On January 29, 2024, Angela Farley and her dog Fidget, a Border Collie, passed the American Kennel Club’s Advanced Canine Good Citizen (CGCA) title at Michigan Dog Training (MDT) in Plymouth, Michigan. Angela and Fidget are also a Certified Service Dog Team trained by Michael Burkey at MDT.
The CGCA requires the dog to:
- Stand, sit or lie down and wait while the handler sits at the registration table and fills out paperwork,
- Walk on a loose leash and not pull making left/right turns, stop and walk at a fast and slow pace,
- Walk on a loose leash through a crowd,
- Walk past distractions of dogs who are present and not pull on the leash,
- Sit stay in a small group of three people and dogs,
- Allows a person who is carrying something (backpack, computer bag, etc.) to approach and pet it,
- Walk past food and follows handler’s instructions to “leave it”,
- Down or sit stay while the handler leaves the dog and walks 20 feet away to retrieve an object and return to the dog,
- Come from 20 feet away when called with distractions present and
- Sit or Stay while the handler enters/exits a doorway or narrow passageway. The handler then calls their dog when ready.
