During Lockdown I started to teach my Labrador, Logie, tricks to see if we could earn a Trick Dog title.

Having seen the lists of tricks for each title, I thought I could get Novice, and possibly Intermediate. I’m so happy that we have gained both of those titles, and yesterday clinched our Advanced! My pup is a clever thing, so willing to learn. If anyone tells me chocolate Labradors are stupid and untrainable, as so often I have been told (although both of my choc boys have never been either of those things), I will just have to get Logie to perform a few tricks!

We are now going for our Expert title. I can highly recommend this if anyone enjoys training with their dog and having fun. I have done the trick titles through Trick Dogs UK and you can also find out more at Do More With Your Dog based in the USA, which is where the titles come from. The titles are recognised by the American Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club, but not the UK, as yet. It’s still lovely to have achieved them, and Logie gets letters after his name (currently ATD).

Here’s a proud Logie with his Novice title, currently awaiting the arrival of our others.

© Karen Hartnell