Back in 1989, the American Kennel Club began their Canine Good Citizen program, a 10-step test that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs. The CGC gave owners a goal to work towards and gave dogs the training they deserved. The program is now a launching pad across the world for many organizations including therapy, service, agility and search and rescue dog organizations.

However, the world that we live in today is much different than the world we lived in back in 1989. Dogs are taken out in public more with the increase in pet-friendly locations such as hotels, motels, outdoor café’s and recreational areas. We now have dog parks and daycares in every city from the East coast to the West coast. As owners, we are expecting more from our dogs but the training styles and the certification programs haven’t evolved with the times. Group classes are still concentrating on the basics of sit, stay, down, come and heel. Puppy classes are still offering minimal training with lots of socialization, but the socialization is between puppy and puppy and owners still believe that the most important things for their dog is exercise. There are many trainers in this country that do a great job teaching real life manners but the most popular are the training classes that are offered from franchise facilities and large organizations. Many of their “trainers” have the same amount of knowledge as the common student and don’t realize the importance of teaching real life manners.

I’ve realized that society needs a new form of certification; a new goal to reach and dogs are in need of new and different manners. The basics just don’t give the dog what he needs. So I have researched and developed a new certification program called Real Life Rover™ which is a 25-step test either following a training program that teaches dogs the manners they need to be accepted in today’s society or taken individually. This program isn’t so much about how your dog responds to commands as it is about how he responds in real life situations, from interacting with other dogs to sitting nicely in the car as people and dogs walk by. All of this is with or without your direction and commands.

For more information on Real Life Rover Certification classes or evaluation dates, please email DogSpeak.

Next 10-Week program starts April, 2012. Cost is $600 and includes evaluation fees and evaluation. Limited space available. Past clients receive a $100 discount.

Evaluations will be in June for those that wish to test without taking the training class. Contact us for more information.