A trained dog is a happy dog!

Being a responsible owner is more than just putting a on a collar and lead

The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme is the UK's largest dog training scheme designed to help owners train their dogs to be obedient in everyday situations. Since its inception in 1992, the Scheme hs helped to educate over a quarter of a million dog owners.

Its simple but effective dog training programme highlights and encompsses every day situations that our pet dogs are frequently introduced to; from road walking, grooming, feeding and to being examined by veterinary surgeon.

Introducing a routine

When you buy a dog and bring it into your home, certain understnding is created between you and the dog. You could say it is called 'doggy' language and this type of language tells the dog how and where he or she will live and what rules nd routines will be indicative to their life. How dog responds to the rules depends on the owner's clear instructions, body posture and consistency in following their instructions through. Clear instructions and consistency i.e. repeating the same actions and commands each time the dog is introduced to something new will result in the dog learning how to behave as required.

Commands and instructions that are inconsistent result in confusion and therefore allow the dog to make up his or her mind and choose their own course of response. This is particularly relevant when recalling puppy / dog to you. If a puppy is always praised each time it returns to its owner and this exercise is practised frequently when the dog is young, then the puppy will build up good association with this command and respond each time its name is called. However, if a puppy is not encouraged to return to its owner when very yountg and perhaps is even chastised or chased for not coming, the puppy can learn quickly to dislike this situation and will avoid returning to its owner at all costs.

Early learning

There are lots of unnswered questions that new owners are faced with. How do I get my pyppy back when he or she runs off? What happens if he or she does not eat? What do I do if my puppy howls at night? And so on... Like children, puppies are not born educated, they need to be trained. New mothers and fathers benefit from anti-natal education and similrly dog owners can benefit from The Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, types, breeds, ages and abilities. All are capable of learning, and despite previous notions, you can teach an old dog new tricks, but you do need to consider the type of dog that you own nd the task that you are trying to teach it.

Learning at a pace that suits you

There are four levels of the Scheme; Puppy Foundation, Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. Each Award develops the understanding of the the owner whilst building a dog's confidence and obedience.