On this page, you will find the answer to the most common asked questions.

What is the trickster leaderboard?
How does the leaderboard work?
How can my dog accumulate points?
What are ‘freestyle’ videos?
Are there any special rules to freestyles?
What is a ‘training challenge’?
How are training challenge winners determined?
Are there any special rules to training challenges?
Do I need to videotape my dog?
How many dog profiles can I create?
How can I learn to train my dog?
What if I need help?
I have an idea for a challenge!
I have uploaded a video but it says that it is pending approval.
Why does it say 'N/A' beside my dog's rank?



What is the trickster leaderboard?
The trickster leaderboard is a virtual place on the internet where dog owners from all around the world can motivate themselves to train their dog to perform behaviors. For example, a group of members can decide to train their dog to walk backwards, jump over obstacles or to fetch a specific object.

How does the leaderboard work?
The trickster leaderboard operates by calculating the points of each dog, and then ranking them according to the amount of points that they have. For example, a dog that has accumulated 50 points will be ranked higher than a dog that has accumulated 20 points.

* In case that there is two dogs with the same amount of points, the dog who was active last receives the highest ranking.

How can my dog accumulate points?
There are two ways to accumulate points, by submitting freestyle videos and by participating in training challenges.

Below is a chart of the amount of points that can be earned throughout the trickster leaderboard:

What are ‘freestyle’ videos?
A freestyle video is a video of your dog performing a trick or behavior that he would otherwise not do naturally (without being trained to do). For example, a video of your dog shaking his paw is considered a freestyle video because he would not naturally do this on his own. On the other hand, a video of your dog licking his bowl cannot be used as a freestyle video.

Are there any special rules to freestyles?
The main rule for submitting freestyle videos is that you cannot submit a video that has already been used in a training challenge. And since all video entries submitted into training challenge earn you points, there is no need to submit it a second time.

What is a ‘training challenge’?
A training challenge is for members who want to challenge their training skills by training their dog to perform new behaviors. Each training challenge is categorized into three groups; beginners, intermediate and for advanced. We recommend that you enter a challenge according to your training experience.

Participating in training challenges is well worth the effort, because each dog has the opportunity of winning bonus points by winning the challenge.

How are training challenge winners determined?
Once a training challenge has been closed, there can no longer be any video submissions entered. The moderators will then select three (3) finalists from the list of participants, and then voting will be enabled for seven (7) days.

After the seven days, the dog with the most amounts of points will receive 1st place, and so on. In case of a tie, both dogs will receive the same amount of points. For example, if two dogs tie for 2nd place, then they would both receive the 2nd place points.

Are there any special rules to training challenges?
The most important rule is that your dog must not know the behavior before ‘entering’ him into the challenge. Although it is impossible for us to know absolutely for sure if your dog knows the behavior before entering, we trust that you will be honest.

We also require that the dog perform the behavior three times in a row without video cuts. That is because we want to see in real time how the dog is responding to your body language, voice and commands.

And lastly, we want to see you and your dog in the video. We understand that this may be cumbersome but it is necessary for learning and judging purposes. You may want to ask a friend or a family member to record your video entry; it should only take about 5 minutes of their time.

Do I need to videotape my dog?
Yes, in order to compete in the trickster leaderboard, you will need a camcorder. The quality does not have to be extraordinary, so a small handy cam will do just fine. We do recommend that you also purchase a tripod to rest your camera on to.

How many dog profiles can I create?
You may create as many dog profiles as you want, but they must be dogs that you personally train. You cannot create a profile of a famous dog or somebody else’s dog (unless you train it).

How can I learn to train my dog?
Learning to train your dog from home is absolutely easy. We’ve personally designed lessons in our classroom to get the beginner started on their journey. It does however cost a small monthly fee, but most of our previous customers have said that it was well worth the money. If you don’t want to spend money, there is lots of free information in the Lounge.

What if I need help?
When training within a training challenge, you may want to keep the discussion within the challenge itself; there is a comments section at the bottom of the page. But if you need any additional help, there are many experienced trainers in the forums who love to help out new trainers. So if you create a new discussion thread with your question, I am sure someone will help you.

I have an idea for a challenge!
That is fantastic! We love challenging our minds and our skills, so if you want, you can let us know your idea by creating a thread here.

I have uploaded a video but it says that it is pending approval.
All new videos submitted must be manually reviewed by a moderator, so it may take a few hours and up to a day before it is approved.

Why does it say ‘N/A’ beside my dog’s rank?
To save on computer resources, the website will only calculate ranks once or twice per day. That means that if your dog has earned points today, you should see an improved rank the following day.

If you have any additional questions, you may contact our team in the Trickster Leaderboard Support Forum.