# "Trick Dog" Title?



## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Does your dog have a 'NTD' or higher? What did you do to obtain it? 

Toby and I are going through an online thing now to get our NTD title.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Kylie did the novice and intermediate ... gosh, over 18 months ago now. I'd have to go back and look at the applications to remember exactly what I did for them versus what we just did, but I definitely remember it being a lot of fun and being all proud of myself and those certificates. It was kind of addictive, even.


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

I remember this. I liked the concept but saw you have pay a pretty hefty penny for the titles and certificates. Gypsy would be pretty much through the program without much additional training, and I didn't want to drop the money. I'm cheap. Haha.

I love being motivated to teach new tricks, though. There's a great page called Tricks & Training on FB that I highly recommend if you need some trick inspiration. No titles or certificates, but a LOT of fun.


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

Isn't that the one attached to the Kyra Sundance book? Or does it have more significance?


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

chimunga said:


> Isn't that the one attached to the Kyra Sundance book? Or does it have more significance?


 That's the group we're going through to get our titles. "Do more with your dog" - the fee is only $20USD so I'm pretty pumped! Toby can do everything in the first weeks course, but I have no muffin tins right now as we're moving the 7th and they're already at the new house.


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Yes the Trick Dog Title is from Kyra Sundance's training company. You can even become a certified trick dog trainer, and your dog can earn the ultimate title (I don't remember what it's actually called), for which you need to film your dog and yourself to prove that you are doing everything by the book.

I have been meaning to get Meeko titled in this. He would pass the intermediate stuff easy at this point. I just haven't bothered because it's such a hassle (you can't do it online, only by mail) blah.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

I used to follow their fb page, but unliked them when they started getting really anal with the requirements, like not allowed to have treats on your body while doing the tricks and various other weird stuff.

I also don't like that a lot of the tricks are only explained in the book, so you have to buy the book to do a lot of the tricks.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

Time well wasted. Seriously.

Teaching general behaviours like sit, stay, recall, llw etc is the backbone of the dog/human relationship, for sure. But going above and beyond by teaching 'meaningless' tricks? that's the cow's moo moo, in my opinion.

I say put up with the fees and any idiosyncrasies in the administrative dep't, if there are any. Dog and handler having fun and furthering the bond is the name of the game in my books. Plus you'll probably become a better trainer on the general behavior end of things. Therein lies the bonus.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

I love training Toby. This is our entry for this weeks required behaviors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln6HpiojCFQ
Needs a little shaping, and he was a little distracted, but all in all he did well and I'm happy with the results. We have the behaviors now and just need to work on them more to get them going a little quicker. 
Had to use my webcam as my canon and tripod are also at the new house... sorry for the bum quality.

(Also, FTR - I don't usually use so many treats but I was trying to pace myself and ask the behaviors slower than I normally would, so treating after every behavior was my way of pacing him - and myself)


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

petpeeve said:


> Time well wasted. Seriously.
> 
> Teaching general behaviours like sit, stay, recall, llw etc is the backbone of the dog/human relationship, for sure. But going above and beyond by teaching 'meaningless' tricks? that's the cow's moo moo, in my opinion.
> 
> I say put up with the fees and any idiosyncrasies in the administrative dep't, if there are any. Dog and handler having fun and furthering the bond is the name of the game in my books. Plus you'll probably become a better trainer on the general behavior end of things. Therein lies the bonus.


Eh. That's not fair. Silly titles are fun.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

chimunga said:


> Eh. That's not fair. Silly titles are fun.


I think you read her post wrong. I did too the first time I read it but she's in support of it.


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

CptJack said:


> I think you read her post wrong. I did too the first time I read it but she's in support of it.


You're right. I did. What in the world does "the cows moo moo" mean? Lol.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

chimunga said:


> You're right. I did. What in the world does "the cows moo moo" mean? Lol.


Kind of the same as the cat's meow, I think.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

We got the 7 points!!!  We only need 7 more and we get our title!!


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

Yeah, definitely PRO-tricks here. And generally pro-titles as well. Looking back I suppose that didn't really come across clearly in my post. Sorry bout that.

My dogs know the full range of tricks, but I've never put any formal trick titles on them. If others want to 1) teach tricks and 2) obtain trick titles I think that's great and encourage them as much as possible. I'm an all-out OB nut myself, lol, so that's where I concentrate most of my own title endeavours. 

Personally though, I do see a lot of common elements between the OB and tricks. It's all good.


cow's moo moo = bee's knees or cat's ass but the mods might get upset so Ill say cat's pyjamas


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

I'm gonna try to get Watson as many fun and totally useless titles as I can. I want it to look like an alphabet before his name


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

BostonBullMama said:


> We got the 7 points!!!  We only need 7 more and we get our title!!


Syncro-post, didn't notice it until now. I watched your vid earlier today and I have to say you guys are coming along very nicely. Especially with the 'bang', when compared to your first vid a month or two ago. He's such a cool dog! and as one who can do tricks too? that's sure to gain some widespread appreciation I bet.

7 down, 7 to go.

(see? support^. lol)


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Thank you! I love this dog to the moon and back and I am so excited about meaningless titles  hahaha! We can't do agility for a bit yet because he still has to go in for more surgery - the cancer is in deep muscle tissue and our most recent quote is upwards of $800+ which will take some time to save for after the year we had with him. So this is a way to see how 'into it' as a team we are, before surgery, and before getting into the beginner agility rink.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

chimunga said:


> I'm gonna try to get Watson as many fun and totally useless titles as I can. I want it to look like an alphabet before his name


Not to nitpick but just an fyi, most performance titles (*if* they were on an AKC / CKC dog, from AKC / CKC officially recognized events, and trick titles aren't) would come AFTER his name. There are a few exceptions though, and some do come before the name but the most popular ones used as a prefix are OTCh and Ch. 

Here is an AKC list, and you can click on either suffix or prefix to see them explained in more detail. Just so you can start planning which ones you think will look good 
http://www.akc.org/events/titles.cfm

I'm not entirely sure, but I believe most non-AKC recognized titles are displayed after the name ie: from NADAC, CPE, CARO organizations etc. Unofficially displayed at least as per AKC records, of course.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

So can I put NTD after Toby's name even though it's not officially recognized?


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

petpeeve said:


> Not to nitpick but just an fyi, most performance titles (*if* they were on an AKC / CKC dog, from AKC / CKC officially recognized events, and trick titles aren't) would come AFTER his name. There are a few exceptions though, and some do come before the name but the most popular ones used as a prefix are OTCh and Ch.
> 
> Here is an AKC list, and you can click on either suffix or prefix to see them explained in more detail. Just so you can start planning which ones you think will look good
> http://www.akc.org/events/titles.cfm
> ...


Nitpick away. I don't know jack squat about titles. I like learning. ^_^


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

BostonBullMama said:


> So can I put NTD after Toby's name even though it's not officially recognized?


You sure can, if you want to. 

Kylie and JACK have NTD, Kylie has the ITD (I think that's what the abbreviation is) and you can just let them stack up. They'll put it on the list on their site that way, too. It just won't be attached to his registration anywhere, unless he's registered somewhere. If he is, then they will if it's an event sanctioned by them (like I don't know if a dog's NADAC titles will be recorded by AKC, for instance).

But it's FUN STUFF.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Yay Weee!!


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

petpeeve said:


> Time well wasted. Seriously.
> 
> Teaching general behaviours like sit, stay, recall, llw etc is the backbone of the dog/human relationship, for sure. But going above and beyond by teaching 'meaningless' tricks? that's the cow's moo moo, in my opinion.
> 
> I say put up with the fees and any idiosyncrasies in the administrative dep't, if there are any. Dog and handler having fun and furthering the bond is the name of the game in my books. Plus you'll probably become a better trainer on the general behavior end of things. Therein lies the bonus.


Absolutely. I'm not against training tricks, quite the opposite. If the trick dog titles make more people have more fun with their dog and be better trainers, I'm all for it. 

I didn't mean to be all negative in my post, I only meant to say it wasn't working out for *me* and I think they could do plenty to improve the system if the goal is to get more people training vs the goal being to make money. But the page was getting quite popular when I left, so obviously it works for a lot of people.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Honestly, that page is probably responsible for me wanting to take classes with the dogs and, well, do more with them.

I mean, yeah, it's a money maker for the company and I'd hope no one would miss that. I did eventually wander off (obviously), but it isn't an accident that I did so about the time I first started agility classes with Kylie (the first time). It got me to engage with my dogs on a level I was previously uninterested in and for that? They are AMAZING and I have no regrets about the loss of 30 bucks or whatever I spent on the little certs.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

I would do it if there was zero cost involved...


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

There's no cost to join, but it's $20 for the certificate.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

I should look into this just for the added ideas and structure.



Canyx said:


> I would do it if there was zero cost involved...


You could always print your own certificates.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

BostonBullMama said:


> There's no cost to join, but it's $20 for the certificate.


Yep! That's what I was referring to.



cookieface said:


> You could always print your own certificates.


Now that's more down my alley  Or... Up till now, I've just convinced myself that Soro's right up there with his trick training but just doesn't have the papers to prove it.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

GoGoGypsy said:


> There's a great page called Tricks & Training on FB that I highly recommend if you need some trick inspiration. No titles or certificates, but a LOT of fun.


Thanks girl! Just found out about this and joined. Hopefully it'll inspire me to train more. I haven't really in the last few months...


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

YAY!! We just completed our NTD title!!  I had no idea but the CTDI informed us that if the dogs know the tricks already, just run through a video and we can earn our title and move on up to ITD. So Toby and I did up a 6 minute video where he performed 21 points worth of tricks!  Our CTDI said everything looked good and that we were free to apply and move up to the next course!

I'm moving -right now- and all day tomorrow so I'll have to catch up on next course, but I'm excited! 

NTD Title Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2AwqypTN4E


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

Well done, you's two. :clap2:

"Toby NTD"


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

Way to go, Toby NTD!  Great video. 



Canyx said:


> Thanks girl! Just found out about this and joined. Hopefully it'll inspire me to train more. I haven't really in the last few months...


No problem! It's a great page! It certainly helped get me back into training. I'm just disappointed I didn't know about it sooner.


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## winterpup (Feb 15, 2015)

We have enough tricks for our advanced title, but not the money! You don't actually need the books,I don't have any of them, bc the teachers of the "class"post instructional videos


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## missc89 (Jan 20, 2015)

BostonBullMama said:


> YAY!! We just completed our NTD title!!


Congrats! It is well earned.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Our certificate arrived a couple days ago and I've framed it and we're all proud and yay! lol. 
Now on to the next title!!!


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

hope you have lots of wall space to hang all of them?


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Absolutely! hahaha


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## winterpup (Feb 15, 2015)

how are your tricks going bostonbullmama? we only have one trick for our expert title so far, but we are working on it!


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## winterpup (Feb 15, 2015)

for everyone who doesn't want to pay for trick titles, join Happy dog tricks on FB, they have a similar deal, but it's free.

here is our level 1 video. 

https://youtu.be/MTj0z0ypXtI


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

Hrm. I actually think Watson almost knows enough tricks to get his novice. 

Actually, going through the list, he totally knows enough. Hrm. Maybe I should have my hubby make a video of him and send it in.


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## winterpup (Feb 15, 2015)

^^awesome!


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

Totally gonna send in his application. I know it's kind of a silly money-grub, but I still like it.


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