New test gauges dogs’ city savvy, from streets to elevators
Morgan Avila, left, walks Magnito, a Leonberger, as he's evaluated by Sarah Fraser, when he leaves an elevator during a demonstration of an urban canine good citizen test for city dogs in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
They’re skills any city dweller needs: Taking strangers and noisy streets in stride. Riding calmly in elevators. Hopping a cab or subway. Ignoring tempting food all around you.
And now they’re all part of the American Kennel Club’s new “urban canine good citizen” test.
The title recognizes particular abilities that make city living more manageable for dogs, owners and others.
The New York-based AKC has offered a basic “canine good citizen” test for a quarter-century, and more than 700,000 dogs have passed. The organization added a more advanced “community canine” title last year.
But training director Mary Burch says the urban exam unfolds in “a more practical, real-world setting.”
About 500 dogs nationwide have passed the test since its debut in April. Both purebreds and mixed breeds are eligible.
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