Dreamy

The Magic of the Match online workshop continues for my MDSA group. Challenging, intense, and fun all describe my evenings.

It takes time to watch the pairs as they heel while three or four or five possible music choices for their freestyle routine plays in the background. Sometimes the match just jumps out at me (Magic!) and it's easy. Most times I compare, dither, change my mind, and eventually come to some sort of conclusion.

My daily mailbox typically has about forty-five emails from other members contributing their musical matches for the "On Stage" teams. One piece of music usually receives approval from the majority, but every melody has at least one fan that thinks it's the perfect match for that team. Well, maybe Hot Canary irritates us all...thankfully, since I pity the dog that has to listen, much less dance to it.

I'm sure I've picked at least one melody for a team that has made others wonder what I could possibly have been thinking. My only excuse is that if I really like a piece, then I want to find a dog that can dance with it. Or sometimes I dislike a song intensely enough that nothing could persuade me to match it with a dog, so I end up choosing something less than ideal.

Things that I've learned so far:

• Music must compliment the dog's tempo while heeling. If it does, the dog could do nothing but heel and the couple would look wonderful.
• Tempo is not everything, the music should also suit the dog's style--athletic, dainty, graceful, youthful, energetic, deliberate, etc. A musical selection could match the canine footsteps perfectly but be too heavy for a toy poodle or too feminine for an outdoorsy Labrador retriever.
• Golly, then you have to consider the lyrics. Great tempo and style don't fly unless the lyrics soar too.
• Lots of music is really "almost" perfect. I think some dogs move well to a wide variety of songs and it can be hard to choose which is best.
• Fortunately, every song has been recorded by a plethora of artists. An "almost" song can become pure Magic with the right recording.
• The better you know the dog, the easier it is to choose good music for a freestyle routine.
• Conversely, not knowing the sex or age or personality of a dog can contribute to a poor musical choice.
• Musical carries emotional weight (which is why there is never universal agreement about which melody is Magic).

Thank heavens that new matches come up On Stage only two or three times per week, otherwise my brain would be subject to Musical Overload! As it is, I dream of dogs and music way too often. Not to mention that I can't get Blue Tango out of my brain!

Here's the link but remember that this carries an earbug warning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27aV9OTl8TM

Dance Fever

My mom has it. That's why she hasn't been keeping up with our blog recently.

For Christmas, she gave herself (and me, of course) a membership to the Musical Dog Sports Association. Mom has given up trying to get Dad to dance with her, but I'm willing to do whatever she suggests as long as it involves either food or fun.

There are lots of groups devoted to dog dancing or canine freestyle, but she chose MDSA for lots of reasons. Number one has to be this amazing team:

I think Rookie is having way too much fun dancing with his person. And if he can have that much fun, so can I!

Turns out that Carolyn is a founding member of MDSA and that was enough for Mom who both laughs and cries each and every time she watches this video (she's a little misty-eyed right now).

Right now, Mom is spending time every day watching videos of dogs heeling with their persons and then listening to music. She says it's a trial-and-error process, but that there is something magical about having the right dog and right music. (If you say so, Mom.) She spends a lot of time sitting at her computer matching dogs and music, but she seems to enjoy it.

Sometimes you just have to let your person have some fun, even if it doesn't make much sense. Mom doesn't understand why I think cow flops are so enjoyable and I don't know why she likes YouTube so much--but we love each other anyway.

Her Third Bark-day Celebration

Kharma got a bath for her birthday.

(It may not have been her favorite present.)

By the time we were done, my flannel shirt, jeans and undies all were soaked and had to be tossed in the laundry hamper along with the two huge beach towels used to dry her off.

Kharma wasn't nuts about the hair dryer either. I eventually got smart and put it on the quiet setting and she settled down. By the time she was dry enough to carry back downstairs, Kharma had sparkling white stockinged feet and her fur was conditioned and softly shining. She was brushed from her freckled nose to her white tail plume. Even her purple daisy collar got a good cleaning.

I'm not a complete monster--I made her a nice batch of tuna fudge to celebrate and we've been taking it around to her best doggy pals for an extended birthday celebration. She got a new toy and she's had an entire week of exciting walks (no matter what the weather was doing).

There's no extra money for the agility DVD I've been wanting or for the agility class we'd planned. But...I did sign us up as members of the Musical Dog Sports Association (think Carolyn, Rookie and Grease) and we are excited to begin working on more tricks that we can incorporate into a freestyle routine.