Yes, it’s true, dogs can dance and they can easily learn how to dance different styles of dancing that goes with the music being played. You can teach your dog to dance just like you teach it to sit, stay, come and fetch. Not only that, but dancing is also exercise - and we all know that exercise is good for your dog.

Interesting, isn’t it, that dogs can enjoy and partake in a popular pasttime like dancing? What do you think about dancing dogs? Are we forcing them to learn something as a parlor trick only or could a dog really enjoy the physical activity that dancing provides?

Dogs, Handlers Learn to Boogie and Disco

EAST TROY, Wis. (AP) — Ricky the Dalmatian spun across the floor with his 68-year-old handler, the high-stepping Mary Ann Coutley. The two were one of 23 pairs of handlers and pets participating in a three-day dog dancing class that ended Sunday at the Army Lake Camp and Retreat Center.

The handlers paid $275 each for a room, meals and lessons on everything from costumes to music and training tactics.

They learned twists, passes, cha-cha steps and other movements, slinking across the floor with their furry friends.

While “Dancers with Woofs K9 Freestyle Dance Camp” purported to be the first in the region, enthusiasts have been dancing with dogs since the 1980s. They formed the World Canine Freestyle Organization in 1999.

In freestyle dancing, the handlers and dogs work to be artistic and creative. Many also do Heelwork-to-Music, which combines obedience and dance.

“There’s Olympic-style scoring up to 10,” said instructor Linda Blanchard, 59, of Pontiac, Mich. “The goal for this sport is to become an Olympic sport.”

The dogs are trained to follow verbal or hand commands. In freestyle, pretty much anything goes.

“You have to pick out music that goes with your dog,” Blanchard says. “The dogs can do figure eights around your legs. They spin, and we spin. Sometimes they’re on their hind legs. They can wave, do marching things, jump over things.”

Coutley used to dance with a 12-year-old Dalmatian named Wynona, who died in April. She is grooming Ricky to be her new partner with daily workouts that include six miles on a treadmill.

“He’s a chow hound,” Coutley said, feeding 1-year-old Ricky some turkey hot dogs. “He’ll work for anything.”

Story courtesy of Associated Press

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