What you will need for the Trick School

Unlike some activities, teaching your dog to perform a wide array of tricks does not require access to, or investment in specialised or expensive equipment. It is possible to teach a trick to a dog in most environments and using toys you may well already own (sorry, I mean that your dog already owns!) or objects that are close to hand.

During this course we will be using a variety of items, for example:

• A Clicker. I do advise to use a clicker but, it is not mandatory – These are easy to find on Amazon or e-bay.
• Various objects for your dog to hold such as:
  • Plastic Spoon
  • Metal Spoon
  • Assorted toys
  • Dumbbell
• Plastic Pots
• The plastic lid from a yoghurt pot, or something similar
• The plastic lid from a fizzy drinks bottle
• An electronic Quiz Buzzer (at least one) – The ones we use in some of the videos are similar to these:

• A low Yoga block, Block of Wood, or a footstool. These should be no higher than your dog’s wrist
• A cupboard door (we all have one!); Not that for ease of videoing we will be using a metallic dog crate with a door instead when teaching the trick that requires this.

Without a doubt you will be using lots of treats throughout this course. As you do not want to overfeed your dog, you will need to take the food allowance for the training out of the daily food allowance of your dog.

You may find a Treat Pouch useful for your training sessions. The treats you use need to be easily accessible when you need to reward your dog, so you maintain your dog’s focus. If possible, I would advise using a pouch similar to the ones below.