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Trick And Treat

AKC TRICK NOVICE
By Kathy Sylvia

At the 2018 CCCI National Specialty, the fancy witnessed the
inaugural AKC Trick Novice Dog being offered. Three Chows,
all AKC Grand Champions, earned their Trick Novice titles by
doing a variety of approved Novice tricks, including walking on
a balance beam, going through an Agility tunnel, jumping over
a bar jump, push ups and other endearing actions which made
many spectators think “My dog can do that”.

You are right! Many dogs can earn their AKC Trick Dog
Novice titles from games they play at home with their owners.
The AKC website, https://www.akc.org/sports/trick-dog/ gives
more details on the requirements for earning not only a Novice
title but tricks required for Intermediate, Advanced, Performer
and Elite levels.

At the Novice level, a dog must perform 10 tricks from the
approved tricks checklist. However, a big boost to earning a
Novice level Trick Dog title is the CGC wildcard. If your dog
has earned a CGC and it is recorded by the AKC, the CGC
counts as your first 5 tricks, leaving only 5 additional tricks
required by AKC.

While the list of possible Novice level tricks is extensive, here are
a few representative tricks: High five, jump, kennel up (yes, that
means go in a crate and stay until released), touch it, shake hands,
spin in a circle, walk on a low board, and bark on cue. At the
Novice level, food may be
used to both lure a dog
into a trick and reward the
dog after completing the
trick. Great motivation
for those food hounds out
there.

To see what tricks are
required for the AKC
Trick Dog Novice title,
go to:
http://images.akc.org/
pdf/trick_dog_novice-
May2018.pdf

Add to those titles after your dogs name and use that CGC you
earned to your advantage!

Photos for this article © Jonathn Elledge
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