Get in Step with your dog!
By Dr Attila Szkukalek
When Sarah (Whitehead) asked me if I could write an article
for the newsletter about this relatively new sport with a 2
weeks deadline my first response was ‘Oh God’ but I
recovered! My involvement with DR (Dog-Rhythmics) started
just 10 months ago when I entered my first competition in
Leicester. I therefore do not have the most detailed
history or list of peoples’ achievements who have worked
very hard on the development of this fabulous sport.
Consequently I have decided to write my story about how and
why I became an enthusiastic competitor and tutor in the
hope that my experience will excite and motivate you to
practice and introduce this activity in your club. I have
also included a bit of the background on its development to
put it in context.
For me it all started in 1996 when I went to the Discover
Dogs Show in London and saw Mary Ray performing her
fantastic Heelwork routine to the music of River Dance. The
atmosphere in the audience was electric. For just about
everyone this was something very new combining obedience,
artistic flair and above all it was strikingly obvious that
her dog loved it! I had no dog at that time but during
those 2-3 minutes as Mary’s dog circled, spun, whirled and
wove I knew that once I got one I would get involved in
HTM.
From the time of first seeing Mary’s performance it was
another 2 years before I got my dog (my first Border Collie
- Fly), which I immediately started teaching basic tricks:
Circles, Roll Over, Pirouette, Salute, etc. A year later at
the Turid Rugaas Workshop Annie Clayton after seeing Fly do
the different tricks convinced me to enter the HTM
competition in Leicester, which I did and to my surprise we
won the Novice group. At that competition Fly really loved
being the centre of both mine and the audience’s attention.
We were now both addicted to this wonderful doggy-sport.
From there on I started reading more about its history and
also the theories of choreography, rules and regulations.
So here it is how it started and developed in the world.
The organised form of dog obedience set to music possibly
developed in parallel in Canada and the UK. In 1991 FIDO’s
Pacific Canine showcase held a musical team obedience
class. Afterwards Musical Canine Sports International was
founded by Tina Martin to promote this new dog sport.
Here in the UK in 1990 John Gilbert suggested to Mary Ray
that she do an obedience routine spiced up with turns and
circles during one of their obedience seminars. It proved
to be extremely popular and Mary’s Heelwork to Music
demonstrations became the most exciting features of many
dog events. In keeping with the HTM name during these
programmes the dog walked at the side, in front or between
the legs of the handler either facing in the same or
opposite direction of the handler while carrying out spins,
circles, weaves, rollovers and jumps.
In 1996 Peter Lewis had the idea of organising the first
HTM competition. This annual Coventry event gradually
became larger and the “number one” national competition.
This year there was a huge increase both in the number of
competitors (50) and the standard of routines. In addition
Kay Lawrence organised 2 competitions in Leicester and
there are 4 other competitions coming up later this year:
regional ones in Preston and Christchurch for Starters and
Novices and the first European competition is to be held in
Jersey and a national one in Leicester for all levels. Kay
has really taken the initiative, plus the burden of work,
to promote this new canine activity and with the help of
her team founded the Paws n Music Association in March
2000. As well as organising events they publish a quarterly
newsletter with results and schedules of competitions,
training tips, advice on the choice of music and how to
choreograph a routine and other relevant news and articles.
Kay & her team are also terrific exponents of the sport
and in April they had huge success at the Birmingham
national dog show. Other popular HTM demonstrators and
tutors are Donelda Guy, Anne Northfield, Annie Clayton with
more and more newcomers in the field. In February this year
the first world video competition was held by the World
Canine Freestyle Organisation in the US. Overall the UK
competitors were the most successful: Kay Lawrence with Tip
winning the Advanced HTM, Attila Szkukalek with Fly the
Intermediate Freestyle and Donelda Guy with Zee Zee the
Advanced Freestyle divisions; these 3 wins werein addition
to 2nd and 3rd places in the 6 different divisions.
The freestyle programmes have no restrictions and therefore
give more flexibility for both the dog and handler to
express themselves than in heelwork where the dog cannot
jump or distance itself from the handler by more than 4
feet. Due to the difficulty of judging the different styles
in the same competition the organisations in the States
established 2 divisions; i) HTM and ii) Canine Musical
Freestyle. In the UK the Paws n Music committee decided on
4 divisions:
1. Heelwork to Music (HTM)
2. Freestyle Heelwork (FH)
3. Freestyle (FS) and
4. Dances with Dogs (DwD)
The first 3 in descending order give gradually increased
flexibility regarding movements and the distance of the dog
from the handler. In DwD the handler’s steps are more
strictly co-ordinated with the music than in the first 3
disciplines. Within each of the four divisions there are 4
levels: Starters, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. The
Paws n Music committee left it open for the market to
decide, which of the four divisions will survive.
Finally why am I such a fan of dog dancing, which I prefer
to use as a comprehensive name covering the individual
styles?:
¨ Unlike many other doggy sports it is open to any type and
size of dog and owner to enjoy,
¨ Anyone who likes music and moving to music, can do this
with his/her dog,
¨ It incorporates obedience, agility, handling and bonding
between dog and owner at all levels, making it one of the
most comprehensive dog-sports,
¨ There are divisions such 1 handler-1 dog, 2 handlers-2
dogs and possibly very soon also teams will be able to
compete,
¨ The majority of D-R dogs are clicker-trained and since
the artistic impression is judged handlers cannot use
compulsive training methods which would subdue the dog’s
enjoyment and spirit,
¨ It is easy to practice even at home and I must
acknowledge quite simply it is addictive.
Copyright 2007 Happy Pets - Attila Szkukalek