Dances with Dogs

I am a huge fan of the unintentionally funny. As a Christian, I love stuff like this (WARNING: This video is incredibly funny - spit-take possible. Please take necessary precaution before clicking on the link). As an allergy sufferer, I love watching the water gush out of this woman's nose in this thoroughly serious instructional video. They're hilarious not only because they look ridiculous, but also because they don't seem to know they look ridiculous. That's two levels of funny! And that's why I'm pleased to add the following videos into the internet archive of unintentionally funny videos.

Today our family went to the State Fair of Texas, which has become something of a tradition for the past several years. One of the things that we try to make sure we do every year is to go see the dog shows. They have in the past had a couple of different kinds of dog shows. One kind is the dogs that are really good at catching frisbees, running through an obstacle course, etc. Another kind that they have had in the past is the herding shows where they show the herding abilities of several different kinds of dogs. Both are fun, the kids like 'em, yada yada yada.

This year we went to the traditional frisbee/jumping/obstacle course dog show, and then noticed on the schedule that there was a show called "Dancing Dogs" or something like that which was going to be held in the same auditorium so we decided to stay put and keep our good seats for the next show. Sounded fun - "I guess it's sort of an acrobat show with dogs" I thought to myself.

What happened next is difficult to explain. As I was watching the workers set up for the next event, I saw some things that made me wonder if perhaps this was going to be a little different than what I had been anticipating. The dogs sitting on tables with frilly red tablecloths. A woman dressed as though it were a black tie affair (complete with sparkly stuff on her face) with a Cruella Deville hairdo. Something was definitely awry.

Then came this - apparently meant to "warm up the crowd" (part of the humor of this is lost in the video because it's difficult to tell that the lady in the red hat is in her late 90s):




When I saw that I realized I was in for something that was not just entertainment. but rather something fairly creepy. But because I'm a fan of the unintentionally funny, I kept the camera rolling. I knew there was great potential here. (By the way, the dogs sitting in the frilly red table in the above video did not participate in any dances. Their sitting on a red table during the dance was the extent of their performance.)

Then the show started. As it turns out this event was a choreographed "canine freestyle" dance show where dogs dance with their owners! You heard me right. Cruella introduced the event by telling those of us in the crowd that we too could participate in the exciting world of canine freestyle dancing.




After watching the show I can report that in order to do this you need three things: 1) A dog, 2) A lot of spare time, and 3) Very little dignity.

I have posted what I think are the 2 most entertaining performances. I may post more later.

First up is Drew (Drue?) and Gracie (not sure which is the dog and which is the owner):





Next up is Tiny(sic) Romo:




Did anybody else know this sort of thing was going on out there? It really seems like Christopher Guest should be notified! King of the Hill actually had an episode where Bobby participated in this sort of thing with Khan and Minh's dog "Doggie" in competition with Hank and Ladybird but that actually made this look less goofy than it is in real life!


UPDATE (10/19): Added another video: Pam and Viva