It was in the very first days that we had Miss Molly that we realized that our puppy was the kind who was going to need some high energy workouts. She was impulsive, incredibly curious…and impossible to tire. She still is!
The best thing that we did for her was to enroll her in a puppy training program, and although driving into Nanaimo for weekly classes was a big commitment, it was an amazing investment. Best Paw Forward Dog Training is a wonderful business, and the small classes and fantastic pack leaders do an outstanding job of helping build the human-dog relationship while building lifelong skills for the dog.
Molly passed her Puppy Kindergarten class with flying colours, and moved on to Leash Skills and Confident Canine. From 10 weeks old, she showed not only a high aptitude for learning, but also a high drive to perform skills. The reason for this might become more apparent when we receive the results of her DNA screening, as some working and hunting dog breeds naturally have this capacity. Nevertheless, Molly was a fantastic student. With her extremely high energy, she was able to accomplish skills quickly and with 100% commitment. The challenge was to keep her energy at a workable level, as she would get so fired up about doing work that she would completely lose her focus on us.
Trick classes turned that all around, as the work somehow is the perfect blend of physical work, mental work…and fun. We were amazed that, once we learned how to teach her skills, how quickly she would pick them up. In fact, when we were teaching her Play Dead, she would barely pay attention to us and refuse to practice the skill. We decided to take a rest from the work, and the next day…Bam! She just did it on her own. It’s a very interesting process, and one that fascinates me. 
The trick program that we did at Best Paw Forward is part of an international program called Do More With Your Dog, created by Kyra Sundance, a stunt dog trainer and author from California. Our local trainer was certified in this program, and helped us train Molly for her Novice Trick Dog title. Of course, she passed it easily! In fact, she has reached her Intermediate level title as well.
Kyra says:
A trick dog title honors the dog, recognizing him as an intelligent and willing partner. It means that your dog loved you enough to work with you and try to understand you, no matter how crazy your requests and how clumsy your attempts.
A trick dog title honors your commitment to your dog, showing that he was important enough in your life to receive your time, your energy, and your undivided attention. You loved your dog enough to engage him, challenge him, bond with him, and help him achieve a goal.
You believed in your dog even when he failed; and you gave him another chance even when nobody else would have; and in the end your faith in him was justified.
You are an owner who did more with your dog. And that makes your dog the luckiest dog in the world.
Do More With Your Dog!® is the official sanctioning and organizing body for the sport of Dog Tricks. Although it was originally created for the training of stunt dogs, movie dogs and canine performance teams, this kind of engaging partner work is invaluable for anyone who wants to build a healthy relationship with their pet. Dogs love to learn, and they love to learn with and for their people. Challenging them physically and mentally is not only great exercise for the dog, but it’s fulfilling and rewarding for the person and dog as a team.
So what’s next? Well, believe it or not, little Fico has already learned two skills. Being differently motivated and not at all competitive, he is going at a different pace. Having said that…who knows what he is capable of? We learn for the joy of it.
With Molly we’ll be trying for the Advanced title, and I’m personally looking forward to training her to open the fridge and bring me a beer. But being the overachiever that she is…she’ll probably learn how to open and drink it, too.
