BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada: Get your groove on! Shake your hips, tap your feet and dance to the music! Need a dance partner? Why not dance with your dog?
Yes, that's right. Our four-legged friends are now the latest and hippest dance partners around. Slowly emerging as a new sport, canine freestyle is gaining popularity and spreading its dancing shoes across different continents. Simply put, canine freestyle is a choreographed tandem dance routine between handler and dog. Together, they move to the beat of the music and perform a routine with precision and artistry with the potential to push Dancing with the Stars off the airwaves.
However, simply dancing with your dog is not all there is to it. To make a perfect dance routine, certain steps have to be mastered. Adding a touch of individuality and creativity by mixing and matching these steps is the key in winning competitions. It takes a lot of hard work, patience, and training (both you and you dog) to make the handler and the pet move in perfect tandem to the music.
Canine Freestyle began in the late 80's. Inspired by the equine 'dressage' competition, a group of dog lovers and trainers in Canada combined music and training as a great way of showing off their dogs' talents. In 1991, the first ever canine freestyle group, Musical Canine Sports International, was formed in British Columbia, Canada. It was soon followed by other groups in England, including Canine Freestyle Great Britain. In the United States there are several groups like the World Canine Freestyle Organization, the Canine Freestyle Federation, and the Musical Dog Sport Association. Even Japan has joined in the bandwagon and created the Pawfect K9 Freestyle Club.
The sport has truly taken off recently due to canine freestyle ambassadors Carolyn Scott and Rookie, her Golden Retriever, . Together, this dynamic dancing duo have travelled to many different countries to perform, introduce the sport and show the amazing magic they weave on the dance floor - just watch them go! After ten years of performing, Rookie has finally retired and has opted to stay home and rest to watch his tribute video. The legacy they have left, however, has brought a deeper meaning to pet-owner relationship.
As human and pet bondings go, watching them perform is simply breathtaking. The chemistry and the bond between them is unmistakable. All communication is accomplished via body language and the subtle use of verbal cues. When executed in perfect harmony, there is no better way to glimpse the relationship between dog and handler.
Now you've seen how it's done, grab your four legged friend and put on those dancing shoes. Together, dance and say ....
"Put your left paw in, put your left paw out, put your left paw in and you wag your tail about. Do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about!" Woof! Woof!
this is soo coool! i hope i could teach my dog to dance, but basset hounds aren't exactly graceful dogs! LOL! This seems like a great way to bond with your pets. from the video of the lady and her golden, looks like the dog is loving every second of the dance!
i should have thought of this back in highsch during prom.. my date was a loser.
hey! now with two left feet, dancing is possible! that is, if you are a dog!lol! for people, well, that is a different story altogether! cute that dogs can actually have rhythm and be taught to have rhythm. i can't! lol! all dance teachers have given up on me!
awww....aint that cute! but i think this is more for women than men. i really cant imagine dancing with my pooch.
I just hope the dogs are enjoying the dancing as much as the owner does..
i feel rather sorry for the dogs- being made to jump hoops like that. completely unnecessary. pets should never be humanized at all.
now if i only have the perfect outfit, dancing shoes and most importantly, dance-capable feet! lol
hey i dance with my cat too! lucy and i enjoy hip hop and some samba every now and then.. we're willing to take on any doggie tandem out there! lol!
Nice video of the golden and the lady. but the activity is too girly for me! Are there men, and i mean straight men, who actually dance with their dogs? I'd sure love to see one!
go baby go! shake it to the left, shake it to the right! these dogs can really dance! they look so cute! wish i could teach mine a thing or two about dancing!
am sure there are. and am also sure they'll never admit it! lol!
This is certainly interesting. The act of canine dancing came from the equine dressage where horses are made to perform certain moves like trots, etc. gracefully. It never made it in the news, unlike this one. But then again, canine dancing is a lot cuter to watch than a big horse trotting!
no offense meant but this aint cute. cheesy is more like it
hey pauline. i know exactly what you mean. i also have a basset and i cant really imagine my basset dancing like that. she moves so slow and with her long body, yes. i can just imagine the grace. lol
Can you spell humanize?
right on ms shelledy. sometimes pet owners go whacko over their pets making them dance and all. think about it if you was a dog would you really wanna dance?
Sorry. Guy thing. This dancing thing is kinda sappy for male dogs. Even if I weren't the one dancing, I wouldn't want my boy to be trained to do stuffs for ladies. Just put it this way: If you had a son, you wouldn't want him to take ballet classes right?
There's a part of a horse's competition where horses are made to move in time with the music. Funny how dog owners copied this. Horses, dogs, whoever's dancing with animals - all girl stuff. Not my kind of thing.
I love dogs and I think that it's nice that owners spend time with them. But dancing? I think that it's too much. Imagine the endless months of training. I hated school so much and i don't want my doggy to suffer the same fate!
here we go again! another sissy activity with our dogs again just like pet weddings.
I am holding my breath for a new show.. dancing with the dogs..
What will they do next? Training your dog how to sing?! I'm sure it's not a far cry. then brace yourselves... the american pet idol show! lol! (rolls eyes)
Ugh I pray that never happens. after that we will elect a dog president to rule caninehood. it's like we're living in "PLANET OF THE CANINES" only this time because we over-adore our pets they trick us into making them the rulers of this world.
As 'sappy' or 'sissy' this sport means to others, this canine dressage is to be admired. As one lady here said, this sport came from horses. It is actually a big event in horse meets/competitions. And nobody perceives it as sissy. Why is it that for dogs, it has become sissy and a way of humanizing?