Eugene weekly., July 26, 2012, Page 12, Image 12

EW’ S PETS ISSUE 2012
Labanies and Griffichons, Let’s Boogie!
DOGS HIT THE DANCE FLOOR by Andy Valentine
M
oving to the rhythm of musical composition
is as intrinsic to most as breathing. We
humans just can’t resist tapping our toes,
drumming our fi ngers, fl ailing our arms
and swaying our hips, and while we’ve
all experienced moments of solitary dance that must remain
exclusively behind closed doors, in public it still takes two to
do-si-do. “Why not tango?” you ask. Well, some folks have
partners that aren’t quite capable of showcasing their gancho.
These are the people that dance with dogs.
That’s right. It’s a real thing, and it’s called “musical canine
freestyle.” Turns out dogs can actually become pretty adept at
dancing, though balancing on the hind legs would cause any
quadruped a few problems, and this means that there’s unlikely
to be any mid-routine ballroom lifts or fl uid pirouettes taking
place. Honestly, though, most of them are a little
more rhythmically inclined than some of the white
dudes that I’ve seen “krumping” unabashedly in
public.
While it may look as though the dogs are simply
wildin’ out and trotting freely in circles around
their leaders (who are always human, otherwise
there’d be a lot of booty-sniffi ng), canine freestyle
is actually a fastidiously choreographed exercise
in obedience training: Every prompt is fi rm and
deliberate, so that the pooch knows what to do —
it’s a cue system, and not surprisingly, the majority
of commands are verbal.
“As freestylers we try and get all the behaviors
in a routine on verbal cues,” says Julie Flanery
of Wonderdogs, a Philomath-based dog-training
facility. “We want to keep our hands and arms free
for musical interpretation, and it to look like the
dog is doing it on its own.”
Flanery has been involved with canine freestyle
since her fi rst competition in 2001. She began
teaching a year later, and since 2003 she’s been a
regular judge on the freestyle circuit.
“I’ve competed in many, many dog sports,” she
continues, “and freestyle is, in my opinion, one of
the most diffi cult to perform well in, but also the
most fun.”
And she’s not kidding about it being diffi cult;
choreographing a routine requires a great amount
of discipline not only for the dogs, but for the
‘I like to think we do
everything that
Ginger Rogers did
— you know, in high
heels and backwards
— but with dogs.’
— JULIE FLANERY,
CANINE FREESTYLIST
humans, too. In a two-minute period, trainers can end up
imparting anywhere between 75 and 85 cues upon their poochie
partners, and this means that they’re constantly talking to the
dog. The volume of the music and softness of voice often help
to cover this up, and this furthers the illusion that the dog is
unaided.
“It’s that engagement and relationship with the dog that I
have not found in any other dog sport,” Flanery says.
Wonderdogs does offer classes in other dog sports, but
Flanery attempts to keep freestyle on the docket at least once
a week:
“The amount of freestyle classes we offer varies,” she says.
“It depends on interest: last session I had two freestyle classes
that were both full. Most of the classes are rally-free; they
combine rally obedience with freestyle.
“We use clicker training so that the dogs
understand to offer behaviors,” she continues. “It’s
the dogs coming up with their own moves so it feels
JULIE FLANERY
DANCES WITH
as though they really have input in the partnership.”
KASHI
Naturally, as with any training system, there’s
a learning curve. Partnerships that are just starting
out tend to commence with four-paw tricks such as
spins — turning in a circle next to the handler —
circles — moving in physical circles around the
handler — and weaves — threading themselves
between the handler’s legs. Once the novice level
moves have been mastered, then the partnerships
tend to advance toward perfecting those same
techniques, only backwards. The hind-leg stuff, it
seems, is for experts only.
“I like to think we do everything that Ginger
Rogers did — you know, in high heels and
backwards — but with dogs,” Flanery says. “My
favorite thing is engaging with my dog in a way that
we are truly partners in the training process. And of
course once you add music to anything it makes it
more fun!”
So there you have it; hard to believe, I know,
but dogs could actually be able to show us humans
some new dance moves. Next time you throw on
“Crocodile Rock” and start to boogie, keep an eye
on your canines; they might just be achin’ for a
booty shakin’ too.
ew
PHOTO BY DICK CAPELLO
For more information on dog obedience classes, visit
wonderdogsonline.com and for some dog dancing videos go to
EW’s blog.
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