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Doggy Dancing


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Hi Guys

Was wondering if there are any doggy dancing clubs or organisations in Sydney? I am hoping that there is something like this that I can join and have some fun with my dog.

If you can't find one you can learn alot of the moves by watching Youtube, that is how I first taught my girl the moves before Doggy dancing became a recognised sport here. Our biggest trouble is not learning the moves but handling the nerves in competition, unfortunatley my nerves flow on to the dog causing her to go into shutdown.

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Bub, yes there is a group that train in Sydney, I'll find the contact details & PM them to you later. There is also a DWD Yahoo email group once you get hooked :rofl: .

There is a DWD Trial at Erskine Park on the 13th Dec that I am thinking about going to, if you want to see some of the dogs at competition level.

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OMG thanks so much!!! Didnt realise I would get a response so quickly!!!!!

Does she need to be really civilised to join? She is a very friendly pup but is only 5.5 months so I am wondering may take a few weeks to actually tone down the excitement.

Does it work like an obedience club with levels for beginners?

Any extra ideas and info will be great guys since I have no real idea of what to expect! She's a keen worker and we LOVE the idea of DWD but I am wondering if she needs to be obedience trained at a club first???

She knows her basic manners commands and some tricks.

Sorry I sound all waffly! Tell me what I need to know!!!!!

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OMG thanks so much!!! Didnt realise I would get a response so quickly!!!!!

Does she need to be really civilised to join? She is a very friendly pup but is only 5.5 months so I am wondering may take a few weeks to actually tone down the excitement.

Does it work like an obedience club with levels for beginners?

Any extra ideas and info will be great guys since I have no real idea of what to expect! She's a keen worker and we LOVE the idea of DWD but I am wondering if she needs to be obedience trained at a club first???

She knows her basic manners commands and some tricks.

Sorry I sound all waffly! Tell me what I need to know!!!!!

:confused: you will be able to train her to do the stuff you want while you are training DWD, it's actually a bit harder if you teach proper obedience first as the automatic sit means you have to give a command to stand & working with the dog always on the left means they become one sided. You are better off without the automatic sit & working the dog on both sides from the start. Jonty & Jarrah both did a bit of obedience before I started DWD, but Whisper went straight into DWD without any obedience training. As long as your puppy has some self control & focus which it sounds like she has, you should be fine, obviously puppies are friendly & playful, that comes with the territory, but if she has some basics like knowing how to sit, drop & stay you'll be OK.

Im not sure how the Sydney DWD contingent work in terms of classes etc, they will be able to fill you in on that when you contact them.

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There are two options with canine dancing:

Cannie Freestyle- dog can work away from the handler more heelwork is often only used as a linking of tricks.

Heelwork to Music- More work closer to handler in the heel position on left or right side with dog in front facing handler or dog alongside walking forward/ backwards/sideways. Can do tricks but a certain percentage has to be in a heel position.

With each they have different levels, For someone who has never had a title in this field before (handler, not dog) they start of in Starters (2 quallies needed to advance to next stage) then there is Novice(3 quallies) and it goes on from there. The dog needs to title at one stage to advance to the next and as they go up in stages the time in the ring is longer and more quallies are needed to advance to the next stage. Routines also get more advanced as you reach the higher levels although having watched some of the WA competitors at the first couple of comps they are already doing some higher level work in the starters and are very good.

Handler provides their own music, and get extra points for dressing in theme (dogs do not dressup although they can wear something like a bandana or bowtie) In starters they only need a routine of about 1 to 1.5minutes duration. You have to send details of your music with entryform along with length of running time. It pays to burn to CD the section of music you will do your routine to so that organisers job is easier.

Depending on which disipline you do you have to work through all stages of that disipline but you can compete in both disiplines if you want to and aim towards titles in each. Each state probabaly has some of its own requirements but in WA you are not allowed to take things like weapons or simulated weapons into the ring as props. Other things as pros can be used as long as they form part of the routine in some way and these can be used to enhance the routine.

Points are awarded for things like, timing, difficulty/variety of actions/tricks, costume, interpertation of the music, how handler and dog work as a team including level of enjoyment for both and also the audience etc. Also have to cover a fair amount of the ring so routine has to be a mobile one not restricted to one spot or area of the ring.

We have one leg(quallie) in starters from our first routine in Canine Freestyle but on the second comp. the dog decided she did not want to do the routine except for the very last part and her handler (ME) had a meltdown as the nerves were already shot. Haven't had another go yet but we aren't giving up just working on a new routine eventually I'll get the nerves under control. for both myself and the dog. Keep teaching your pup as many tricks as possiable and also work on distance with the tricks, look at possiable music choices and start planning possiable routines and before you know it you guys will be in the ring competing.

Sorry that is about all I can think of right now as we have only been doing it a short time, I find nerves are the biggest killer especially as my dog feeds of my nerves and then she looses the plot too. Feel free to email me if I can be of any help with tricks we have learn' t quiet a few now. :confused:

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