UK/US CGC differences

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UK/US CGC differences

Posted : 2/27/2008 7:55:49 AM

I learned a few days ago (no idea why I didn't pick this up before somewhere) but our CGC program in the UK is really different from the one in the US. We have 3 levels here, and your dog can't be titled "CGC" until he/she has passed them all. Each level involves 8 weeks of required classes, assuming you pass first time and don't have to redo the ENTIRE 8 week course again.

Ben has his bronze level, will be starting silver as soon as I find out from our CGC trainer when she's starting the course.

From the UK Kennel Club website (have eliminated descriptions, the tasks are pretty evident):

Bronze:

Exercise 1 - Cleanliness and Identification
Exercise 2 - Collar and Lead
Exercise 3 - Walk on Lead
Exercise 4 - Control at Door/Gate
Exercise 5 - Controlled Walk Amongst People And Dogs
Exercise 6 - Stay on Lead for One Minute
Exercise 7 - Grooming
Exercise 8 - Examination of the Dog
Exercise 9 - Return to Handler
Exercise 10 - Responsibility and Care (questions for handler on responsible dog ownership, which must be answered correctly)

Silver:

Exercise 1 - Play with the Dog
Exercise 2 - Road Walk
Exercise 3 - Rejoin handler (this is a recall after putting the dog in a wait)
Exercise 4 - Stay in One Place for Two Minutes
Exercise 5 - Vehicle Control (getting the dog out of a car)
Exercise 6 - Come away from Distractions (recall from playing)
Exercise 7 - Controlled Greeting (proving the dog won't jump up)
Exercise 8 - Food Manners
Exercise 9 - Examination of the Dog
Exercise 10 - Responsibility and Care

Gold:

Exercise 1 - Road Walk
Exercise 2 - Return to Handler’s Side
Exercise 3 - Walk Free Beside Handler
Exercise 4 - Stay Down in one Place
Exercise 5 - Send the Dog to Bed
Exercise 6 - Stop the Dog (get the dog to stop dead after moving at a reasonable speed)
Exercise 7 - Relaxed Isolation
Exercise 8 - Food Manners
Exercise 9 - Examination of the Dog
Exercise 10 - Responsibility and Care

As you can see, there are exercises in common for all of them, but the standards get a lot stricter as you move up.

I'm curious as to why it's so different here...it would take 6 months of constant study to put a CGC on a dog here, whereas I've heard there that if the dog is trained it can be done in a day and it's just one test, not 3. You HAVE to get each level before progressing to the next, and to the best of my knowledge you can't take a test without having put in the 8 weeks of courses.

The CGC scheme is really popular here and taken quite seriously....I'm not sure how it is there so that's why I'm posting this. Any thoughts on the differences?

Liesje

Posted : 2/27/2008 8:20:48 AM

I don't think the US CGC is an actual title, maybe that's why it's a lot simpler. I mean, you can put "CGC" after the dog's name, but when you do a points and awards search through the AKC you will not see CGC titles listed, as you will not see . To me it's more like a certificate. At our club, the CGC is basically the guidelines for intermediate obedience, which is the next level after basic or puppy obedience, so yes, it is really not that difficult in terms of where it falls along the continuum of our course structure. Maybe it's different at other clubs though. We also use the CGC to evaluate possible therapy dogs. The Delta Society test is more difficult. As a general rule, I personally believe a dog should easily pass our CGC before being considered for therapy work. I had Kenya finish the CGC before we started pet assisted therapy training (which she also passed, but we are not doing b/c she doesn't really care for it). I think in the US, the CGC is a way to simply evaluate a dog as a well-adjusted family pet. There's no real obedience components to it.

I was at a UKC show this summer and saw something called "family obedience". The exercises they were doing seem similar to your Gold level, maybe a little bit more comprehensive and difficult. It was like an AKC formal obedience trial, but the things they were being tested on were different. For example, the first dog had to free heel up to a gate, stop and wait while the handler opened the gate, proceed through the gate, stop and wait while the handler opened a van, and load into the van on command. That was on exercise I saw, but I only caught the tail end. Maybe it's a UKC obedience thing, I'm not sure.

Pwca

Posted : 2/27/2008 4:10:40 PM

Liesje is correct- the CGC is a certificate, not a title, whereas the UK one appears on a dog's records. I'm actually not sure that you have to take the classes (I don't have the site bookmarked here- I was curious because a couple dogs in Lizzie's pedigree have it) but I know when the CGC first came out, you really couldn't find the test except through classes, so it's possible that's just a temporary thing.

I also think it may have something to do with the way your obedience program is structured. Here, you can get an obedience title just through achieving three qualifying scores (170+); as I understand it, UK obedience requires you to actually win your class multiple times to get a title- so it's MUCH more competitive and very unusual to see non-BCs (or working sheepdogs, which are non KC BCs, as I understand it) actually achieving titles. The UK CGC program actually looks like a much more difficult test that requires a fair amount of training- not just a good natured but marginally trained dog. (Honestly, the CGC is nice but not really much of a test of a dog's abilities- that said, adog that can pass the CGC is at a minimum a good pet!)

Some of this may also be differences in culture. Here in the US, it's apparently perfectly alright with most people if their dogs jump up on people, mug for treats, or otherwise make pests of themselves. In the UK, dogs in general seem to be expected to be mannerly even in dog friendly places- with the consequence that since most dogs are well-behaved, they're welcome many more places.