My Journey through the Pandemic Via Trick Dogs

by Glenna MacLeod

This article is not meant to be a lesson on how to obtain a trick dog Championship.  It is just the tale of my journey with with my dogs, during the summer of 2020.  I am not a professional dog trainer, a breeder or a writer, as you will probably guess before the end of this article.  I am a Canadian, senior, who loves playing and working with her dogs every day.  I’ve always loved the company of my dogs, but never before have I relied on them so much for my well being.  Thanks to them,  I sailed through the first 6 months of this pandemic, staying up-beat and accomplishing more than I could imagine all because they were constantly at my side helping me stay active, focused and therefore, healthy.  Yes, I had other plans for my dogs which were to start in March, but like everyone else in the world those plans were quickly dashed and plan B had to be implemented.  First of all, I had to find plan B.  

I have two dogs.  Garnet, is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, aka TDCH. Ch. Roaneden’s Rare Gem CD, TD, RE, CGN.   He turned 7 in October and is one of the most athletic and intelligent dogs I’ve ever met.  He learns quickly, often too quickly, fooling me into cutting corners with his training which inevitably comes back to haunt our progress.  He’s a serious boy who doesn’t really enjoy a lot of fuss, but he’s game for any activity at anytime so he’s lots of fun as long as the energy level stays high.  

Dazzle is a Golden Retriever.  She just turned 4 in December.  She is also known as TDCH.Amberview I’m the Real Deal CD, RI, CGN.  Dazzle often acts as the class clown.  Nothing is taken seriously and although she is certainly clever enough it can be frustrating working through her antics and crazy behavior.  A Blooper movie could be made from Dazzle’s training antics!  It’s hard not to laugh at her while we are supposed to be doing some serious training!  Dazzle loves everybody and expects everybody to love her!   No exceptions.  

Both dogs had been obedience training during  winter 2019/2020 and Garnet was ready for the Open trials in the spring;  but we all know what happened then.  I had him entered in a trial at the end March and as it was cancelled I moved him to the next, and then the next…by that time it was obvious that this season in the dog world was not going to happen as planned.  Even though we were always busy with various disciplines I did not like the thought of training the same obedience routines for another year as not just the dogs, but I personally would become very bored.  

Many times the Domorewithyourdog information had popped up on my computer screen, but each time without paying much attention I would delete it, assuming it was not something I would be interested in persuing.  I was challenged enough with basic obedience, trying to keep the attention of my dogs while training them through their routines.  I have attended classes and enjoyed clinics and seminars in many different disciplines, but never have I bothered training “tricks”.  That said, I decided to check out the Trick titles and much to my surprise I found plan B!  I admit to being a trophy collector.  I like a prize at the end of the day and with the trick titles I had something to train towards and ultimately end up with titles for my dogs!  Better still all this could be done without leaving home.  Social Distancing at it’s finest! 

The journey was not without it’s challenges.  The Trick Dog Titles must be videod and then sent to an evaluator for grading.  There are 4 levels, Novice, Intermediate, Advance & Expert followed by  a separate Championship level.  These must be completed in order, but it isn’t necessary to complete all five.  You can stop wherever you like. 

For me the first obstacle meant I had to find someone to video my exercises.  So, first mistake, I asked my husband…  This meant accommodating his schedule and his rules i.e. no wasting time, let’s get out there and get it done.  NO STRESS THERE!!! Somehow we got through the Novice takes, but if the marriage was to last and the dogs were to survive in good mental condition  the videographer had to go. Strike One!  Next,  my Granddaughter said she would do the videoing only it had to be on her phone so I didn’t have any control over what was happening after she left the property and I wanted to see the results immediately.  Strike two!  Somehow I had to find a way to retain complete control, so I bought a Tripod!  The best $25 I spent all summer!  This made the production so much easier.  When the dog was ready, when I was ready and when the weather cooperated the camera rolled!  It was so much fun!  The pressure was off and because I was more relaxed so were the dogs.  Working alone and being responsible for the entire production,  meant a short sequence was actually fairly lengthy by the time I set up, positioned the camera, started it rolling , returned with the dog and ran through the routine and then returned to the camera to shut everything down.  Once I got the hang of things I was usually able to manage with only one take, but the learning curve did have it’s glitches.  More than once while filming  I cut off my own head, ran out of the frame, caused a technical error or gave the dog the wrong command.  One time I even filmed the wrong dog!  Less often it was a dog who caused the need for a second take.  This happened when the non-performing dog would wander into the scene so he or she could help with the trick!  The next challenge was editing.   I had to get these videos which included too much unnecessary footage at the start and finish, down to a precise, informative clip complete with captions and title pages!   Thanks to a friend who told me my computer probably had built in editing I was able to find an amazing app and then teach myself to be an editor!  Again…so much fun!  By the time I made 5 videos for each dog I was getting pretty good.  In the future I will be filming myself working with the dogs.  This is something I’m not sure I really want to see, but I think it will be a very helpful learning tool. 

Of course the main part of the getting a trick title is working with the dogs.  My dogs were stars! I am so proud of them.  Time after time they gave me oscar worthy performances often involving challenges that they had never before encountered and probably never will again.  Never were they put in an unsafe place, but they were asked to do things outside of their everyday comfort zone.  I could tell that as we worked through these routines their trust in me was growing.  I’m sure if they could have raised their eyebrows they would have, but without question they followed my instruction, enjoying the attention and ultimately had a good time learning.  Treats for jobs well done didn’t hurt either.   It soon became obvious that they each had their favourite kind of trick and on the downside they had tricks that caused them to give me a look that said “we aren’t going to do that again, right?”.  On the days we ventured back to basic obedience practice I could almost see their expressions saying “is this it?  that was so easy”.    

Garnet and Dazzle weren’t the only ones learning on this journey.  This was new territory for me as well and boy did I make mistakes!  I had no idea how to train for some of these things and because many of the tricks required props I also had to find or build them too.  The props included boxes and platforms, hoola hoops, frisbees, balls, mail and purses to be carried, flower pots for the shell game, ice cream containers, suitcases and boxes for scent work, walking canes to jump over, tap lights and so much more. They were both very forgiving when occasionally I would tell them, that we were abandoning an idea as it wasn’t working, so we were going to try something else.  All the crazy stuff was just part of the fun we were having and they didn’t seem to know or care if it was right or wrong as long as we were together and having fun.  All along it was trial and error.  If something worked, beauty!  if not, chalk it up to a learning experience.  

The few times I did reject tricks weren’t complete losses as we usually learned something during the effort.  Never did I have to change a plan because the dog was unable to figure out what I needed him or her to do.  Occasionally, it was a technical problem that I was unable to rectify.  This happened early on in the training when I decided Garnet would walk on a rolling barrel.  I had a heavy, metal, 45 gallon drum that had previously been used as a horse jump.  It took some effort on my part to roll the barrel into camera range, but no problem whatsoever to get Garnet to jump  onboard!  He’s always the ready and willing partner.  After several jumps on and off the barrel getting familiar with it’s surface it was time for him to start rolling forward.  Garnet isn’t a big dog and try as he might that barrel wouldn’t roll without me helping it along! To make matters worse, even though we were working in the shade of a tree the temperature was very high and the barrel was getting hot to the touch. Scratch that idea!  A second rejected trick was one I planned for Dazzle who we affectionately call “Thunder Paws” because of the way she runs to us, paws flying when she is excited.  The idea was to have her jump through my arms which I would hold in a circle shape in front of my body.  To Dazzle any excuse to get close to her human is a good thing, but she isn’t the most graceful or agile mover!  After a few attempts by her to clear through the space I created it became apparent that I would be lucky to escape with my head still on my shoulders or at least without my nose being broken so that trick was exchanged for one less threatening to me!  Many of my home-made props, while not dangerous certainly didn’t have the lovely look of professional agility equipment.  For one of the tricks I managed to find two boards of similar width and length to use in our double beam balance walk.  One board was quite sturdy and had very little spring as the dogs navigated it.  The other board was just the opposite!  It bounced up and down like a slack line!  One end of the boards was placed on our well top and the other was supported by a car hoist.  Sturdy and safe, but not pretty.  Once again, both dogs managed super well while traversing this obstacle even though their gaits seemed more than slightly lopsided!  Further along in our journey Dazzle used the same boards to do a special balance beam routine for one of her more advanced tricks!    
Back in the spring when I first decided to attempt the trick titles I thought I would probably only train for the Novice title.  I checked on YouTube for some idea of what I could expect and I was totally blown away by the amazing work of many dogs and their handlers.  It was an incredibly intimidating education and just watching them was so humbling.   I had no idea how to proceed to achieve this level of skill.  Using my limited obedience skills allowed Garnet, Dazzle and I to move through the Novice and Intermediate titles fairly quickly.  By the time we had accomplished that and it became apparent that time was on our side as the dog world wasn’t opening up so I decided to keep pushing on.  Overall it took the better part of 6 months to put Trick Dog Championship titles on both dogs, but I’m so happy we stuck it out!  It opened so many doors for us.  Basic stays improved as they waited patiently for the “next command”.  Their thought process improved thanks to learning “chain behaviors” where they were required to think through several steps after being given only one cue.  Their confidence levels boosted to a new high just because the training they experienced was so unique.  Most importantly, they loved the idea of working “tricks” and would gleefully run to the cabinet on  our porch where the props and toys were kept in anticipation of training and therefore having lots of fun.  In September when both dogs’ Championship titles had been confirmed was the first time during the pandemic I actually felt a real letdown.  I knew my husband and I were among the most fortunate as we are retired and secure in our lifestyle.  Still, after several months of continuous activity with the dogs almost everyday, I experienced a mild crash when the process ended.  The trick training had been an integral part of my daily routine for so long.  Thankfully, once again the dogs came to my rescue.  For them life continued on and they insisted I accompany them.  We have taken a break from the serious training, but we are still having loads of fun and I for one am looking forward to getting back out to trials this year.  Venturing into the world of dog tricks reinforced in me the need to keep an open mind about everything in life.  You never know when you’ll have to make a change so you had better be ready.  It’s also nice if you have amazing fur partners to share the journey.  Garnet and Dazzle, Thank you for being there for me at a time when I really needed you both.  You are the best!