The Canine Good Citizen: Every Dog Can Be One
Jack and Wendy Volhard, Howell Book House, 1994
Named Best Care & Training Book for 1994 by the Dog Writers’ Association of America. Great way to get started.
From the Publisher: This second and revised edition contains all the latest requirements for any dog, purebred or mixed, to earn a CGC title. More than 150,000 have already been awarded.
Winner of Best Care and Training Book from the Dog Writer’s Association in its first edition, multiple award-winning authors Jack and Wendy Volhard use a step-by-step approach which each owner can uniquely tailor to each individual dog. The Volhards’ gentle approach to training teaches all owners how to establish an ongoing rapport between dog and owner.
Regardless of whether the goal is a Canine Good Citizen certificate, the book thoroughly explains what makes dogs different and how owners can interpret these differences to ensure that training will be successful.
From The Critics
Publishers Weekly: The Canine Good Citizen test, introduced by the American Kennel Club in recent years, hardly requires a special course of training-designed to certify that a dog has basic obedience skills, the CGC consists of 10 simple exercises for the dog, from sitting “politely” for petting to walking on a loose leash to a down-stay with the owner 20 feet away. But passing the CGC is as good a goal as any in dog training, and the Volhards (he is coauthor, with Bartlett, of What All Good Dogs Should Know; she has made award-winning training films) do a wonderful job of arming the reader with skills, techniques and philosophies. Their discussions are succinct and sober: a remarkably cogent section about teaching specific postures (sit, heel, etc.) and practices is preceded by a concise discussion of managing stress while training; a “Pack Leader’s Bill of Rights” simplifies the often-clouded concept of pack theory; a schedule suggests the expected rate of progress.
Table of Contents
About the Authors.
Acknowledgments.
Foreword.
Introduction.
1. Why a Canine Good Citizen?(r).
2. What Is a Canine Good Citizen?
3. What Happens When?
4. Understanding Your Dog.
5. Stress and Your Dog.
6. Sit! Down! Stand! Stay!
7. Out for a Walk.
8. Coming When Called.
9. Training with Distractions.
10. Taking the Test.
11. Summary of Exercises.
Glossary.
References for the Motivational Method.
Bibliography.
Index.