It is not enough that you can teach your dog and it is willing to do it; you must have that special bond with your pet. You pet has to love and trust you more than anything in the world.
A good example I use is that your pet has to be willing to lay on its back, relaxed, while you hold it or massage it on the floor. That position is considered total submission. Your pet is submitting to you. And if it is relaxed while you do it, it is leaving itself vulnerable but trusting that you would not let anything bad happen. Because lying on their back they are in no position to defend themselves or to be able to quickly retreat. This sometimes takes some bonding sessions and sometimes it happens naturally. If it requires some sessions, GO SLOW and only push so far. You want to gain it's trust not increase the distrust by pushing too fast or hard. Once your pet is comfortable with this the ultimate test is being able to trim its toenails by yourself. It sounds crazy but if you can trim your pets toenails while it lays on its back or in your lap, you have reached the ultimate sign of trust and bonding. But it is important that 2 things never happen. 1) You become nervous or agitated. If you are nervous, you pet will feel that and think something bad is going to happen. 2) It should hurt. If the nails don't need trimming but to gain your pets trust, use a nail file to start with. It you cut the quick and it bleeds, you pet isn't likely to trust you again for a while.
As a veterinary nurse I am called upon to do treatments and procedures on animals that the owner just can't bring themselves to do. Ear cleaning, nail trims, anal gland expression, etc. This is because of 2 reasons. Either the owner has never been taught the proper way to do it while developing a trusting bond with their pet or the owner is afraid of breaking the trust they have by doing something the pet isn't comfortable with.
If you are going to work with your pet on set it requires that trusting bond. You will at some point have to ask your pet to do something that it is not comfortable with and it has to trust you that it will be okay, it won't hurt, and you will reward it tremendously in the end. Usually with a treat, but always with praise and admiration.
Most of the best studio animals spend a great deal of time with their owners/trainers. The owners don't leave for work all day and then come home to them and watch TV or get on the computer. I am not saying you have to be jobless. The best situation is you have a job where you can take your pet to work with you or you work from home. If that is just not possible, you must be willing to make the time and use it to work with your pet. You are working with your pet and developing a bond every time you take it for a walk and ask it to sit, circle, or lay down in the middle of the beach or park. Massage it every commercial break or ask it to hump your leg or tap your hand. When I had days free and worked the swing shift it was much better for my pets. I could be home more often during the fun hours and I was fortunate enough to be able to bring Petal to work with me so we could have dinner and breaks together. My favorite actress, again is Maggie. She spends virtually 24 hours a day with her owner. They had and immediate bond upon meeting because she was adopted from a shelter. She is a service animal so she can go many places with her owner and be exposed to many different situations. The two of them are adorable together and Maggie will try anything to be with her owner. She rides horses, paddleboards, rides skateboards, pushes shopping carts, agility, and has learned a numerous amount of tricks for set. Everywhere they go Maggie shows off her skills making her use to doing her tricks in multiple types of environments and situations. The bond and trust they have together is amazing. Making Maggie an amazing animal actress. Petal has most of these qualities but isn't as athletic as Maggie. But then again, I am not as athletic as Maggie's owner either.
Developing that bond with your pet is an important part of not just animal acting but in the satisfaction of pet ownership for many activities such as agility, nosework, hiking, surfing, trick training for friends and family, and even just hanging around the house. It is possible with even the most nervous pet. It just takes time and patience and again: Don't push to hard or to fast but push them just to their limits not past them. And you will be amazed at the bond you will develop and the trust the you will have earned.
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