Jean Milnes and Dogo won their two Starters' Passes at the trial held by Dances with Dogs Club of Victoria, held at KCC Park on November 28th, 2010. They performed to "Vagabond".

Jean writes - Dogo is a four year old Labrador cross - 1/4 is Lurcher, i.e. Greyhound and an unknown something else. He came to Australia from England with me in late 2009, having been 'home schooled'. His temperament is kind and gentle, and his manners were acceptable but he was, as friends described him, 'exuberant' and 'enthusiastic'. His journey to Dancing with Dogs began when I decided he needed to remember the manners he had forgotten whilst in quarantine and joined a training class in April 2010. He found himself at a DWD workshop in May 2010 and the rest, as they say, is history. We have both learned a lot through DWD, especially where it comes to self control, consistency and focus. Neither of us are too keen to embark on the more 'formal' disciplines in dog training and find DWD provides a fun basis for training. I certainly enjoy it and so, it seems, does Dogo. Our only regret is that we did not start sooner!

Daniel McCloughlin and Skipper won their two Starters' Passes at the trial held by Dances with Dogs Club of Victoria, held at KCC Park on November 28th, 2010, performing their routine to "Hawaii Five O".

As Daniel describes his dancing partner - Skipper is a 10-year-old rough-coated Jack Russell who showed little enthusiasm in obedience training, and was not that keen on agility when we gave it a try.  Skipper is a very intelligent dog with a strong hunting drive and only expends energy when he can see a sensible purpose for it (that is from a Jack Russell’s point of view). About four  years ago, together with a small group in Adelaide, we started experimenting with DWD.  In the sport of DWD, the constant variety and close interaction with me keeps Skipper’s attention and gives him a lot of fun (along with ample food rewards).  Whilst I know he would rather be chasing rabbits that is a bit hard to do in your back yard, at least on a regular basis (just joking!) - so DWD is the next best thing. 

Jackie Pipe and Bella won their two Starters' Passes at the trial held by Dances with Dogs Club of Victoria, held at KCC Park on November 28, 2010. Their routine was performed to "Spanish Flea".

Jackie provides a little bit of information about the duo: Bella is a seven year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with a minor heart murmur and a very happy disposition, as you can see from the constantly wagging tail. We'd never entered any dog sport competitions before so we were over the moon when we gained two qualifying scores in our very first two tries for our DWD Freestyle Starters title in Melbourne last November. Our routine was to Spanish Flea, and we managed a 2nd and 3rd place. Not a bad effort when Bella managed to pick up a grass seed in her ear halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne, which meant a quick trip to a very helpful vet in Horsham for a general anaesthetic to get it out. Luckily, we were staying overnight nearby, and our trip continued with no lasting effects and a very happy outcome.

Winpara Dream Chaser DWDF.S - 20 months old.

Kenzie gained a third and a fourth place in the Starter's Freestyle for her first title, and a win in the Starter's Heelwork to Music in the December 09 Sydney competition.

Kenzie's achievements in Sydney make her the first South Australia dog with a DWD title as well as the first for her breeder Robyn Evans of Winpara Kennels, Western Australia.

Kenzie also "dabbles" in herding, has gained her instinct test pass and is also training in agility and obedience.