TRICK DOG:
Fun Training and Official CKC and AKC Titles!
This is a fun way to do more with your dogs in a semi-structured way. There
are some really fun ideas presented below, which will increase
bonding with your dog and they will love it! For example, do you think your welshie could roll a barrel ? Lisa initially didn't expect this, but with a bit of training, Chanté is definitely rolling this barrel.... click here to check this out!
I got introduced to the "Trick Dog" sport from a couple of Darwyn Welsh Terrier owners (Lisa with Chanté, and Peggy with Rowan). Both have gone on to do official Trick Dog titles. They have been very helpful to understand the titling process, and provided personal examples that I am sharing below (thank you both!). I have provided a short bio of them at the bottom of this page. They have never met in person, and live in different countries, but their 3 year old welshies are littermates! And, as of 2019, both of these ladies have put the Expert Level Title on their dogs. Rowan and Chanté are 2 (out of a total of 3) that had Expert Trick Dog titles on Welsh Terriers!
Peggy has provided links to her detailed video submissions, which I have included below. They are really cool to watch, and if there was ever any doubt that Welsh Terriers could not be trained, well, watching Rowan complete these tricks and exercises, with full enthusiasm and great spirit, those doubts would be immediately erased.
Honestly, this stuff that people are doign with their dogs not only looks like a lot of fun, for both the dogs and the people involved, but it's helping to bond with them and use brains (both theirs and ours).
Welsh Terriers are very smart, they love to learn, and the more they learn, the more connected to you they become.
Click here to find out more on -- DO MORE WITH YOUR DOG:
The original organization that started "Trick Dog" is Do More with Your Dog (DMWYD). The AKC (American Kennel Club) and CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) recognize the DMWYD titles, and will provide you with an official title to go on your pedigree. As well as recognizing the DMWYD title, the AKC also allows you to get a title by going to a 'testing event', usually held in conjunction with a conformation show.DMWYD organization allows you to do the tricks at home, or wherever you
want! They need you to video your dog doing the tricks with your submission.
DMWYD titles can then be converted to AKC (and also CKC) titles, to be attached to your dogs AKC pedigree for a small fee.
Each title obtained for DMWYD costs about $25 US, and you submit by video. A wonderful thing about DMWYD is that you can do these tricks
from anywhere, and you and your dog get multiple chances to do the trick. You don't have to go to a special testing site and you don't have
to wait around all day until it is your turn to test.
I have put in links below of Peggy's submissions to DMWYD on Welsh Terrier "Rowan" exercises.
Making this easier, also helps you work more with your dog. This fun stuff makes for a better dog to live with, and gives you more bonding time. The DMWYD tricks are, in many ways, foundation items for different dog sports, including Agility, Obedience, Nose Work, Barn Hunt, etc.
'Do More With Your Dog!' is the motto of founder Kyra Sundance. Whether through sport, tricks, or companionship, she encourages the integration of your dog into more areas of your life. Dogs have a way of making the activities we share with them more fun, and by giving them training, we allow them to participate in more areas of our life.
Above is Welsh Terrier Filly (Darwyn's Flying Filly) practicing her Skateboard skills with her owner Laurie.
Click these links below for some cool videos - they are Peggy's video submissions for Welsh Terrier Rowan's Trick Dog Titles:
Some really FUN (and funny) stuff in here. In the advanced trick dog submission, Peggy has us think that it's all about obedience routines - then she throws in a "Go to Sleep" trick and just wows us! I know that sounds a bit silly, but it shows that training doesn't have to be serious, it is also FUN and silly! Why not have a bit of fun in life.Click here for Rowan's Novice Trick Dog Title Submission
(password: tricks)Click here for Rowan's Advanced Trick Dog Title Submission
(password: tricks)Click here for Rowan's Intermediate Trick Dog Title Submission
(password: tricks)Click here for Rowan's Experts Trick Title Submission
(password: tricks)Peggy lives and teaches Rally-O in Edmonton Alberta .... if anyone is interested in working with her (she is super knowledgeable, and extremely patient), please go to her Facebook Page called RallyO Classes with Peggy. She runs small classes and doesn't promote her top skills very widely, but believe me, she is extremely knowledgeable, patient and really understands how our breed (and terriers in general) think.
The Welsh Terrier featured above is Peggy's boy Rowan.
Rowan's titles (December 2019):
Darwyn Gwyddon; SE, SD-A, TEAM1 & ETD. Senior Earthdog CKC, Advanced Scent Detection from SDDA, TEAM from Fenzi Dog Sports, Expert Trick Dog (ETD)
List of the Tricks that qualify (from the DMWYD site):
EXPERT TRICK DOG TITLE ... You also can do it - it's definitely achievable!
Both Rowan and Chanté (see below) have their "Expert" Trick Dog titles. In fact, there are only 3 Welsh Terriers (Dec/2019) that have attained this level, and 2 out of the 3 are bred by Darwyn (I am SO proud) especially since I am a small hobby breeder.PEGGY: Which "tricks" did Welsh Terrier Rowan do to get his Expert Title?
Rowan had so much to choose from, but we chose to use stuff from a few different areas of our training. We used scent articles (Utility Obedience Training), double balance beam, weave poles (Agility), container search (Scent Work), pivot-backup-left turn- sidestep (Rally-O). Covered all our bases (except Earthdog!), and it let me teach a new trick. Honestly, building the balance beams took me longer than teaching the trick! Rowan immediately hopped up on them as I was finishing and walked back and forth! He has so much history of learning new stuff, and he’s so confident on equipment that he’s making up his own tricks!
LISA: Which "tricks" did Welsh Terrier Chanté do to get her Expert Title?
For the Expert title - Chanté did the Double Balance Beam, Nose Work Box Search, Roll the Barrel, Skateboard with 3-4 Paws, Shell Game (paw at correct pail). BONUS is that if you have an AKC performance title - i.e.. Nose Work, Barn Hunt, Agility, Earth Dog, Rally-O, etc. it also counts as one expert trick!
A bit about Lisa and Peggy with Chanté and Rowan:
The 2 Darwyn Welsh Terrier Owners who achieved the Trick Dog Expert level title, own littermates. What they have in common is that they both love to see their dogs use their brain, train through positive feedback, and learn things little by little (shaping behavior) and watch them develop.
Peggy and Rowan live in Edmonton Alberta (Canada):
Peggy also teaches, is a "subject matter expert" (both in training and in dealing with difficult dogs, including many terriers), and has a lot of patience both with people and the dogs. You can connect directly by going to her Facebook Page which is RallyO Classes with Peggy
Welsh Terrier Rowan, aka, Darwyn Gwyddon, has a bunch of titles ... as of Dec 2019 include: SE, SD-A, TEAM1 & ETD. Senior Earthdog CKC, Advanced Scent Detection from SDDA, TEAM from Fenzi Dog Sports, Expert Trick Dog (ETD).
Over the years, Peggy usually lives with 2 terriers, one Welsh and one Airedale. Rowan is her 3rd Welsh and 2nd one from Darwyn. Her previous boy Dylan was involved in a bunch of different dog sports and ended up with over 40 official titles at the back of his name. I find Peggy to be very calculated in her approach of training. She has proven to be a big believer in ongoing simple training, building on what the dog knows and what you want to teach them. She is a proactive trainer and focuses on shaping behavior. I don't know everything that Rowan has learned in his 3.5 years of age, but I know that it is many things, across the spectrum from basic life community skills to advanced obedience (what I think of as advanced obedience at least!). Some really amazing stuff. And, Peggy doesn't like to brag, so I need to always pull this out of her. I only wish we lived closer so she could be my personal trainer.
Some of you may have seen me do the HIGH FIVE with my Champion Boy, Robbie ..... I learned how to teach that move from Peggy. I actually first taught my girl Chanté that "trick" long before she went to live with Lisa and Tom. I just wanted to do something different, so I reached out to Peggy ... she made a short video, taught her boy Rowan how to do it one morning, and sent me the video with detailed steps. It worked! Chanté, and a couple of years later, Robbie, learned that move very quickly. When I ask them to do a High Five, it looks like they smile and then enthusiastically do it. We love it! Thank you Peggy for helping me see that training fun tricks is easy and fun for both the owner and their dog..
.....
Lisa and Chanté live in S. California.
Welsh Terrier Chanté, aka, American Champion Darwyn's Enchanté; titles as of Dec 2019 include: CGC, Barn Hunt Novice (RATN), Expert Trick Dog (ETD, or TKP under the AKC title scheme), CHIC
Chanté is her 3rd Welsh Terrier, but her 1st one that she has done formal training and titles with. In the two years that they have had Chanté (they got her from me when Chanté was 15 months old ) Lisa has been active in training her for regular life stuff, as well as mixing in some Trick Dog, Canine Good Citizen (CGC), Barn Hunt, Lure Coursing through FastCAT, some fun agility and very active in the sport of Nose Work through the NACSW. Given that Chanté is her first dog that she does competitions with, the partnership work that they have developed together is just wonderful to watch. Thank you Lisa for taking the initial work that I did with Chanté and building on it with the smart dog you have today.
It'll be fun to watch where Lisa and Chanté go in their training in the years to come.
Some "tricks" that you can teach your dog can be as simple as which way to "tilt" their head. Laurie has been teaching Filly (Darwyn's Flying Filly; CA, NS) to tilt her head either to the left or right, depending on what sound Laurie makes. A little silly, but it is getting Filly to use her brain, getting Filly and Laurie connecting with each other and it's fun. She's also teaching her a lot of other things too, another simple one is getting Filly to "wave". Here are a couple of cute photos of her doing these things.
And, of course, the HIGH FIVE, is a favorite here at Darwyn Welsh Terriers! Here is Chanté doing this with her new owner Lisa, but was my very first dog that I taught the High Five too. Until doing this, I had no idea I could do that!
Remember, doing more with your dog will increase their happiness, and strengthen your bond with them. The above are just some examples of the ways to do that.