Good Dog, Real Life

Practical skills for the dog you actually live with.

Having a “good dog” isn’t about perfect obedience. It’s about having a dog you can comfortably take places, communicate with, and navigate everyday life with, even when the world gets a little distracting.

Good Dog, Real Life is a 4-week small-group class focused on building practical skills that make everyday life with your dog easier. We’ll work on leash skills, positioning, stays, recalls, handling, greetings, neutrality around other dogs and people, and learning how to stay connected when the environment gets interesting.

This class uses the skills found in the AKC Canine Good Citizen program as our framework, but this is not a CGC testing class. Instead, we’re taking those bigger skills and breaking them down into manageable pieces so you and your dog can learn how to build them without the pressure of preparing for a test.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve already taken a class with us, you’re welcome here. You do not need a perfectly trained dog or a long list of prerequisite skills to participate. Exercises are adjusted for the individual dog and handler so each team can work at an appropriate level.

If you’ve been interested in our Good Dog, Good Citizen class but aren’t quite sure you and your dog are ready, this is a great place to start. Good Dog, Good Citizen will be offered again in February for teams who want to continue building on these skills and work toward the official AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluation.

Class Dates

Saturdays • 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

January 9, 2027
January 16, 2027
January 23, 2027
January 30, 2027

Class Details

• 4-week small-group class
• Limited to 5 dog-and-handler teams
• Individualized coaching within the group setting
• Real-life exercises and distractions
• Weekly homework to continue building skills between classes
• No previous group class required
• Uses AKC Canine Good Citizen skills as a training framework
• Great preparation for our future Good Dog, Good Citizen class

Class Syllabus

Week 1: Move With Me

We’re starting with movement. Before we ask your dog to sit politely while someone approaches, ignore another dog, hold a stay, or come when called around distractions, we need to establish communication between the two of you.

We’ll work on leash handling, loose-leash walking, engagement, changes of direction, stops, turns, pace changes, and helping your dog learn to follow your movement instead of pulling you through the environment. We’ll also begin incorporating simple sits and downs into our movement rather than expecting a room full of distracted dogs to stand around and immediately demonstrate perfect stationary behaviors.

This week begins building toward the Canine Good Citizen skills of walking on a loose lead and walking through a crowd while creating the communication we’ll need for everything that follows.

Week 2: Find Your Position

Now that we have movement, we can start asking for a little more precision and self-control.

We’ll work on helping your dog understand where to be in relation to you, moving into position, stopping with you, sit and down on cue, and beginning stay work. We’ll start adding people, dogs, and environmental distractions so your dog can practice maintaining communication with you while life continues around them.

We’ll also introduce controlled pass-bys and movement around other teams. These exercises begin laying the groundwork for sitting and lying down on cue, staying in place, walking through groups of people, calmly passing another dog, and responding appropriately to distractions.

Week 3: Stay With Me, Come Back to Me

This week we’re pulling out the long lines.

We’ll begin adding distance to stays, practice leaving your dog and returning, and spend time developing a functional recall. We’ll work recalls from different distances and gradually introduce appropriate distractions based on each individual dog’s ability.

A reliable recall is more than yelling “come” and hoping your dog makes a good life choice. We’ll work on engagement, movement, reinforcement, long-line handling, and helping owners understand what actually makes a dog want to return to their handler.

This week specifically begins preparing teams for the stay and coming-when-called portions of the Canine Good Citizen framework.

Week 4: Good Dogs Around People and Dogs

Now we take the communication we’ve spent three weeks building and apply it to the social pieces of the Canine Good Citizen framework.

We’ll work on a friendly stranger approaching and talking with the handler, polite petting, handling and grooming, moving through groups of people, passing and stopping near another dog-and-handler team, and maintaining composure around everyday distractions.

We’ll also introduce the concept of supervised separation and discuss what it looks like for a dog to remain comfortably with another trusted person while their owner briefly steps away.

The expectation is not that every dog walks into Week 4 performing these skills at Canine Good Citizen testing level. The goal is for you to understand how to build these skills, recognize where your dog needs more practice, and leave with a clear path forward.

Thinking About Canine Good Citizen, But Not Quite Ready?

This class was designed with you in mind.

Good Dog, Real Life uses the AKC Canine Good Citizen skills as our framework, but there is no CGC test at the end of these four weeks.

There is no pressure to arrive with a dog who can already greet strangers politely, ignore other dogs, hold a stay, recall through distractions, or calmly navigate a busy environment. Those are skills we’re here to help you build.

If the full Good Dog, Good Citizen class still feels a little intimidating, start here.

Then, if you’re ready to keep going, Good Dog, Good Citizen returns in March, giving you the opportunity to continue developing these skills and work toward the official AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluation.

Investment: $240

Four weeks of small-group instruction, individualized coaching, weekly homework, and practical skills designed for life outside the training building.

Location:
For The Love of Dog Training
2628 Lincoln Street
Oroville, California