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Teamwork Has a Fun Side
Is your dog a nutty mutt? Have you ever wanted to teach your dog tricks and work as a team as you put on shows?
Teamwork is on display in the dog variety show called Mutts Gone Nuts. I had the pleasure of seeing these dogs perform at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland.
Scott and Joan Houghton have played variety stages and festivals throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They adopted their first dog from a shelter and began fostering dogs in their off-season.
Scott and Joan have been influenced by the same positive reinforcement trainers as I have been: Pat Miller, Jean Donaldson, and Karen Pryor. Their love of dogs and training led them to reinvent their entire act in 2007 into Mutts Gone Nuts!
Celebrity Dog Trainer
Samantha Valle, a dog trainer, joined Mutts Gone Nuts in 2014. She is considered a top trainer and a great spokesperson for animal rescue. You could observe her giving the dogs hand signals as they did their individual tricks in tandem.
There are about 12 dogs available for the performances so that they can be rotated when there are two performances in one day. All of these dogs have been rescued from shelters across the county.
These dogs include Chico, a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix that has been with Mutts Gone Nuts since 2005. He is still quite agile at the age of 14.
Rusty is a Border Collie who needed a job.
Charlie is a Parson Russell Terrier who just missed being euthanized by minutes. He performed on the high wire.
Chuck Taylor, another Border Collie, loves to play frisbee. There really wasn’t enough room for him on the small stage to maximize his talents.
Geronimo is jump-roping cattle dog that has performed on Good Morning America, David Letterman and was on a float in the Rose Parade.
I was hoping to see Klaus, an American Eskimo that was pulled from a West Virginia shelter but he is not ready for prime time yet.
Gusto is a natural performer and I wanted to see what tricks that these mutts were performing really pleased the audience.
Sponsors
The Upper Potomac Valley Kennel Club and the Frostburg Dog Park sponsored this show. One dollar from every ticket went to support the Allegany County Animal Shelter…more teamwork in action.
Be sure to attend Mutts Gone Nuts when it comes to a venue near you to see the fun side of teamwork in action!
Come Back For More Miracle Living With Gusto!
Amelia
I love this! So adorable and great that they are using rescue dogs, showing the world how awesome rescue dogs can be.
What a fun show. I am always amazed at the talent dogs hold and the bond they have with there partner or instructor. Who said rescue dogs don’t know tricks! 🙂
How fun. I love watching dogs do tricks. So talented. It’s great that they use rescues as well.