THE KENNEL Club has launched a new level of Good Citizen Award aimed at the younger ‘canine’ generation. The Good Citizen Puppy Foundation Award, launched at Discover Dogs has been introduced to further encourage new dog owners to recognise their dog owning responsibilities and lay the foundations for a puppy’s future training.

The Good Citizen Dog Scheme is the largest National Dog Training Programme in the UK with over 52,000 dogs and their owners already achieving the initial Bronze Award. In 1998 the Scheme introduced two additional levels - the Silver and Gold Awards - which have encouraged dog owners to further enhance their training skills.

The Puppy Foundation syllabus is comprehensive and covers many aspects of domestic puppy owning situations including: socialisation, house training, teething, vaccination, responding to name, taking an article away, food manners, as well as teaching your puppy to walk correctly on a lead.

Actress Jenny Seagrove launches the first puppy assessment in the KCGCDS at Discover Dogs.

This new tier of Good Citizen Award has been introduced to further complement the Scheme’s comprehensive dog training programme. Courses will be run through KC Registered, GCDS Listed and approved organisations including Local Councils, Agricultural Colleges and Veterinary Practices.

Courses will be assessed on the puppy and its owner’s attendance at training classes, so it will not be an award that will be conducted on a one-test basis. By carrying out the assessment in this way, a puppy will have time to settle into a new class and gradually build up solid foundations for the future.

The minimum puppy age limit for enrolment will be at the discretion of the training club provider and will be based on the premises and environment used for puppy training. Each dog training club will set its own duration for the courses, e.g. 6-8 weeks, but puppies must attend for a minimum of four sessions over a period of four weeks.

For further details, please contact Heidi Lawrence or Avril Green on 0207 518 1011, or by email ‘gcds@the-kennel-club.org.uk’.