Advanced Dog Obedience
AKC Community Canine (CGC-Advanced)
This 7-week class extends the skills learned in the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class out and into the community. Those that pass are eligible for the AKC Community Canine title, CGCA (Advanced-CGC). Test items include:
- Dog waits under control while owner does something at a table
- Walks on a loose leash in a natural setting
- Walk on a busy sidewalk, park, or busy hallway
- Walk past dogs on a sidewalk or in a hallway
- Sit and stay in a small group of people and dogs
- Dog allows human with an object to approach and pet it
- Dog leaves food placed on the floor
- Dog remains in stay while owner leaves and retrieves an object
- Recall with distractions
- Walk politely through a doorway
Pre-requisites: Dog must currently have passed the CGC test or be ready to take & pass the CGC test.
Tuition: $160
Therapy
This 7-week class is for graduates from the AKC Canine Good Citizen Class whose guardians desire to volunteer with their dog and visit schools, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and other venues to help our community and its citizens. A therapy dog is not an emotional support dog or service dog (performs tasks defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act); however, all service dogs benefit from Therapy Dog training.
Therapy Dog Certification is offered through Pet Partners, TDI (Therapy Dog International), and Alliance of Therapy Dogs periodically. The cost of testing varies depending on the certifying agency. Please be aware that Pet Partners requires you to pass their online Pet Partners Handler Course prior to in-person testing with your animal.
Prerequisite: CGC, Recommendation by previous Instructor, or Consult/Testing for readiness by course Instructor.
Tuition $160
Advanced dog obedience builds off of the intermediate skills learned from the AKC Canine Good Citizen class. With the CGCA (Advanced-CGC), your dog will learn new skills in a busy, public setting. Some of what your dog will learn with CGCA are patience, impulse control, and ignoring distractions. Not only can advanced obedience training help your dog to become more obedient, but it can also help to strengthen the bond between you and your dog and can help to prepare them for therapy training.
Obedience training for dogs typically costs between $45-$120 per session. The main factors that will affect the cost for obedience training are where you sign up for obedience training as well as the size, breed and age of your dog. The level of obedience your dog currently has can also be factored into the cost. If your dog hasn’t had any training before and doesn’t easily follow commands, the cost for obedience training may be higher.
When it comes to obedience training, dogs are never too old to start. Although dogs that are older may take a bit longer to learn new skills or commands or to unlearn bad behavior, every dog can benefit from obedience training regardless of their age. With much older dogs, you’ll also have to keep in mind that certain physical tasks may be difficult for them.
