AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, the recently unveiled puppy level of the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, is designed to reward owners who have taken the time to take their puppies to a puppy or basic training class at least 6 weeks long.
"STAR" is an acronym for Socialization, Training, Activity, and a Responsible owner, all the things every puppy needs. AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy is open to purebred and mixed breed dogs and the program defines ‘puppy’ as a dog up to the age of 1 year old.
Here's how AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy works
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Owners take their puppies to a training class (at least 6 weeks long) taught by an AKC Approved CGC Evaluator.
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The evaluators plan their puppy classes and use their own training methods. The AKC CGC department provides support materials such as “Lessons for a Puppy’s People” that will be on the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy webpage. These lessons (that will be added to over time) are brief talking points that an instructor can use at the beginning of the class to give a 5-minute lesson to the humans.
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After training and observing the puppy for at least 6 weeks in the course, the evaluator administers the 20-item AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy test in class. As in CGC, owners are given the paperwork to enroll in the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy program.
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Benefits to enrolling in AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy
Enrolling in AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy means the puppy is listed in the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy records.
In addition, the owner receives:
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A gorgeous gold olympics-style medal with the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy logo
- An attractive, frameable AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy certificate
- An AKC Puppy Handbook; This 64 page booklet is full of information on raising puppies. What to expect each week during the first year, housetraining, crate training, and grooming tips are just some of the many topics.
- Discount enrollment in AKC Companion Animal Recovery
- Subscription to our monthly email newsletter that includes training tips and other valuable information
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The difference between AKC Canine Good Citizen and the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy program?
The main difference in AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy and CGC is that CGC can be a one time test (at a dog show, as class graduation, etc.) and AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy is done at the end of a training course by the instructor who has been observing the puppy for at least 6 weeks.
AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy should NOT be used for admission to therapy dog groups, etc.
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