Without the rigidity of obedience and other dog sports, a canine drill team can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be.
Eventually you will want at least four teams. The more teams you have, the more intricate the patterns may be, in addition to having replacements when any teams are not available. And you'll need a place to meet and practice.
Team members must have control over their dog and basic obedience training is helpful but any breed or mixed breed can perform. Routines may include marches, walks, and shuffles in patterns, lines, weaves and pinwheels, and dogs may perform various skills such as "heel", "sit", "down", "stay", "come", and "return to heel".
To get started, choose a short, snappy piece of music, plot out the timing, choreograph movements and patterns and write them down for study. Here is where creativity really shines. Then the fun begins because you will need to hold regular practice sessions and be prepared to put in many hours perfecting those moves. Keep it simple at first, but as you accomplish more and more, you can become more creative with the maneuvers. It's a good idea not to take things too seriously. Keep it fun. If you're having a good time, your dog will too. When you've mastered the first routine, learn another and another. At some point, you will probably want to get uniforms and matching costumes for the dogs.
When you feel you're ready to entertain an audience, call up a nursing home or school and offer to put on a show.
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