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Dancing Dogs

June 13, 2014 by Talent Hounds 9 Comments

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Dancing Dogs

Kevin Newman That Dancing Dog Guy with border collie

As many of you know, I love dancing dogs or musical canine freestyle. Dancing with your dog can be a really cool way to get active and build fitness, balance, strength and focus and it is also so fun to watch.  As expert Cassandra Hartman said in our one hour special “It is the joy of music and fun and dogs and skills and training all rolled into one The dogs learn all sorts of cool stuff, and they bond with their handler that much more, than any other dog sport I’ve ever experienced”. See Cassandra perform with her dogs, Twilla and Bob”

Read: Dancing Dogs on National Dance Day

Kevin Newman That Dancing Dog Guy with border collie

This Fit Dog Friday, we wanted to collaborate with our Aussie blogging mate Kevin Newman That Dancing Dog Guy (I am half Australian and he has some very cool tips and videos. His Dancing Dogs Cynder and Sprocket are so talented)

Kevin Newman That Dancing Dog Guy with border collie

Guest Post https://thatdogdancingguy.com.au Inspiration to get Active with your dog:

One of the things that I most enjoy about canine freestyle is the super fun tricks that I get to teach Cynder and Sprocket, all in the name of good fun and putting together a great routine! I know that not everyone is as crazy about Dances with Dogs as I am, but these tricks are also great to teach as party tricks, for pet therapy visits, pet expos or just having fun and getting fit at home with your dog!

Kevin Newman That Dancing Dog Guy with border collie

Try and train one trick at a time in short, consistent training sessions. Lots of reward based positive reinforcement. 10-15 minutes of training a day is probably enough.

Kevin Newman That Dancing Dog Guy with border collie

Kevin’s Five Top Tricks to Teach your dog for Canine Freestyle (or just for fun!)

  1. Spin: Spin is Kilo’s favourite move. I taught him luring him with treats. It is one of the basic tricks that can form a part of many dog dancing routines.  Spin can be taught in both clockwise/spin right and anti-clockwise/sin left directions (just make sure you use different commands). It’s a very versatile move and can be used as a transition and works well as a good warm up. It’s also quite good for wiping off muddy paws outside on a mat!
  2. Stationary Leg Weave: The stationary leg weave is a fun trick that people really love watching, especially if your dog can get some speed up whilst doing it! A great move to teach for agility dogs so they can work on turns and wrap-arounds.
  3. Forward Leg Weave: An alternate version of the stationary leg weave where instead of staying put you move forward and your dog moves with you, weaving through your legs as you step forward. It’s great as a way to travel across the ring in a freestyle routine instead of just heeling across!
  4. Circle Handler: A fun trick where, you guessed it, your dog circles around you! You can teach this clockwise or anti-clockwise and it’s a very versatile trick that can be used for transitions between directions and other moves! Kilo loves this move.
  5. Paws on your Feet: This one finally clicked for Kilo and I recently. We followed Sara and Hero’s video here.

Kevin Newman That Dancing Dog Guy with border collie

Visit his Kevin on Facebook and Twitter.

Many of these tricks, especially ones that involve jumping or standing on back legs, should only be taught once your dog is mature to avoid potential injury.

Filed Under: Dog Health, Fit Dog FRIDAY Tagged With: canine freestyle, dancing dogs, fit dog friday

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tenacious Little Terrier says

    June 13, 2014 at 3:56 pm

    I’ve been wanting to teach “cop cop,” paws on your feet. Looking forward to the tutorial.

    Reply
    • Talent Hounds says

      June 13, 2014 at 11:22 pm

      Yes- it looks like fun XS

      Reply
  2. slimdoggy says

    June 13, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    Love watching Kevin and his ‘dancing dog’ they do such a nice job. BTW, the link to his 7 tips goes to page not found. Thanks for joining the Hop.

    Reply
  3. Beth says

    June 13, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    I really want to sign Barley up for a freestyle class, but so far it hasn’t worked out with my teaching schedule! I’m hoping that we can get into one soon, though! What great pictures and tips–thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Mark at DBDT says

    June 13, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    Veruca can spin and will do a forward leg weave for a piece of mozzarella cheese. Pretty fun stuff even if you aren’t doing the whole dancing dog thing.

    Reply
    • Talent Hounds says

      June 13, 2014 at 11:25 pm

      I agree- great fun. Post pics of Veruca too. Who doesn’t love cheese LOL XS

      Reply
  5. Diane @ To Dog With Love says

    June 13, 2014 at 10:39 pm

    Great post! Love all of Kevin’s tricks. We just started teaching forward leg weaves. Rocco and I have so much fun with these kinds of tricks!

    Reply
  6. Bethany says

    June 14, 2014 at 3:03 am

    I love Kevin and he and Cynder are very inspiring. I also love freestyle but I doubt I will never be brave enough to compete. It’s still fun to train the tricks and dance with the dogs in the living room! 🙂

    Reply
  7. 2 Brown Dawgs says

    June 15, 2014 at 12:01 pm

    That looks like so much fun. Those are great tricks.

    Reply

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ABOUT TALENT HOUNDS

Talent Hounds started as a TV series exploring the changing roles of dogs and how they enrich our lives. We have grown into a Content Hub and Community for Dog Lovers. Our mission: Inspire. Connect. Inform. Entertain. I am Susan Nation - I manage the community. Kilo the cute little Black Rescue Pug is my sidekick and inspiration. Please join our community. Contact us if you have content, tips or resources to share.

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