The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Puppy Foundation Assessment aims to provide a means of socialising puppies and to lay down a foundation for education and training. On successful completion of the course puppies will respond to their handlers and the handlers will have an awareness of the responsibilities of dog ownership. The inclusion of play exercises adds an extra dimension to a dog’s life and can be used to make training fun. Constructive play and suitable incentives are encouraged within this puppy training programme.

The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Bronze Award aims to produce a dog that will walk and behave in a controlled manner on the lead, will stay in one position on command, will allow its owner to clean, groom and inspect it, a dog that will walk and behave in a happy natural manner, under control on the lead. The dog must also be able to be positioned by its handler for inspection i.e. stand, sit or lie down on either side or on its back, all on the lead. The dog must come to hand when called. The Bronze award aims to provide the handlers with a basic knowledge of understanding and training their canine companion.

The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Silver Award aims to build upon the skills learned in the Bronze Award whilst increasing the level of difficulty. The Silver Award is a natural progression of practical dog training skills and introduces new concepts such as the controlled greeting, road walk and vehicle control exercises which are important in everyday life situations. The Silver Award aims to provide handlers with a good knowledge of understanding and training their canine companion.

The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Gold Award is the highest level of achievement of the Scheme. It builds upon the skills learnt in the Silver Award and develops more advanced training skills of the dog and handler. The Gold Award is a natural progression of practical dog training skills and introduces new concepts such as relaxed settle, stop the dog and send the dog to bed exercises, which are important in every day life situations. The Gold Award aims to provide handlers with a greater knowledge and understanding of their canine companion. Dogs that are awarded a Gold Certificate should reach the required standards in all exercises and be a worthy representative of the Scheme’s highest standard. Where possible it is preferable that certain exercises are tested at indoor and outdoor locations.