AKC Virtual titles (Manners, Tricks, Scent Work)
Tricks are FUN and the AKC has a program to earn a Trick Dog titles! Jake earned Trick Dog and Stunt Dog titles through Do More With Your Dog so I know how much fun they can be to do.
MANNERS!! (titles earned in August of 2022)
Before we can do tricks, however, it's important to learn MANNERS! The AKC has Virtual Home Manners titles that ease a dog into the Trick Dog (5 levels of titles) and the Canine Good Citizen programs (CGC, CGCA, CGCU) with two levels of titles:
- Virtual Home Manners Puppy (VHMP) (Link to video) (View certificate)
- Virtual Home Manners Adult (VHMA) (Link to video) (View certificate)
The puppy title was videotaped by Jackie K at the Winnegamie Dog Club and it went well. It was so easy that I decided to video the adult title at home and submit it to her. Jackie is an evaluator for these titles plus the Trick Dog and Canine Good Citizen titles.
TRICKS!!
With the Manners titles behind us, I looked at the list of novice tricks and choose the following which I videotaped and submitted!
- Balance beam (walk on low board a few inches off floor)
- Fetch it and give (ball, toy, etc- bring to handler, release)
- Get in (gets in box)
- Get on (gets on low platform or step - 4 paws)
- Hand signals (down, sit, or come)
- Jump (thru a low hoop or over a low bar)
- Kennel up (go in crate, stay in until released)
- Spin in circle
- Touch it (hand or target stick)
- Tunnel (agility tunnel or child’s tunnel)
On to intermediate skills and I choose the following to work on:
- Balance on ball or foam exercise peanut
- Fetch it (20 ft. away and deliver to hand)
- Go to your place (to bed/mat, crate from 10 ft.)
- Hand signals (Sit, down, come, stand. Total of 3.)
- Heeling with automatic sit
- Pull a toy on a string or rope
- Teeter totter (may use agility equip. in Intermediate)
- Wobble board
- Other: Handler’s choice #1:_Figure 8 around barrels
- Other: Handler’s choice #2:__ agility hoops
And just like that he got the Trick Dog Intermediate (TKI) title!! (Link to videos) (View certificate)
More as it happens... most likely when the weather turns cold!