10 dogs for step eight at whatever distance your dog needs, and a busy lobby for the crowd. Every block ends with go-home lessons, and readiness depends on the dog and the practice between sessions.
- 01
Contact form naming CGC and your dog's age; a reply within one hour on business days
- 02
Assessment with Gabby: walk the ten steps and mark solid, shaky and missing
- 03
Choose Canine Citizen Academy or the 1:1 Private CGC Fast Track from that list
- 04
Rebuild the shaky steps indoors with controlled strangers, dogs and distractions
- 05
Arrange the test, and take the go-home lessons that keep the manners after the certificate
For your dog
What it means for your dog: a puppy's next goal, a rescue's fresh start, and the steps reactive dogs find hardest
For a puppy coming out of AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, CGC is the natural second target, usually attempted in adolescence once the basic cues are reliable in public. For a rescue from Cape Ann Animal Aid with an unknown history, it is a fair, structured way to prove to yourself and to landlords, hosts and rental owners that the dog is safe company.
For a dog with reactivity, steps eight and nine are the wall, and preparing for the test is not the same as treating the reactivity. A dog that barks and lunges at other dogs on Eastern Ave belongs first in Focus & Flow, React Less, Relax More or Polished Pup, where the feeling about the trigger is changed, and comes to CGC preparation afterward. Gabby will say which order at the assessment, and she will not enter a dog for a test that will frighten it.
- S.T.A.R. Puppy graduates: attempt CGC once adolescence has settled the basics
- Rescues and adults: Canine Citizen Academy, any age, any background
- One stubborn step: the 1:1 Private CGC Fast Track, 5 weeks and 10 sessions
- Reactivity toward dogs or people: Level 3 behavior work first, CGC prep after
Cape Ann
Where a good citizen is tested for real: summer sidewalks, the Rockport line and the winter beach
Cape Ann supplies every step at full volume. Rockport's harbor streets in July are step five, the crowd, and the town closes its beaches to dogs from June 1 to September 15 while asking for a leash or direct voice control the rest of the year. The bench outside the Gloucester Dog Park at Stage Fort Park, 65 Hough Ave, gives you steps one and eight, with strangers and dogs passing at a distance you choose.
The Rockport line is a cousin of step ten: the MBTA carries leashed dogs only off-peak, at staff discretion, never on a seat and not between 7 and 10 AM or 4 and 7 PM, so a dog that settles beside you on a platform has a useful skill. Recall, step seven, is best rehearsed on an off-season Gloucester beach, open to dogs October 1 to April 30, with Good Harbor on even-numbered days until its April 1 plover closure. Check each source for the current rules.
At Dogtown
Preparation for the ten steps
Canine Citizen Academy, the 1:1 Private CGC Fast Track and Dogtown Academy days to keep the manners sharp between sessions.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Does my dog need AKC registration to earn the CGC title?
What if my dog fails one of the ten steps?
Does Dogtown run the CGC test itself?
How long does it take to prepare for CGC?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Ten steps to a dog you can take anywhere.
Send the contact form with your dog's age and the steps you think are shaky. We reply within one hour on business days and book the assessment with Gabby.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
