The American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) assessment can provide a structured goal for everyday manners. It is optional under the ADA and is not service-dog certification.
What it covers
The ten areas include greetings, polite contact, handling and grooming, loose-leash walking, moving through people, basic positions and staying, recall, reactions to another dog and distractions, and a short supervised separation. Read AKC’s current instructions for the actual test rather than relying on an old copied checklist.
What it does not establish
Passing does not prove disability-related task training, confer public-access rights or replace an individual public-readiness assessment. Conversely, the ADA does not require a CGC award or retesting every two years.
Choose humane preparation and respect the dog’s health and comfort. If an exercise is difficult, work on it gradually and ask the evaluator about the current process. A test result is information, not a judgment of your worth as a handler.
Prepare the human handler as well as the dog being assessed. Service Dog Standards works alongside the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), providing training and behavior standards and foundational handler education. Trainers use it to establish shared expectations for practice, care and public work. An assessment helps evaluate skills; the person still needs the understanding and handling skills to maintain a safe, capable partnership.
Use service-dog training and behavior standards to plan the team’s full preparation. A basic obedience award alone does not evaluate all of that work.