Dancing with your dog – Try dog dancing or oberythmy with your dog
Today, I leave the floor to Julia and her dogs Crackot, Gispy and Rougaï who are going to tell us about a Too W'ouf activity that they share together: dog dancing! Yes, you read correctly, I'm taking you dancing with your dog. Whether you have the rhythm in your skin or whether you are a complement to the left, Julia will tell you about her experience and guide you so that you and your dog can practice dog-dancing like little opera rats. Also called obérythmée, this canine sport is a Wow activity Well to do with your dog, it allows you to develop your bond with your doggie and also to learn to be more attentive to his behavior.
To you Julia, tell us all about your experience of dancing with a dog: how to start dog-dancing, where to dance with your dog, how should you train your dog to dance? In short, the Wouafer's want to know everything. I can't wait to discover this sport with Julia to be able to dance to “I will go where you will go” by Céliiiine with Musher. It's our favorite song, the one that gets our ass moving!
Dog-dancing, an activity to do with your dog
Hello Wouafer's! As Sophie explained it well to you, I'm going to tell you about dog-dancing or obérythmée, this Too W'ouf activity that I practice with my dogs. The principle is very simple, it's about creating a choreography with your dog around music and possibly with a costume and / or a theme. It's all about obedience in music. It's very artistic and very revealing of the relationship of the human with his dog. It's really amazing to do, I love it!
The sessions last between 3 and 5 minutes and always end with a cool activity for the dog: play, walk, cuddle, etc. It is up to everyone to decide what they are going to work on during the session: focus, speed, order discrimination, learning new orders, developing a sequence... And that's it: a learning session is very fast, so you have to share a real osmosis with your dog so that he learns quickly.
Musher and Sophie: Dog dancing is an activity Too W'ouf to develop your bond with your dog! If ever you don't feel like a dancer at all, you can try learning about other activities such as doga which can be practiced in any season. I also invite you to discover the winter sports to do with your dog as well as our Top 5 Summer Activities for Dogs and Their Humans.
The big advantage of dog dancing is that it is accessible to all humans who have a dog since there is no need for special equipment. However, make sure that your doggie is in good health. In addition, I would say that it is important to practice dancing with your dog only if you know positive education. After that, it's just fun!
And if there is no need for special equipment, there is also no need for a specific place. This activity can be done anytime and anywhere: on a walk, indoors, outdoors. Personally, I practice dog-dancing at home or I give courses in clubs or online.
Start dog-dancing with your dog
Dancing with your dog is not a difficult activity! All dogs can dance whether they are a cocker, Malamutes or Shiba Inu, but maybe not all humans, haha. However, this requires a lot of patience, understanding and kindness. The main objective of dog dancing is to highlight the dog and not the human. All the choreographic work is done according to the dog.
You have to learn a lot to avoid making mistakes! The dog, he does not hold rigor of the errors; on the other hand, the human can quickly be discouraged if he does not succeed. Of course, having the rhythm in your skin is better, but absolutely not mandatory.
One piece of advice I would give to anyone wanting to start dog dancing and even to anyone who already dances with their dog is that you shouldn't want your dog to do tricks at all costs just to impress the crowd. We must remain vigilant to the signals and emotions of the dog. Some tricks can be very bad for the dog's physiology, especially if he is not physically prepared.
Musher and Sophie: Thank you for this new vocabulary word Julia. Tricks are actually the tricks or moves you make your dog do as you guide him through the choreography. The first tricks you teach your dog are often “sit” or “give the paw” or more advanced “Pop! Act like you're dead".
That's right Sophie, thanks for clearing up my jargon, haha. Besides, I wrote a book on dog dancing to help beginner humans and dogs to start dog dancing well. You can also start dancing with your dog through online courses, for example. It helps all people who start and it allows you to understand how it works with your dog by having all the keys!
Share your passion for dog-dancing
There are international dog dancing competitions. Besides, I myself participated in two competitions with my dogs. But what I prefer are the demos for the public, because their reactions are always Wow enthusiastic. In particular, I did a few demos in the living room and animations with the public. The most magical time was in my village, we danced for Unicef in front of an incredible audience. That's the spirit of dog dancing: sharing in benevolence and offering a show.
Adventure Dance With Your Dog
After starting dog dancing in 2017 with my dog Gipsy. I met on the networks Juliette, a young woman with incredible knowledge of reward systems and dog dancing. She allowed me to improve in a very short time.
It was this meeting with Juliette that gave birth to the Danse avec ton chien adventure. Indeed, everything she taught me, I suggested that we share it with as many people as possible. From there was born, during the summer of 2017, a Facebook group: Dance with your dog then a blog. On this Facebook group, we are today more than 4. There are many benevolent shares and it is Juliette and myself who animate it. We release one dog dancing or positive education video per week.
Since then, Danse avec ton chien has become a company of which I am the director and Juliette is employed as a canine educator in positive methods. So I made the crazy bet to leave my job as an agricultural executive in 2018 to live from my passion and the dream has now come true! I have a community of over 15 people across all networks, it's just crazy. We also offer a private club with a challenge per month, online coaching and online internships. Recently, I also offer face-to-face courses and even a tourist week in theArmagnac with learning and educational rides.
Musher and Sophie: If you decide to go to Armagnac on vacation to discover the dog dancing courses of Danse avec ton chien, find your accommodation on our listing of nearby dog-friendly accommodation.
Julia, Crackot, Gipsy and Rougaï
Before you leave, if you want to learn a little more about me and my three dogs, now is the time! You will no doubt have understood that I am Julia. I am in my thirties and I have a scientific background in animal health and biology with two specializations: ethology and neurosciences. Animals fascinate me, but what I prefer above all is understanding how they work and their reward / motivation / learning system. I have three horses – three dogs and two children haha…maybe a third one soon so all the counters are good!
Basically, I am passionate about horses. But when my first daughter was born four years ago, I turned to dogs, because I couldn't take too much care of my horses anymore: lack of time, energy and perineum (yes, I dared to write it…).
My first Crackot female dog was a real challenge. I adopted her in 2011. She was the fruit of a love projection, but unfortunately unwanted. Father Golden And mom puts, I got it from a farmer who gave it against good care. She was the greatest enigma of my entire life. Extremely sensitive and destructive little dog… today we live in total harmony.
Gispy, my Australian shepherd, came into my life during a not very funny time. I didn't thrive in my job and my grandfather was very sick… I needed support. I wanted a second dog, because their support is the most incredible in the world and Crackot was a dog who lived her best life in total freedom in our beautiful countryside. She wasn't really the support dog, but rather the love dog. I never blamed her, because it's her nature and I love her as she is, but I needed my “dog-soul”. Gipsy is really this dog who is the love of a lifetime. This dog gives me a little more love, hugs and tenderness every day. She literally cracks me up… It was in 2017 that I discovered dog dancing and learning tricks with Gispy. At the time, she was less than a year and a half old. It was a revelation! I found it simply brilliant! Unfortunately, she had cataracts last year. She went blind in 3 weeks and it was an ordeal for me… She was more than my love dog, she was also my partner in Dog Dancing.
So I made the decision, very encouraged by my mom, who unfortunately left some time later, to take Rougaï, my 3rd dog, but also my 2nd Australian Shepherd. During this period, Gipsy underwent artificial lens transplants in each eye. Suffice to say that Rougaï did not have the ideal support for his first months of life as a family dog. But today he is a well-balanced dog and has a very special place for me. He's a real guardian who always positions himself in front of the door of the room where I am or at my feet if we are in the same room. We have a very close relationship
Dog dancing, but not only
Although I do a lot of dog dancing, I practice many other activities with my dogs. With Crackot, for example, I did everything: agility, canicross, cani-hiking, education… Today, I let her do what she wants and from time to time, she dances a little with me. With Gipsy, we dance, we do Frisbee, we play a lot, we walk around and we cuddle above all. It really is a mega calabash. Rougaï slowly begins to dance. I am preparing my first choreography with him in tribute to my mother. I would really like to start canicross with Rougaï. He will be one year old next month, that's perfect!
I travel a lot with my dogs, but never when the trip is with my husband and kids. They are so present in my daily life and my work that it is important to devote myself sometimes exclusively to my family. On the other hand, when I travel alone, which is to say very often, I always take one or two dogs with me. I travel for weekends with girlfriends, internships, fairs and sometimes to go back to my family. Having them with me on the go soothes me so much!
That's about all I had to tell you! You can find more information about my activity Dance with your dog directly on the EmmèneTonChien website. Here you will find all the details you need to contact me. You can also follow us on Instagram et Facebook and follow the VLOGs of my youtube channel.
Thank you very much Julia for this great discovery! Here is an activity that I have never tried before with Musher. We just have to see if I have the rhythm in my skin and if Musher wants to try. But what is certain is that she will surely be less graceful than your two cuties. He's a little bully...