Canine Good Citizen Test

Charlie failed the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Test.  The CGC test is a certification program offered by AKC that evaluates if dogs are trained to behave politely in public. Dogs need to be able to do the following: 

1. Sit politely while a stranger greets their owner 
2. Sit politely for petting
3. Accept being groomed, brushed; allows paws and ears to be handled    
4. Walk politely on a loose leash
5. Walk nicely through a crowd
6. Sit, lie down and stay in place on command
7. Come when called
8. Sit politely while their owner greets a stranger with a dog
9. Remain calm when distracted
10. Remain calm during supervised separation

We had Charlie enrolled in a 6-week long CGC training class and had him tested at the end of class. He passed everything with flying colors except for one item - supervised separation.  Dogs are supposed to remain calm when their owner hands the leash to a stranger and walks out of their sight. Charlie cried when we walked out of the room while the instructor held his leash, which earned him a failing score for the test.  He doesn't have separation anxiety. He is fine if someone leads him away from us at the vet or the groomer. He is good at being left alone at home and in the car. However, if we try to leave him anywhere else, he becomes distressed and cries.  This is true even when someone he knows tries to distract him with toys and yummy treats. 

Charlie is a sweet "velcro" dog who likes to follow us from room to room in the house.  He also likes to be in the middle of everything and does not want to miss anything.  So he objects to being left alone with a stranger with whimpers and sorrowful howls. 

Charlie is currently practicing "wait" while we walk out of his sight in a variety of places.  Hopefully, he will be ready to take the test again in a few weeks.

Don't leave me!

I'm gonna cry if you leave me!