Entertaining Dogs | Performing Dogs | Dog Performance

During the middle ages the dog frequently served a triple function, that of body guard, companion and the working partner of traveling entertainers. Elizabethan clowns, known as 'tumblers', also appeared alongside performing dogs and at this time we can read of dogs belonging to what were described as 'vagabundical masters', dancing to music and 'showing many pretty tricks by gestures of their bodies - as to stand bolt upright, to lye flat upon the ground, to turn round as a ring holding their tails in their teeth'.

In William Harrison's Description of England, pub lished in 1586, we read of dogs being trained to beg for meat and to take a man's cap from his head.

These dogs were 'dressed in motley and short waist-ed jackets'. There were also serious reports of dogs which had been trained to speak, one in the eighteenth century reputedly knowing 30 words of German as a result of three years' training.

Dog theatrical performers
Dogs also played roles in theatrical performances, especially during the early nineteenth century when 'dog dramas' were in vogue. Le Chien de Montargis, ou, La Foret de Bondy (The Dog of Montargis or the Forest of Bondy) opened at the Gait Theatre in Paris in 1814 and was so popular that it was translated into Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and English. In Britain the play ran for over 1,100 performances.

In the nineteenth century, there was a curious performance by dogs on stage at Sadler's Wells. The dogs stormed a fort amid the firing of guns and fumes of gunpowder, a 'deserter' was shot dead for the offence and carried off by his companions. At the same time other dogs demonstrated symptoms of extreme pain from which they gradually recovered, displaying every possible means of joy as a result.

Dog tricksters and showmen
Showmen's dogs were tutored to play games of dominoes in front of crowds of onlookers. Such games were played in a most orderly manner, each playing one piece after the other, the dog taking his selected dominoes to the master to place down. Close observers could not detect any signs given to the dogs, though there may have been clues in the short chuckling sounds made by their masters as the dogs walked round to select each piece.

Dog fancy dress performers
The writer, General W. N. Hutchinson, reported some fascinating sights in Paris where six dogs were yoked in pairs to a light carriage. On top sat a fantastically dressed terrier who managed to stand on his hind legs even when the coach was in motion. Inside the carriage were other dogs, two of greyhound type and a 'Russian poodle'. These dogs performed numerous tricks. One, dressed in a petticoat and smart cap, danced a minuet and one of the Greyhounds leapt through a hoop held by a boy, high above his head. After jumping, the dog trotted off feigning lameness on each of his legs in turn.

As the scene wore on the circle was enlarged by the carriage being driven round in increasing circles. Then the dogs' master spread out 10 cards on the four sides of an old cloth. Each card bore a number and spectators were invited to call out any figure, provided that it did not exceed four digits. The dogs were released at random and duly collected up numbers totaling the various figures requested, taking them diligently to their master. There were various attempts to discover if this had been done by trickery, but it seemed not to be the case.

Dog performing poodles
Paris was certainly famous for its entertaining dogs and was classed as the home of performing Poodles. Those at Pont Neuf were well known for being trained to soil the boots of passers-by, in order that they would be obliged to employ the services of a 'boot black' to get them clean again.

In the streets of London, Punch and Judy were a familiar sight, with the dog, Toby, wearing a ruff with bells in order to frighten away the devil from his master. This famous piece of 'theatre' was first performed in Covent Garden in 1662 and Toby was only a stuffed figure until the 1820s when a dog was trained to take the part. The show became known as 'Punch and Toby' before being renamed 'Punch and Judy'. Even royal puppeteer staged performances of Punch and Judy for the children of both Queen Victoria and Edward VII.