Sassafras Lowrey is the 2013 winner of the Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Award. Sassafras¿ books; Lost Boi, Kicked Out, A Little Queermas Carol, Leather Ever After, and Roving Pack; have been honored by organizations ranging from the National Leather Association to the American Library Association. Sassafras¿ nonfiction book Left Out: How Marriage Equality Abandoned Homeless LGBTQ Youth is forthcoming from The New Press. Her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals, and she regularly teaches writing at colleges and conferences across the country.

Sassafras has been involved with dog sports and dog training for over twenty years including Competition Obedience, Dog Agility, Tricks, Rally Obedience, and service dog training. In the early 2000s she competed at top levels of Dog Agility. She is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI) and has achieved the highest award level of All Star Trainer. Sassafras currently competes with her own dogs in tricks and canine parkour and trains in rally obedience and dog agility. Her dogs have achieved Champion Trick Dog (the highest level of trick competition), and Trick Dog Performer titles.

Sassafras has written regularly for dog magazines for over a decade and she regularly contributes to The Bark, Dogster Magazine and Whole Dog Journal, among other publications discussing dog lifestyle trends, news, dog health, training and behavior. She is also a pet parenting/lifestyle monthly columnist for Curve Magazine and Grok Nation.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction: From Street Dog to Champion
Chapter 1: Why Tricks & How Dogs Learn
Chapter 2: Getting Started
Chapter 3: Safety First!
Chapter 4: Tricks to Teach

• Sit
• Down
• Sit Pretty
• High-Five
• Wave
• Shake
• Touch (Hand Target)
• Target on the Ground
• Go To
• Two On/Paws Up
• Say Your Prayers/Head Duck
• Four On
• Go Under
• Crawl
• Put Your Toys Away
• Fetch to Hand
• Back Up
• Ride in a Wagon
• Peek-A-Boo
• Walk on Your Feet
• Hold
• Leave It
• Drop It
• Pick Up
• Over
• Jump Over My Leg/Arm
• Jump Into My Arms
• Basketball
• Speak
• Scratch Art
• Roll Over
• Splat
• Hoop Jump
• Give Kisses
• Spin
• Shell Game
• Push
• Balance
• Carry
• Learn Object Names
• Figure Eight
• Leg Weave Walking
• Perch Work
• (Circus Elephant Tricks)
• Push Light
• Skateboard
• Cover Your Eyes
• My Dog Can Read
• Rebounds
• Chorus Line Kicks
• Drawing

Chapter 5: Taking Tricks to the Next Level

Acknowledgements
About the Author