Canine Good Citizen (CGC)

Credential & Advancement Benchmarks

The Canine Good Citizen program evaluates real-world manners, stability, and handler communication across everyday situations. At Wasatch, CGC preparation focuses on clarity, engagement, and reliability rather than test rehearsal, ensuring behaviors are functional, repeatable, and durable beyond the evaluation environment.

Within Wasatch, credentials are approached as confirmations of skill, not endpoints. They validate that foundational communication, engagement, and reliability hold under expectation, environment, and pressure. Advancement is earned through consistency and clarity, not rushed preparation or surface-level performance.

  • Canine Good Citizen

  • CGCA/CGCU Advanced Titles

  • Serves as a gateway to higher-level reliability benchmarks

CGC preparation at Wasatch is structured to build reliability through clear expectations, intentional progression, and consistency across environments. Skills are developed methodically to ensure behaviors remain stable under distraction, pressure, and evaluation conditions, while preserving clarity and confidence for both dog and handler.

Program Structure

  • Clear criteria and expectations for each CGC exercise

  • Progressive exposure to real-world distractions and environments

  • Consistent handling standards to ensure repeatable performance

  • Preparation focused on reliability under evaluation conditions

The Canine Good Citizen credential is treated as both a confirmation and a gateway. It reflects reliable behavior under real-world expectations while opening a clear path toward more advanced titles, structured group work, and deeper skill development within the Wasatch system.

Program Availability

Group classes provide guided preparation toward CGC testing by reinforcing manners, engagement, and reliability in real-world scenarios. Testing opportunities are scheduled to ensure teams are assessed when readiness, consistency, and confidence are clearly demonstrated.

  • CGC Preparation - Group Class

  • CGC Preparation - Private Lessons

  • CGC Test Only - By Appointment

Within the Wasatch System

Within Wasatch, the Canine Good Citizen is treated as a confirmation of clarity, not a finish line. Preparation emphasizes reliable communication, composed behavior, and consistency under expectation rather than checklist training. The goal is not simply to pass a test, but to ensure the standard holds beyond the evaluation environment.

CGC preparation at Wasatch is structured to build reliability through clear expectations, intentional progression, and consistency across environments. Skills are developed methodically to ensure behaviors remain stable under distraction, pressure, and evaluation conditions, while preserving clarity and confidence for both dog and handler.

Begin Your Ascent

Every program at Wasatch is built on the same foundation: clarity, structure, and intentional progression. The intake process ensures training begins at the correct starting point for each dog and team.

This allows training to remain stable, effective, and aligned with the standards that support long-term development across all disciplines.