How To Make Sure Your Dog Is A Canine Good Citizen

Every dog owner should strive to ensure that their dog is a good canine citizen.  The American Kennel Club even has a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Program which awards you and your dog for being good citizens.  The two tenets of good citizenship are socialization and obedience.  Dogs that are good citizens are well behaved around other animals and people, are calm when groomed or handled by strangers and know how to obey basic commands.

Socialization actually begins in the litter.  Puppies learn important social skills in the litter including how to communicate with other dogs, calming signals and when it’s not okay to bite!   At four weeks of age, puppies begin to learn to form an attachment to humans.  It is then that we can begin to socialize the dog by gentle handling, and preventing any trauma that would result in fear or shyness developing in the dog.  Breeders and their entire family will take great steps to ensure that your puppy is socialized before you bring it home.

At eight weeks of age, your dog is ready to go home with you and you should begin socialization and obedience training right away. Socializing your dog is an important step in their healthy development.  Dogs that are not properly socialized can become shy or fearful of people or other dogs.   It is important to introduce puppies to new sights, sounds and places every day.  Some experts use the “Rule of Seven” to begin socializing puppies.  Between 8-12 weeks of age, you introduce your puppy to seven new kinds of people, seven new types of surfaces, seven new foods, seven new sounds, and seven new places. 

Until your dog is fully vaccinated, avoid dog parks.  To facilitate socialization with other dogs, consider puppy socialization classes, or arrange play dates with older, mellow dogs.  Pet stores are also a great place for dog interaction.  However, keep your dogs away from animals that are being sold at the pet store. 

Even shy dogs can be taught to develop confidence.  Resist the temptation to comfort by saying things like “its okay,” because you will be reinforcing the shyness.  Your dog will look to you for confidence.  Training will establish your role as leader and allow you to communicate confidently with your dog. 

Shy dogs will need a series of confidence builders.  Introduce them to one person at a time.  Tell the person to sit sideways on the floor or yawn (this is a calming signal for dogs).  Explain to people that they should not to touch the dog’s head or neck.  Shy dogs will interpret this as threatening.  While socializing your dog, instruct people to approach from the side, moving the hand in from the side and then touching the back, shoulders or under the chin. Slowly increase the interaction with people, don’t overwhelm the dog.

To keep your dog’s mind engaged and off of their fear, practice training commands.  Tell her to “sit” or “heel” and reward for obedience.  You can correct your dog if she does not follow commands but do not correct for being shy. 

Obedience training is a must for socializing your dog.  A well trained dog is happy and much more confident.  With a little time, effort and lots of love, socializing your dog can be rewarding for you and your pet.

There are many training methods, but the goal of all training should be to teach and motivate the dog to repeat the desired behavior.  This is best achieved by positive reinforcement rather than negative punishment.  Whether you use dog clickers, treats or simply “good dog,” training should be accomplished in a gentle, positive manner. 

Socialization teaches your dog how to behave with other people and animals.  Obedience training establishes the communication system that will allow you to teach your dog appropriate behaviors.  Dog obedience training will set the tone for a happy relationship with your pet and should not be considered optional.  It is also not temporary or short term.  You will “train” your dog daily for the rest of his life.

Be sure to keep your training sessions short and fun.  You should also end all sessions on a positive note so that your dog is confident and looks forward to training time.  For working dog owners, training your dog before work will tire them out and they will be content to rest while you’re away.

The basic commands are Attention, Come Sit, Stay, Attention, Down, Leave it and Heel / Stop.

Come.  This is the first command you should teach your dog.   The easiest way to teach “come” is to kneel down and say your dog’s name.  As she begins to move, open your arms wide and say “Come.”  As she approaches, praise. 

Attention.  This teaches your dog to make eye contact and focus on you.  To teach attention, say your dog’s name once, and when she looks at you praise and reward. 

Sit.  Stand facing your dog at a distance, with a treat in hand.  Call the dog using the “Come” command.  Once the dog reaches you, slightly raise the treat above her head and back from the nose to the eyes or ears.  As the dog follows the reward, she will naturally go down on her haunches.  As she bends her hind legs, give the “Sit” command. 

Stay.  You should teach the sit command before teaching stay.  Have the dog sit and then show her the palm of your hand as you calmly and firmly say “Stay.”  At first keep the sit-stay duration brief, gradually increase the time and distance. 

Down.  This is a submissive stance for dogs so some will be harder to teach. To teach “Down,” begin from the sit position.  Hold the treat in front of the dog’s nose, and use a sweeping motion to move the treat down to the floor.  Your dog will lie down to keep track of the treat.  Once the dog begins to lie down, say “Down.”  Keep moving the food along the floor until the dog is all the way down and then praise and reward. 

Leave It.  This command can keep your dog safe when you’re out walking. An easy way to teach “leave it” is to use the good treat/boring treat method.  Hold out the good treat in the palm of one hand and say “Get It.”  As the dog happily eats it, praise.  Repeat this a few times.  Now hold out the boring treat (such as Cheerios), palm up and as the dog goes for it, calmly say “Leave It” and close your hand.  Do not praise until the dog pulls his head back.  Once he does this, praise and reward with a good treat. 

Heel/stop.  A dog that is properly heeling is close by the owner’s side to the left.  This command keeps you in control when walking with your dog around lots of distractions.    To teach heel, you will need a collar, leash and an area free of distractions.   The leash should be loose and the dog should be sitting or standing.  Say the dog’s name one time to get his attention and then begin walking.  Take one step and then stop, praise and reward.  Take two steps and praise and reward.  Now, you will only praise and reward when the dog is in “heeling” position.  Some trainers give a quick, tug on the leash and sharply turn each time the dog goes out of position.  If the dog gets distracted or goes ahead of you, stop.  Regain his attention and start again. 

Training and socialization are important to your dog’s health and development but will also ensure that you dog is a canine good citizen!