Of course the puppy scheme of the KCGCDS differs from the others in several important ways.

First of all it is age related and thus any dogs over 12 months is not eligible.

Secondly the examiner may also be the intructor.

Thirdly much of the assessment is often done on an ongoing basis if examined by the instructor.

Also it is possible to take the Bronze at Companion and Breed Shows.

Some clubs will accept candidates for the Silver and Gold PROVIDED they are comfortable with the temperament of the proposed dog.

So it is possible to participate in the scheme without going to a regular class for the Bronze, Silver and Gold, but of course there are never going to be classes to suit everyone at all times; just like any other activity.

My bull terrier passed her Gold award on Saturday, and yes i think it was worth it.
I think with a relatively obedient dog you can go through puppy, bronze & silver with ease.
But the Gold needs quite a bit more control, as there is more street walking, of lead work etc

I wish more people would do it.

Wow - that's really expensive!! Is that for one hour, once a week? Where I live (Birmingham) it ranges from about £3-£4.50 per hour long class. The only training I did that was different was SchH where I would have to pay £25 per month and I could turn up to as many training sessions as I liked out of a maximum of 12 - so better value for money the more often I attended.

So how do they pass at all then? If they're that bad during the test then don't teh examiners have a duty to fail them? Also, are the examiners not assessed to ensure they're all working to the same standards?

My 2 boys have done their gold, Jenzi has done her silver. I did it because I enjoy training them, not to get anythgin otu of it. The bronze and silver were relatively easy; the gold much hard. But with the examiner I had for Zane particularly I doubt I would have got away with any more than very few mistakes - he was very strict, didn't give anything away and really made us work hard for it.

Having said that I'm very lucky in that I have dogs who don't have any behavioural issues (that I'm aware of). They're very sociable with people and other dogs. they do play up when visitors come to the house though. We were making progress but I lapsed!
But when they're out and about in public they behave impeccably.

I think for the most part, it's down to an individual and how they choose to train their dogs. I doubt that if the KCGCS was compulsory that there would be fewer DA dogs about, for example.

Examiners DO have a duty to deem a candidate "not ready", not ALL examiners are assessed yet. It is still possible to examine if you are only a judge (of whatever canine discipline), dog warden or police dog handler.

The assessment scheme was brought in to provide some consistency but it is as yet not compulsory. I think it should be as I have seen tests where candidates were awarded passes which IMHO were not ready.

i had the thought, that as dog owners we should be lisenced,as well as the dogs,some kind training for humans who want dogs,maybe ,a dog who is lisenced should have lisenced owner,maybe certain lisence for certian types of dogs?humm any thoughts?

Well there did used to be dog licences here years ago and that in itself I don't believe would help....the owners didn't need a licence though. Atm a licence here is for breeders making enough money from it to be classed as a business. Licences would just turn into another tax/money maker imo, and I'm not particularly find of the idea of good owners forking out premiums whilst bad owners who already break the law with their dogs don't pay up....but from here I'm out of this one! (this conversation on licensing has been here a few times)

I think if they were able to take part, but if people were going to make it mandatory as part of getting a license they need to think about disabled owners or the elderly and if they are going to allow exemptions?

I 'd need to use a powerchair to take part in a class but I live in a village and its £25 for a wheelchair taxi into nearest town thats one way before I've even paid for the course/class! I also don't travel well in cars due to severe motion sickness from vestibular ataxia. I can't see many taxi drivers wanting to take me on regular basis if I was gonna throw up before we got out of the village!....most of them also don't like to take dogs.

Even people I know with Hearing Dogs are having problems with Taxi drivers, many asian claiming they are allergic to the dog and refusing to take them in the car.

I would go to one if it was near enough that I didn't need a car to get there and was accessible, just to socialise a dog with others. Though I'm usually behind as I can't hear the instructions and have to wait to see what others do so I know what to do. (used to go to class with Inca when she was young before I needed wheelchair).

As long as it wouldn't mean that the elderly or disabled weren't denied the pleasure of owning a pet on the grounds they couldn't manage to take part in classes, I think it's a good option for those able to take part, particularly for a first time dog owner.