ACT Companion Dog Club

Dances with Dogs - Information

Australia’s Dances with Dogs (DWD) is based on a canine sporting discipline developed overseas in the early 1990s. The sport has become a well established as a formally recognised competitive discipline and competitors from all over the world are frequently seen entertaining audiences in main arenas at events such as Crufts and the World Dog Show.

Many examples of DWD routines can be found on YouTube. DWD was sanctioned by the ANKC to begin in 2009 with two initial sub-disciplines – Heelwork to Music (HTM) and Canine Freestyle (FS). Both activities are certified and titled at four levels – Starters, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. Competitions are judged by a panel of three judges, each of whom having completed the appropriate training and examinations to become ANKC certified DWD judges.

Modern Dances with Dogs has its foundation in traditional obedience heelwork; however, it is a far more flexiblesport, enabling competitors to exhibit innovative and creative moves which highlight the performance capabilities of dog and handler and, provide entertainment for the audience. The handler chooses the music and develops or choreographs the routine to suit. The performance should be in time with and interpretive of the music - at a level in line with the skills possessed by the dog & handler at that time.

Both HTM & FS provide the opportunity for innovation and creativity. HTM stretches the Obedience ‘heeling’ experience to include the dog heeling on the left and right, forwards, backwards, to the sides, in front of and behind the handler often at different paces – always close by the handler. FS, as its name suggests, whilst able to incorporate all the HTM steps, has a greater opportunity for routine flexibility through moves including spins, weaves, ranging and rolls to list just a few; the dog and handler may be close at times while some distance apart at others.

In both sub-disciplines the performance is judged on technical competence, timing and musical interpretation. Performances run for about 1 min at the lower levels and up to 4 mins at the higher levels.

DWD is essentially an indoor sport, needing a firm, level surface for the safety of dogs and handlers and we are fortunate in having the use of the large pavilion at the Queanbeyan show grounds. It is an excellent size and has a great floor, ample parking and a complete lack of neighbours to be upset by music, traffic or the occasional barking.

Although held 'offsite' from the club, DWD classes are run under the auspices of the ACT Companion Dog Club (CDC). Training is structured and broken into blocks of eight weeks. Each block has six to eight 90-minute sessions over eight consecutive weeks. A half-day workshop is offered on a weekend near the end of each block.  A number of interstate DWD trainers have volunteered to present these weekend workshops, covering topics such as ‘Consolidating and extending moves’, ‘Selecting the right music’, ‘Choreography’, ‘Performance/Stage tips’, ‘Costuming’, ‘Developing a routine’, ‘Judging & Judge training’ and others.

For more information, on how you and your furry friend can become a part of Dances with Dogs with the ACT Companion Dog Club, please email  DWD Enquiries

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