Dancing With Your Dog

One of the growing dog sports is dancing. While people have taught their dogs to perform to music in the past, it is only recently the idea of the average dog owner entering dog dance competitions has taken hold. It debuted at Crufts in 1992. Mary Ray introduced it there. Ekard Lind made it into a team sport, exhibiting it in October 1998 at Zurich, Switzerland. In fact, dancing with dogs has only been an accepted sport since 2002.

Dancing with Dogs comes in three basic types. There is musical dressage, Heelwork to Music and Freestyle. While there are restrictions, some versions avoid compulsory movements such as you find in obedience classes. There are, however, required moves or components. Each of these competition types has its followers. With the public and the performers, one of the most popular forms of dancing with dogs is the freestyle.

While all formats require music, heelwork and various moves, freestyle offers the most variety and artistic interpretations. Heelwork to Music is 2/3 heelwork and 1/3 freestyle. Freestyle is 1/3 heelwork and 2/3 freestyle. Both receive an evaluation based on artistic expression, choreography and technical execution. All feature variations on common moves. Dogs execute twists, bows, rolls, circles and weaves. There is jumping, standing on two legs, crawling and reversing. All of this is performed with music. It is a team sport between a person and their dog.

Dancing with dogs is popular for many different reasons. This sport is relatively inexpensive. It does not discriminate according to the breed of a dog. There is no gender or size bias. All dogs of all sizes, shapes and sexes whether intact, neutered or spayed, can enter. They can be young animals or older dogs. It does not matter. The only ones not allowed are very young dogs and puppies.

The same rules apply to owners. You can be old or young. Age or gender is not a restriction except for the very young. As with animals, those too young to control a dog cannot participate. You need a certain level of maturity to be able to work consistently with your favorite pal. It also requires commitment in time and energy and confidence. If you can’t afford or want to put time and effort into the process, do not take it up.

One of the benefits of dancing with dogs is an increase in confidence for you and your animal. Working so closely with your pet draws you closer together. You learn to communicate on different levels. It is a motivational tool for complacent puppies who “know it all” and are bored. It can remove boredom for both parties while pushing forward the training process into new fields of interest. Furthermore, it can be a fun thing for the two of you to do together.

In order to be a dancing fool, your dog must train. He or she, however, is ineligible until they are at least 1 year old, preferably 14 months. This prevents them from harming growing bones. Training in obedience is helpful. Taking classes in dancing with dogs is essential.

A dog, in some systems, goes through various levels before entering competition. You enter level 1 at 14 months. You stay here for a minimum of 6 months before moving up to the next level. At level 2, you can also stay only 6 months before going to level 3. For both levels 3 and 4, however, you must commit yourself to a year each.

When you have the necessary skills, you can enter competitions. These range from starters or beginners to advanced. You compete only against those at the same level. This helps you gain confidence. It also lets you know where you stand among your peers. You may win; you may lose. It is all about gaining experience for you and your dog. It should also be about enjoying the music, spending quality time together with your dog and, above all, the two of you having fun.

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