Work on your Manners, and Earn Titles Too!

What is it: There are a variety of ways that your Klee Kai can show off their wonderful manners. For a majority of these, your dog must show that they are solid in some of the more basic behaviors: sit, down, recall, loose leash walking, petting, crating, and more. 

In AKC, you have your Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program. This can start with S.T.A.R Puppy where the basics are broken further down for young puppies. Canine Good Citizen follows these basic behaviors with elevated difficulty. You may also choose to up the difficulty with either the Community Canine (CGCA) which shows that you have a well behaved dog while in your community, or the Urban CGC (CGCU) which tests your dog’s skills in an active urban environment with cars, elevators, and more.

There is also a similar version of this test that evaluates how your dog behaves in a farm setting called the Farm Dog Certified Test. While the Klee Kai aren’t a herding breed, and likely won’t spend a lot of time on a farm, it’s still a fun skill-set to have. 

In UKC, your dog can earn the Socialized Pet Obedience Test (SPOT) designation. Similar to the above, SPOT evaluators review your Klee Kai’s behavior around the general public. If your dog ranks as “Outstanding” on every skill, they are awarded the SPOT-ON designation, which adds Outstanding Neighbor to the title. 

The Pet Dog Ambassador (PDA) program is similar to the above, and starts out with level 1 geared towards puppies and young dogs, ensuring a solid foundation in good manners. As the levels increase, so do the criteria for the basic skill set. The PDA program goes up to level 5, and this is the only manners title that can be earned through video evaluation. However, unlike the CGC and SPOT programs where your dog earns titles, the PDA certificate must be renewed every two years.  

Lastly, your Klee Kai may also qualify to be a therapy dog. There are several venues for these dogs. Throughout the years, we’ve seen hospital support, university support, airport greeter, veteran center visitors, and more. The test criteria for these dogs is generally set to a much higher bar. You won’t want your Klee Kai jumping, barking, licking, pulling on leash, etc. during these types of visits.

Venues and Rules

Tools and Training

This is something you don’t really need “tools” for. You would use your dog’s normal leash and collar set and maybe a vest that they wear for providing these services. Training for these simply requires patience and perseverance. Increase the bar for what you are asking for little by little, until your Klee Kai has mastered the behavior. Make sure that you practice in novel environments frequently to help your dog generalize the behavior so that they are ready to demo their good manners anywhere and at any time.

Benefits for you and your dog:

  • Training Foundations - these exams mainly consist of behaviors that your Klee Kai should be learning; sit, down, walk nicely, no jumping up on strangers, grooming, and more. Preparing for these will ensure that you are teaching those foundations.

  • Mental Stimulation - like any other event that we participate in with our dogs, learning manners encourages your dog to really activate their ability to focus and learn.

  • Might be Mandatory - there are some programs in which you must prove your dog’s skill-set by providing proof of completing the CGC requirements. This may also be needed for certain housing areas, or even just admittance to the higher level training courses in your area.

  • Confidence Building - Because these tests evaluate how a dog behaves in a public setting, most people practice in various new places. This will help build your dog’s confidence and resilience in new environments.  

Thurisia Dog’s Do It All!

Thurisia’s Involvement: Here at Thurisia, we are always encouraging our owners to consider one or all of these titles as a goal to achieve with their Klee Kai. As a result, we have many Good Citizens and neighbors, including:

  • Maera - FDC, CGC, CGCA, CGCU, SPOT-ON, PDA2

  • Isla - FDC, CGC, CGCA, CGCU, SPOT-ON

  • Arwen - FDC, CGC, CGCA, CGCU, SPOT-ON

  • Lyra - CGC, CGCA, CGCU, SPOT-ON

  • Potion - CGC, CGCA, CGCU, SPOT-ON