Good Companion Awards
The APDT Good Companion Awards have been carefully designed to help dog guardians attain an award for being good companions to their dogs and their dogs to them.
Your assessor will be a current full member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in the UK, and as such, they will abide by the code of practice by which the association is bound.
These exercises can be assessed at any time during the training course and can be attempted as many times as is deemed appropriate within a six-week limit. The assessor will ask questions throughout; details of the areas of knowledge that will be drawn upon can be found in the ‘Guardian Information Pack’.
GCA Award Levels
Puppy
The Puppy award is suitable for all puppies under the age of seven months at completion.
Foundation
The Foundation award is suitable for all dogs over the age of six months at the start.
Improver
Improver award is available for all dogs who have successfully completed the Puppy or Foundation award.
Intermediate
The Intermediate award is suitable for all dogs who have successfully completed the Improver award.
Advanced
The Advanced award is suitable for all dogs who have successfully completed the Intermediate award.
GCA Exercise Examples
The Puppy Award is suitable for all puppies under the age of seven months at completion. Your instructor will go through each of the exercises listed below. You may be assessed over a period of up to six weeks, either during your one-to-one sessions or during your usual classes. Your instructor will explain how they plan to do this for you. Questions will be asked throughout the assessment on the material provided in the ‘Guardian Information Pack’. This is not a formal examination but enables your instructor to see your level of understanding. All assessments must follow the APDT Code of Practice, which may be found here.
The Foundation award is suitable for all dogs over the age of six months at the start. Your instructor will go through each of the exercises listed below. You may be assessed over a period of up to six weeks, either during your one-to-one sessions or during your usual classes. Your instructor will explain how they plan to do this for you. There will be questions asked throughout the assessment on the material provided in the ‘Guardian Information Pack’. This is not a formal examination, but enables your instructor to see your level of understanding. All assessments must follow the APDT Code of Practice, which may be found here.
Improver award is available for all dogs who have successfully completed the Puppy or Foundation award. Your instructor will go through each of the exercises listed below. You may be assessed over a period of up to six weeks, either during your one-to-one sessions or during your usual classes. Your instructor will explain how they plan to do this for you. There will be questions asked throughout the assessment on the material provided in the ‘Guardian Information Pack’. This is not a formal examination, but enables your instructor to see your level of understanding. All assessments must follow the APDT Code of Practice, which may be found here.
The Intermediate award is suitable for all dogs who have successfully completed the Improver award. Your instructor will go through each of the exercises listed below with the goal being a pass as shown in the table. You may be assessed over a period of up to six weeks, either during your one-to-one sessions or during your usual classes. Your trainer will explain how they plan to do this for you. There will be questions asked throughout the assessment on the material provided in the ‘Guardian Information Pack’.. This is not a formal examination, but enables your instructor to see your level of understanding. There are two sections to the award, the first section is compulsory, the second lists a number of exercises from which you choose three to attempt, in consultation with your instructor. All assessments must follow the APDT Code of Practice, which may be found here.
In consultation with your instructor you should be assessed on three of the options shown in the table below. These exercises are tasters of fun activities you can do with your dog. All assessments must follow the APDT Code of Practice, which may be found here
The Advanced award is suitable for all dogs who have successfully completed the Intermediate award. Your instructor will go through each of the exercises listed below with the goal being a pass as shown in the table. You may be assessed over a period of up to six weeks, either during your one-to-one sessions or during your usual classes. Your instructor will explain how they plan to do this for you. There will be questions asked throughout the assessment on the material provided in the ‘Guardian Information Pack’. This is not a formal examination, but enables your instructor to see your level of understanding. There are two sections to the award, the first section is compulsory, the second lists a number of exercises from which you choose three to attempt, in consultation with your instructor. All assessments must follow the APDT Code of Practice, which may be found here.
In consultation with your instructor you should be assessed on three of the options shown in the table below. These exercises are tasters of fun activities you can do with your dog. All assessments must follow the APDT Code of Practice, which may be found here
