Good Citizen Dog Scheme Puppy Foundation Assessment

Those of you who have owned your dog from a puppy will be aware of how important it is to start educating your dog from a young age. Before your puppy settles in to a new environment and starts setting the ground rules, it is vital to provide him or her with an interesting and educational learning programme. This can set the foundations for the future and help you live a happy life with your new family member.

How will courses be conducted?
The Puppy Foundation Assessment will be based on the puppy and its owner’s attendance at training classes. It is not an award that is conducted on a one-test basis. The thinking behind the Puppy Foundation Assessment course is that puppies learn on a gradual basis, over a period of time. This way a puppy will have time to settle into a new class and gradually build up solid foundations for the future. Upon enrolment onto a course your puppy will receive an introduction pack including the Puppy Foundation Syllabus, a Puppy Foundation diary and Canine Code.

How old does my puppy have to be?
The minimum puppy age limit is at the discretion of the training course provider and will be based on the premises and environment used for puppy training. Some dog training clubs may enrol puppies for their course from as young as 10 weeks, other clubs may ask that puppies have completed their second vaccination, whilst other training clubs may like your puppy to be older still. The maximum age for a puppy to enrol will again depend on the individual training club, but will not exceed 12 months old.

How long does it take to complete the course?
Each dog training club or organisation will set their own duration for the courses e.g. 6 - 8 weeks, but puppies must attend for a minimum of 4 weekly sessions.

What does my puppy have to do?
As part of any normal dog training process, training the owner is as important as training the puppy, therefore both owners and puppies are assessed. The course includes 12 different exercises and each exercise will be covered as part of each training session. They are: -

1. Responsibility & Care
2. Cleanliness & Identification
3. Attentive Response To Name
4. Puppy Play
5. Socialisation
6. Handling & Inspection
7. Puppy Recall
8. Basic Puppy Positions
9. Walking in a Controlled Manner
10. Stay for approximately 10 seconds
11. Take Article Away from the Puppy
12. Food Manners (take a treat without snatching)

Is there an examination at the end of the course?
NO - this programme has been designed to lay the foundations in a puppy’s education and therefore assessment will take place over the duration of the course and not on one occasion.

What does my puppy get when he or she passes assessment?
In addition to laying the foundations for a well-behaved dog, puppies who successfully complete the Puppy Foundation Assessment course will be awarded their very own rosette and KC Good Citizen puppy certificate.

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