Why we are here
How we do it
We believe that every dog has a talent.
We want to help you to find that talent and develop it.
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We also want to help you to build that connection and understanding with your dog. You both can make each other happier and enjoy every minute you have together.
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This is what makes us get out of bed in the morning!
If you can look back and remember the happy and fulfilling times you had together- we truly achieved our goal!
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Who we are
We are a group of professionals who love people and love dogs. We have a great mixture of human talent behind the Dog Talent Association, each person bringing their skills, knowledge, enthusiasm and experience.
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We are also you! We are those who are working towards the next Trick Dog Title or Talent Show Dog Title. We are dog trainers who teach dog tricks and help their owners to build that relationship. We are also performers who inspire and show what you can achieve with your dog.
We are those who would like to help each other and share their knowledge and tips.
Join us on Facebook and Instagram to become part of the community.
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If you have a dog, one of the first things you are likely to teach your dog are some positive behaviours and tricks.
It could be something simple like telling you that it wants to eat, to drink or to go outside, coming to you when you call, recognising its name. Most people will also teach their dog at least some basic commands such to sit, to lie down, to walk on the leash etc. In fact, every time you interact with your dog you teach it something. Words, gestures, commands and tricks are that fundamental language and the way we communicate and interact with each other.
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So tricks training is something you already do with your dog. Trick training, unlike most other dog sports, does not need any special equipment, tools and can be done any time anywhere and with any dog. Trick training allows you to communicate with each other. Imagine if you are in a foreign country and you do not speak the language. You would probably feel quite isolated and unhappy. A dog feels the same when it can't tell you what it wants and does not understand what you are asking either. By teaching your dog tricks, words, commands and gestures you develop that language that you can use to communicate with each other. The more words and commands your dog knows, the larger is your joint vocabulary and more things you can tell each other. This is why we are focusing on tricks.
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We have more than 230 tricks for you to choose from to teach your dog and we encourage you to come up with your own tricks.
Dogs, just like people have different personalities and prefer different things. They are also good at different things. This is why we developed Talent Tracks.
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We grouped different tricks and behaviours together into Talent tracks based on the types of skills they develop in your dog and with the training perspective in mind. The more advanced skills in each Talent Track are built upon the skills and behaviours taught at the earlier levels. Talent Tracks are there to help you to choose the "development programme" for your dog depending on what you would like to achieve and your dog's abilities and talent. Talent Tracks provide you with the training structure and ability to focus on the areas you are most interested in.
It is like learning a foreign language using a focused guided course rather than just leaving you to learn the dictionary. Talent Tracks will help you to target the exact words you need to start communicating as quickly as possible depending on what you would like to do with your dog.
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By focusing your training you will be able to develop your dog's talent fast and make some great memories together.
Why Trick Dog Titles?
We do not like the word "tricks". It always sounded to us like something artificial, or a form of cheating. This is not at all what happens when a dog works with you as a team, trying to guess your wishes from the smallest of cues and do what you want to the best of its abilities.
We would prefer to call it behaviours, actions or deeds, but the word "tricks" has already firmly taken root so we will use it but with our meaning in mind.
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We broke up all the training into manageable chunks and established the Trick Dog Titles as the visible and recognisable milestones.
We want to help you to celebrate those milestones by formally recognising each of your achievements and success. We know how much efforts you put into working towards each of the titles, that's why we want to acknowledge each of your achievements with an outstanding handcrafted rosette and certificate. We believe in giving a proper award for each of your milestones, rather than awarding the rosette only when you reach your Champion title.
Why Talent Show Dog Titles?
We are set to establish Talent Dog Shows as the new recognised dog sport built around tricks and trick shows.
Our aspiration is to have it performed at dog shows and competitions just like it already happen with Heelwork to Music, Obedience, Agility etc. We want you to be able to take part with your dog in Dog Talent Shows and to show your dog's abilities, talents and your amazing tricks.
If it is possible to do with dog dancing, it is certainly possible with dog tricks! Together with you, we will establish this new sport.
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The Talent Show Dog titles are our first steps in this direction. By working through the Talent Show Dog Titles you'll prepare yourself and your dog to perform and we will do our best to provide you with the opportunities to do so.