2025 marked the first academic year for Scottie.Academy.
Half a dozen dogs faced a rigorous year of training for fun, for bonding with their owners, and for stardom! And there were two remarkable finalists who were elevated to the title of STAR.
The two dogs, a male named Ted and female called Olive, remained in the third and final part of the course, with Olive receiving the first Pikush Media Scholarship, a special bursary award from the Matlock family that entitles one gifted student to free tuition in the third and final part of the academic year.
We had started in March 2025 with 6 students in the Cameo course, and that became five students in the Co-Star course. This then became two in Star course.
Both finalists will receive special Certificates to mark their achievements in the new year!
Meanwhile, we wanted to inform everyone that stage doors have now opened for enrolment in the 2026 academic year, as we seek dogs whose owners want to teach them tricks to entertain at home – or to go the whole way to possible media work, like movies, theatre and commercials.
Does your Scottie have what it takes? With our skilled trainer Kathleen, you might be amazed by what is possible. Have faith in your Scottie, and they will deliver.
To enrol, you must have registered with Scottie Club UK, so please do so before enrolling for the course. Enrolling takes place until 7 March 2026. Hurry as class places are limited!
For more information, visit www.Scottie.Academy now!
Please note that bookings are being taken for the full 2026 academic year. All dates of the course are on the website and we have negotiated a special lower price for the full year and spaced out time for more homework to hone the skills the dogs have already learned. This was one of the ways we have improved effective tuition.
Our first two finalists will be available from Janaury 2026 for bookings and trainer Kathleen will act as their agent.
We are very proud of both Scotties for their endurance through 2025, as well as thrilled by their chums who joined the course earlier on.
We are also thrilled to share with you our holiday season flix which was released tonight in a film premiere on YouTube at 2200 GMT. It features the whole gang who were on the 2025 course, including just some of the tricks that the finalists learned on the course. We hope you treasure this souvenir and Scottie Club UK thanks all who took part and hope that they learned some fabulous new skills.
You can view the video here:
And the Scottie Academy Award winner is…
Music by Aroo, words by George Matlock
Little paws on the red carpet, tails held high,
Scottie dogs in the spotlight, stars of the night.
From the Highlands to the silver screen they stand tall,
Winning a Scottie Academy Award—best Scotties of them all!
It was so great to meet other Scotties and their owners on Zoom, we all wanted to train up our doggies.
TED wanted to learn, this I find amazing, he really enjoyed the training (or should I say treats).
Due to the training TED has become more calm and well behaved (unless he sees a golden retriever – puppy memories!).
I reinforce the training for about 15 minutes each day, we have done so much so I alternate the tricks.
We visited the trainer Kathleen in East Sussex twice, she is great and TED so agrees with me. Also encountered Olive again, she is a darling Scottie 😘.
The main point I have learnt is that you can train a stubborn Scottie, it takes repeating with plenty of patience and not for too long and always end on a high.
The training was FUN for us both, thank you Kathleen.
Thanks Max. A few members of the club thought their dogs are not up for it. Commonly heard reactions: too old, too stubborn, it’s a dog!
Well Scotties are smart and they can do more at any age.
You’re giving them something out of routine and they love feeling important and wanting to please their master.
We already have students who have snapped up places on the 2026 course!
Congratulations to Olive winner of the first Pikush award.
Would highly recommend this course was huge fun to take part in and well worth the spend.
Thank you Cath. Such feedback from students is most welcome. We also welcome other views. We read them all and comment where relevant.