Other Dog Programs

If your dog has been through our program, you can bring him or her by and we will trim their nails. 

There is no need to schedule with groomers who are already booked solid. 

We charge $25 for a nail trim, or you can buy a punch card for 10 nail trims for $200.

If you would like to bring your dog in for a nail trim, reach out to Lainey at the Bismarck location or Ez at the Fargo location.  

This class will be taught by one of our in-house AKC Approved CGC Evaluators, so you can do the practice and the test without needing to hunt down a test administrator. This program is open enrolment, and you do not need to attend each week, though it is encouraged. Classes will be held at local pet friendly stores, and you will be notified of the exact location prior to the class day. You can take this class as many times as you need until you and your dog are ready to take the test. CGC Classes are offered in Bismarck every Monday at 6:00 PM and Fargo every Thursday at 7:30 P.M.

The test is $25. Upon passing, you may request your certificate from the AKC for $25, you may also choose to earn your CGC as an official AKC title at that time if you wish.

What can I do with a CGC certificate?

A CGC certification is a prerequisite for many therapy dog programs, it is also a great start for many dog sports such as Rally, Obedience Trials, or Agility. A CGC certificate may also help you when applying for rental housing or insurance as the CGC certificate often indicates a lower risk compared to an untested dog.

There are no breed, size or age restrictions for dogs to go through the program and take the test. We also do not require the dog to have gone through one of our training programs prior to the class. However, any dog who has not been through our program will be asked to come to the facility and demonstrate their current skills to prove they are ready for the class.

The CGC test will be focused on 10 skills that we will practice during the class sessions. 

1. Accepting a friendly stranger 

2. Sitting politely for petting. 

3. Appearance and Grooming, the dog will welcome being groomed and examined and will permit someone, such as a veterinarian, groomer or friend of the owner, to do so. 

4. Walk on a loose leash. 

5. Walking through a crowd and prove that they can behave politely around pedestrians and is under control in public places. 

6. “Sit” & “Down” on command and stay in place.

7. Coming when called.

8. Reaction to another dog. The dog will remain neutral, under control and polite when seeing and passing another dog in public.

9. Reaction to distraction. The dog is confident when faced with common distracting situations. For example loud sounds such as a dropping chair, a rolling dolly, a runner / jogger passing by or a cane or crutch being dropped.

10. Supervised separation. The dog can handle being left with a trusted person and will remain under control even when their owner is out sight for a period of time.

For more details about the test and expanded descriptions of the exercises above, please visit http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

To schedule for this program please reach out to marina@elevatecanine.com for the Bismarck location and ez@elevatecanine.com for the Fargo location

Children make up the largest population segment of reported dog bites, and it is typically from a dog that the child knows.  

This happens for several reasons:

• Kids don't respect a dog's boundaries when they want to be left alone. 
• Children don't respect a resource such as a toy or food and will mess with the dog while the dog is guarding the resource.
• Kids typically are very high energy and some dogs don't do well with that type of energy around them.  

In this program, we come in and talk to kids about the proper way to interact with dogs. We provide a coloring book that talks about how we should interact with the dog. We also demonstrate with a dog the proper way to interact with the dog.

If you are interested in this program, please reach out to laura@elevatecanine.com.