As the music to "Steal My Kisses" and "We are Family" plays, dogs and owners do spins, jumps, pinwheels and move together as a precision team. Well, not everybody since they are in various stages of progress. And let's face it, not all dancers are created equal.

 

Most have been trained as therapy dogs. Owners form lines and circles as the dogs weave in and out. A couple of John Travolta dogs even jump over the backs of other dogs. (There are bound to be showoffs in any crowd.) The music is loud, everyone is smiling and having a good time. Even the dogs.

 

Welcome to doggie dance class.

 

Hayes, a trainer with 20 years experience who owns the school, remembers her first impression of "canine freestyle," as it is called, when she saw a demonstration 15 years ago. "I was showing at a dog show and saw this thing going on. I wasn't overly impressed. But it's changed over the years. It's not just owners in costumes with dogs spinning and heeling."

 

Hayes became interested in the sport two years ago because of her involvement in therapy dog work. "It's another way of making people smile," she says. "The dogs love it and the training is fun." Once the routines are perfected, they will visit nursing homes.

 

Hayes grew up training Irish Setters as bird dogs in the Midwest, then worked as a police officer with bloodhounds in rape investigations around the country for 20 years. "Bloodhounds are one of the more difficult dogs to have as a house dog," she notes. "It takes its toll on your body." Two months ago, she retired as a national judge of working bloodhounds.

 

She started teaching obedience classes on the Cape four years ago. Hayes teaches dogs to come every time they are called, to sit and wait, not to jump on people, dig holes or climb on furniture. Hayes also trains them not to bite, bark or growl. In other words, she can take a spoiled brat that ignores you and turn it into a dream dog.

 

In extreme cases, Hayes trains dog privately for a month and they spend 24 hours a day with her. At that point, bad behavior has been ingrained in the animal. "Yes, I've been called the Dog Whisperer," she says with a grin. Some of her clients have belonged to Hollywood actresses, financial wizards and CEOs as well as ordinary Cape Codders.

 

It's hard to believe the well-mannered standard poodle at her side once ate the insides of two expensive vehicles and barked nonstop. Recently, she dealt with a Jack Russell terrier. "He was terribly cute but a nightmare," she says, noting his transgressions were major. "He peed in the house 37 times a day and would attack any male dog regardless of size. It also killed skunks. I gagged when they brought him to me. They had never bathed him." A month later, he was an angel. "I had him trained on and off the leash," she says proudly. "No more tennis ball obsession. No more jumping all over the car. Now he stays in the back seat."

 

In a sense, she is a dog psychologist and looks at each dog individually. "Bad behavior begins when they are young and cute," she notes. "The puppy can steal something out of your purse and then bite at you when you try to get it back. The owner tries to tug it away." The behavior becomes learned, then deeply learned.

 

 

Hayes added freestyling to her bag of tricks after attending a professional conference and seeing Carolyn Scott perform. "She was amazing. More enthusiastic and experienced than anyone I've met," Hayes says. "We've become friends. I took a group of Cape Cod dog owners down to Delaware to see her and they fell in love with her."

 

Scott teaches all over the country with her golden retriever, Rookie, and recently appeared on "Good Morning America" with Diane Sawyer where she and Rookie performed a routine from "Grease" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." They have been called the Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire of the dog dancing world. Scott is coming to Dennisport to do a freestyle workshop in February and it's been filled for months in advance. "She looks at you and your dog and can tell what song you should work with. She chooses music that shows off the dog's strength," she explains. "Some dogs love to spin or weave. Dogs have a gait and she finds the music that suits it." (The cost for the two day seminar is $200, $150 for observers and $50 per half hour for private lessons.) Hayes hopes Scott will return for another workshop later in the year.

 

Meanwhile, there is the Cape Cod Obedience Trick Club, which meets twice a week. "There are three different levels. Most are registered therapy dogs. They work as a drill team. It's a hoot. A blast."

 

Hayes admits her own dog, Ruby, a 1 1/2-year-old Irish Setter, is not a very good dancer. "Ruby dances but not well. She's not the most graceful dog," she says. "She's a through-the-woods, stealthy dog. Not an elegant walking dog. I have an older setter who is elegant but not the brightest light bulb in the closet. This one is being trained to replace her."

 

She chose the breed because they make her laugh, and they learn quickly. "I knew I'd go back to them after my police work. I wanted a nice easy dog that's silly." Hayes found her through the rescue work she does with the breed and now thinks she's the best dog she's ever had. "Every day she amazes me. I bring her out to a class and she calms aggressive dogs. She teaches them to obey. I'm not done training her," she notes. "I like to show people that I have to work, just like them."