Tricks Class is a fun class for people who want to engage with their dogs and have fun! It also helps with play, focus, and targeting skills. We will work toward learning the skills listed in the American Kennel Club (AKC) Trick Dog titles. Most of these skills come from other AKC sports like Agility, Obedience, and Rally. There are no drills or required outcomes in this class. You will be able to test for AKC Trick titles during the last class. You and your dog will pick the tricks you want to focus on from the skills presented.

These skills can also be used in other Trick venues like Do More with Your Dog and “Dog Scouts.” You can use your Tricks skills to exercise your dog, impress your friends and family, and entertain people during Therapy Dog visits. They are also useful if you want to audition for performing arts or commercial work.

Prerequisites:

• Dogs and handlers should have completed a previous basic dog class.
• Dogs should have familiarity with the basics such as Come, Sit, Down, Stay, Leash Walking, etc. The dogs don’t have to know these perfectly, but the handler must be able to control the dog on a leash.

Equipment:

You will need a regular collar or harness for the dog (no chokes or chains) and a 6 foot leash.

Please bring to each class more treats of great value to your dog than you think you will need. Treats should be small, non-crumbly, easy to swallow, and about the size of a pea (smaller for tiny dogs). Examples of treats dogs like include hot dogs, string cheese, cooked chicken, leftover pot roast, peanut butter, Cheerios, Vienna sausage, or lunch meat. You may also wish to invest in a can of spray cheese and/or about ½ cup of peanut butter. Aldi usually has the Vienna sausages and canned cheese for low prices. You will need to keep the treats in an easily accessible pocket or in a training pouch for easy access – no sandwich bags that can rip!

Please bring a toy your dog really, really loves – preferably one it will hold in its mouth and play with.

Please bring items your dog needs for comfort such as water and a bowl.

You will want to bring an old towel or small blanket to the first few classes for target training purposes.

As class proceeds, you may wish to provide your own props for your dog's tricks. Most props can easily be constructed using existing household items, garage sale finds, or Dollar Tree purchases. Examples include things like hula hoops, children’s pull toys, Kleenex boxes, post-it notes, Easter baskets, and empty popcorn tins. This is not a class that requires expensive purchases. During the learning phase, your dog needs to be able to happily destroy some items!



The price listed below does not include sales tax.