Sara Carson - Super Dog Tricks: Make Your Dog a Super Dog with Step by Step Tricks and Training Tips

Make Your Dog a Super Dog with Step-by-Step Tricks and Training Tips

Sara Carson

Featuring the Super Collies

CONTENTS

While this book is about dog tricks, its actually written for anyone who wants to build a better relationship with a dog. Through training, a dog learns to look to his handler for guidance, which helps with his or her everyday life. It also creates a strong bond between the dog and the human, as each learns to trust the other in new ways.

Trick training has not only bettered the lives of my dogs, but it has also improved my own mental health. Learning to communicate effectively with a dog teaches patience, timing, and compassion, and encourages cooperation between two different species.

When I was a young girl, trick training was something I discovered by accidentI was quickly hooked. I worked hard to come up with creative ways to train fun and unique tricks. Spending time with my cocker spaniel and teaching him various activities was something we both enjoyed. I found online videos and books, which helped teach me how to train new tricks, but I was also sure that there were other, easier ways to achieve the same results.

Taking what I learned from both online and reading, I opened up my own dog-training business at the age of fifteen to gain more hands-on experience. In the five years that I ran Paws Up Dog Training, I worked with well over two thousand clients and their dogs. During this time, I also attended college full-time to earn a degree in graphic design, which proved extremely useful, as it allowed me to tackle all the advertising and design work necessary to be successful. I didnt always believe that I could create a career out of my passion for training dogs, so I considered my degree in graphic design my backup.

Turns out, all the videos I made to help market myself also created an incredible opportunity for meI was offered a full-time position traveling and performing with my dog. Finally, I knew that my dream, which had been called silly and unrealistic for so long, had actually become a reality. Anytime I hit that stage, big or small, I embraced it as a remindernot only to myself, but also to anyone out there with a passion of their ownto never give up on your dreams.

When I wanted to move from Canada to the United States, I was told it would be next to impossible, and I simply met the challenge head-on. I had my dog Hero by my side, and I was more than ready to start a new adventure with him. We had several amazing opportunities come our way, such as appearing on Late Show with David Letterman, competing in Americas Got Talent, and being a part of several national commercials. As we continued on our journey together, we learned and grew as a team. Over time, our family gradually increased in size and our life continued to change constantly. I am so incredibly thankful for this amazing dog and for the patience and companionship he has shown me through some of the hardest years of my life.

In this book, Im sharing all of my favorite tricks, along with some of my best tips and ideas to help make training fun for both ends of the leash. Even if you want to skip most of the fundamentals in . If a trick requires your dog to already know a skill, such as sit, it will be clearly noted.

Once your dog has mastered a few tricks, check out , which shares a home-friendly version of freestyle! This is something you may have seen on TV (think a dog and handler going through a choreographed routine). All you need are a few tricks and music (okay, and maybe costumes!) to put on your own show.

FIND ME ONLINE

Keep track of your dogs progress by using Puppr, my free-to-download app on IOS & Android! Visit www.Puppr.app.

The app includes all sorts of things that work well with this book, including:

• Real-time chat with me for subscribers to get training questions answered
• Puppr Shop, which includes hand-picked product recommendations to help with training
• Ability to set recurring reminders for things such as a potty schedule or training sessions
• Photo challenges
• Badges to earn as you progress in your training

You can also find me on various social media sites under @TheSuperCollies and @TheSuperColliesMom and on my own website: www.thesupercollies.com. I hope you enjoy this book, whether you and your dog are attempting your very first trick or are working your way up to those impressive and acrobatic tricksor even a whole routine.

Happy training!

Sara Carson

SUPER STARTS

What you teach your dog first is important. Whether you have a puppy or an older dog in a new situation, he is likely to be at his most impressionable. Working on the basics is crucial, and helping your dog solidify behaviors that are useful day in and out will create a solid foundation for everything else you teach him. It will help your dog have a clear understanding of whats expected of him. And a dog that understands what his family wants and expects from him, while still being allowed to make good choices, will be able to live a relaxed and happy life with his humans!

TRAINING WORDS USED IN THIS BOOK

While this chapter will teach you all sorts of basics, I realize there will be some dog owners who want to skip straight to the tricks. With that in mind, these first two sections, Key Words and Food Drive, are the only essential reading before you tackle whatever catches your eye from the trick chapters.