Collie Dog Owners

By Gerald Cormier
So you think your collie dog is going to be Hollywood’s newest animal sensation? Well, if you believe your collie has what it takes to become the next best collie star the world will ever see, then go ahead and give it a try. Before you rush to the nearest collie agent or start calling casting directors to book your collie on the next commercial or photo shoot, there are a few things you might want to consider though.Almost every single collie owner sees some potential in their collie and see a star in their beloved little doggies, and rightfully so. Since you do love your pets, you do see the best in them and wish them to have the best of everything, including fame and fortune. While your collie may indeed be the next Benji or Lassie on the lot, you still need to assess your collie’s abilities in terms of possible abilities that will be seen as useful in the acting and modeling industry.To help you figure out if you do have a star on your hands, here are a few useful tips to follow:

Figure Out if Your collie Is Indeed Ready for the Limelight

Suspecting your collie of possibly having what it takes to become a collie model or actor is different from knowing for sure. If you want to make certain that your collie can indeed take all the pressures of stardom, you will need to know for certain. There are a few things you may need to consider when you want to know if your collie is indeed skilled enough for acting or modeling. A collie that goes into acting or modeling will need to be disciplined enough to take orders from other people. While your collie may easily perform for you and your friends, it may be a different story when it comes to getting on the set of a commercial shoot or a print ad photography session.

You can try to ascertain whether or not your collie is star material by attending certain casting calls. The people who initiate pet casting calls know what to look for in pets and what a future star looks like. You can easily tell people that your collie can do this and can do that and you can even have your collie do the tricks you say it can do in the comfort of your own home. Having your collie do the exact same things in front of a few strangers away from home may be a different story altogether and may not even happen if your collie is not up to the challenge. These are some of the initial obstacles you and your collie may face and knowing these beforehand will help save you and your collie a great deal of anxiety.

Training to Become a Star

How do you go about making your collie into the star you see him to be? You can help your collie achieve stardom with some proper training and discipline as well as with some good grooming and still more training. The keyword here is training. Let’s face it, a nice looking collie can have an equally nice looking replica a few blocks away and the only difference between the two would probably be how well your collie is trained to do what he needs to do.

There are quite a number of places where your collie can get trained to do what most collie actors and models do and knowing who to approach to get your collie started in the right direction is essential to his success. You can actually start the training process at home by teaching your collie some of the basic tricks like sit, roll, fetch and all the basic tricks that most dogs do. If you want your collie to learn more complex tricks and skills, you may have to go to certain professional collie training schools for this. These training schools will give your collie the necessary skills he may need to use on the set of a movie, a TV show or a commercial or even for a professional photo shoot.

The Portfolio and the Agency

Now that your collie has some of the skills he or she may need for the big screen, you will then need to have his or her portfolio ready and get your collie signed up with a reputable animal acting and modeling agency. These next steps are important to establish that you and your collie are indeed serious about getting into the modeling and acting world for pets.

Having a picture of your collie taken for portfolio purposes may require a professional studio photographer, although you can do it on your own with a digital camera and a good neutral background. The first two important shots that your collie needs to have in his or her portfolio is a close up shot and a full body shot that shows the collie’s natural size. Aside from these two shots, you may need to create other pictures of your collie in various scenarios and poses to help create a diverse portfolio of pictures for your collie’s acting and modeling career. Of course, no portfolio is complete without a resume. You may need to create a detailed list of the things your collie can do. You can also add substantially to his resume if you expose the collie to certain charity events where you can get him or her to perform. This kind of an exposure gets your collie used to the huge number of people who may be present and will help to add to his credentials.

In the end, it’s not really about achieving stardom for your collie or getting him to earn big amounts of money. If your collie enjoys what he or she is doing, then that is the greatest achievement ever. Despite all the fame and fortune that these collie models and actors get, if they are not happy with what they are doing, there is no point in letting them do it in the first place.

About the Author:
Gerald Cormier is the owner of The Shih Tzu Store a pet boutique specializing in small dogs. Everything a pampered pet needs.