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n his July 2012 report, American Kennel Club Chairman of the Board Alan Kalter posed the question, “What will be our next game-changing idea that will propel us forward by the end of the decade?” Then he proposed the following goal for consideration: “Increase the number of dogs which annually participate in the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen program to ten times what it is today – from more than 50,000 to 500,000.” As a basis for growing the program exponentially, he cited the game-changing idea in 1994 for a new AKC event: Agility. From its humble beginnings, Agility has now grown into the second largest AKC event in terms of entries, reaching the one million mark last year. It is hoped that those who enter Agility events will then in turn cross over into other areas of AKC events, growing the responsible dog owning and breeding community and empowering it in areas of canine legislation. Chairman Kalter’s belief that growing the AKC CGC program will also help in these areas seems logical and deserves consideration.
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The AKC CGC program was launched in 1989 to reward dogs that have good manners at home and in the community. The Canine Good Citizen Program is a two-part program that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs and all dogs that pass the 10-step CGC test may receive a certificate from the American Kennel Club. Forty-three states and the U.S. Senate have issued proclamations in support of the AKC CGC, and Chairman Kalter has stated a goal of seeing it supported in all 50 states. The AKC CGC has served as a model for other countries that have developed similar programs, including England, Australia, Japan, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, and as of January 1, 2013, Canine Good Citizen will become an official title that can appear on the title records of dogs registered or listed with AKC. (It has been considered an award since 1989, not a title). For those so concerned with the graying of the sport, the CGC title is a wonderful way to get children and their parents involved with owning and breeding dogs responsibly and becoming active members of the dog show community. In addition to cementing the human-canine bond, learning and teaching CGC skills results in better behaved pets. A CGC Neighborhood Model has also been established, and some police and animal control agencies employ CGC skills for dealing with dog problems in communities. Many dog therapy groups also use the CGC as a partial screening tool and 4-H groups across the country use the CGC as a beginning dog training program for children. If properly promoted and publicized, the official title of AKC CGC could really resonate with the general public and our elected officials. Growing the CGC is a worthwhile endeavor in increasing brand recognition for the AKC as well, and could prove vitally important in growing the sport of purebred dog shows and increasing responsible dog ownership in the process. For a list of where CGC tests will be held at AKC Events or in your community, or to contact a CGC evaluator in your area,
log on to http://www.akc.org/events/ cgc/cgc_schedule.cfm. Dogs are becoming increasingly more intertwined in the fabric of our lives and the need for responsible ownership and an acknowledged, leading authority in this area is needed. The AKC and the CGC just may fit the bill, as the ‘workload’ of the dog continues to evolve both in the US and abroad. If recent reports are any indication we may begin to see an increase of dogs in office spaces as well. “Office dogs” are believed to improve morale, encourage collaboration and limit stress in the workplace, and all at very little cost. According to a study conducted by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business that was published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, employees who bring their dog to the office can cap the amount of stress experienced during the day and improve job satisfaction for all. The therapeutic value of dogs has long been recognized by man and employed by many organizations. Dogs have long been comforting humans in hospitals, hospices, rest homes, funeral parlors, and disaster zones, and the United States now allows dogs in courts to help calm witnesses facing potentially traumatizing testimony. The interaction between dog and man — even just glancing at one another — can increase the levels of oxytocin, the “feel good” hormone that’s believed to bond breastfeeding mothers and their babies. Management Professor Randolph Barker monitored stress levels of employees at a retail and manufacturing business with a 14-year history of allowing dogs in the workplace. On some days up to 30 dogs were present among the 450550 employees, 76 of which were studied. Some of the 76 brought their dogs to work, others didn’t and others didn’t own dogs. While all the workers started the day with low baseline levels of the stress hormone cortisol, those who didn’t bring their dogs to work reported drastically higher levels of stress by the end of the workday. Those who had their dogs with them had low levels of stress throughout the day, and half of that group felt dogs were important to their level of productivity. Eighty per cent of the two groups without dogs felt that dogs in the workplace didn’t have a negative effect on productivity. All of the participants rated
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the company higher than the industry mean for job satisfaction and perceived organizational support. The dogs also reportedly sparked conversation amongst employees, increasing engagement. Barker told CNN, “We think dogs’ presence in the workplace may reduce stress for their owners, increase job satisfaction even for those without pets, and it may increase perceptions of organizational support. It’s a low-cost wellness intervention, or benefit, that’s available readily to any organization.” A separate experiment conducted by psychologists at Central Michigan University in 2010 sought to determine what impact the presence of a dog could have on teamwork. Groups of workers that had a dog in the room with them rated their colleagues higher in terms of trust, team cohesion and intimacy. Many large corporations are taking the value of dogs and their effect on their owners into consideration. Internet search engine Google describes itself as a “dog company” and allows dogs in the workplace, as does online retailer Amazon, though they must be leashed. These days health care has become a hot button topic and is on the minds of all, including employers and their employees. Now health care for employees’ pets is becoming a recruiting tool and a perk in some workplaces. A growing number of companies are providing pet health insurance as an incentive to workers and prospective employees. One in every three Fortune 500 corporations now offer Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) as a voluntary benefit. Employees who work for a company with VPI Pet Insurance are eligible for a 5% discount on their policy premium, with plans averaging $25 -$35 monthly and some as low as $14 a month. Many companies allow employees to pay their premiums through payroll deductions. Of course, if dogs are going to be entering the workplace with increasing regularity, they must be well-behaved. Perhaps a movement to mandate that all dogs in the workplace be CGC certified would protect employers and their employees, and swell the AKC coffers as well. The cost of obtaining a CGC certificate is eight dollars, and the cost of a CGC title when it becomes available in 2013 will be $20. If the owners of Chairman Kalter’s stated goal of 500,000 dogs performing annually in CGC paid for CGC titles, the program would yield $10 million dollars. If they only paid for certificates, the sum would be $4 million. According to an American Pet Products Association survey in 2011, 1.4 million owners take some 2.3 million dogs to work every day. If all owners – or their employers— paid for CGC certificates for those 2.3 million dogs in the workplace, the program would fetch $18.4 million. Even allergy sufferers in the office would have to agree, that’s nothing to sneeze at.