Finally, my FIRST dancing competition!!!

Hi. It's Cinnamon.

I am sorry I didn't blog for such a long time. My Mum was so busy that she couldn't help me write new posts. She is still busy but she agreed to help me write this post because we wanted to report on our VERY FIRST dancing competition at The National Dog Training Assembly (NDTA).

NDTA was held in Taupo, a resort town by Lake Taupo, the largest lake in the country

As the name indicates, many doggies gathered from across the country for the annual dog obedience and agility event. Earlier this year there were two local dog dancing competitions planned but they both ended up being cancelled because of lack of entries. So, this national event became my very first dancing competition.

I entered the Elementary class which fourteen dogs entered. I was the fifth in the running order. I thought that I would be very nervous in the competition, but I didn't get so nervous and instead I enjoyed dancing in front of a big audience of about two hundred.

I think I did pretty well, although I have to admit that I kept sniffing during our routine, as I just couldn't ignore interesting new smells other doggies had left. Actually my Mum was very worried that I might start looking for food during the routine, because some part of the dancing ring had been a waiting area for obedience competitions held before the dancing competition, where food was allowed.

After our performance, many people told us that our dance had been great. It seems that the audience's favourite part of our routine was the finish where I ran toward Mum, turned, backed up through Mum's legs, and put my fore-paws on Mum's shoulders.

Here is a video of my performance in the competition:

Although I didn't get placed (Prizes were given to top three dogs in the class), some people said to us 'You should've been placed!', which made both Mum and me very happy. :-)

Dacing on a stage and my allergy

Hi, it's Cinnamon.

Mum has been so busy that she couldn't help me post on my blog for such a long time!

Last weekend we did a dance demonstration again. As Dad didn't go with us, I don't have any photos from the event, Wag 'n Walk. But, my friend Bodie the Border Terrier's mum kindly asked her friend to video my performance (You can see it here). Thanks Bodie's mum and her friend!

Well, as you can see in the video, I didn't dance very well. In the first place, it was a very hard condition; we had to dance on a small stage with a narrow catwalk. Also, as soon as I got on the stage, I caught nice foodie smells under tables on the stage and couldn't help checking them. But, I couldn't reach the source of the smells because I was caught by a man, who was so mean that he took away a plastic tray for donuts and a cardboard box for a pizza that I had found!!

Then, just when Mum was trying to guide me to the starting position, the music started. Also, as I had never been on a stage before, I had to check every corner of it during our routine.

We are going to do this Lollipop routine once more at NDTA (National Dog Training Assembly) later this month. Although it is going to be our very first dance competition, Mum is thinking about making it the last time we will do this routine, as we have been doing the same routine since March.

Before I go, I will show you what a hard time I had to go through.



This strange object I am wearing is called an Elizabethan Collar. Have you ever had to wear it? I had to wear it for the first time recently. My vet says that I am allergic to a type of plant called Wandering Jew, so I had to be treated with some ointment and then wear this strange thing for an hour after that.