Ever heard of Canine Musical Freestyle? It's dancing with doggies.

Sound kind of silly? It's anything but.

As director of training for the Butler Dog Training Association, Nancy Kieffer of Butler is one person who is sincere about this craze.

"A lot of people don't take us seriously, but it's a lot of hard work," she said.

"And it's fun," said Cheryl Youkers, also of Butler. She has two dogs she's training to someday compete nationally in doggy dance.

Kieffer, along with Betty Scarnato of Butler and Frances Cashdollar of Center Township, discovered canine freestyle at camp Gone to the Dogs about three years ago. It's a summer camp in Marlboro, Vt., for dogs and their trainers.

"At camp you can try anything with your dog," Kieffer said.

They had so many different courses to choose from, Keiffer said, not just traditional dog obedience classes, but also things like doggie swim lessons, weight training, and even doggie skateboarding.

Doggie dancing caught their attention and they gave it a whirl. They discovered that this nationally growing craze was a whole lot of fun, and the dogs loved it, too. The women decided to start a group in Butler.

"We're always trying to bring back the best possible activities," Kieffer said.

They came back from camp and told the other members of the group what they had learned.

The Butler group loved the sport, too, and decided to see how their dogs might respond.

"We just started amongst ourselves," Kieffer said.

Since then, some of the members have attended dance seminars."As a group we've made up routines. We've done a drill team and a marching routine," she said."We do the macarena and square dancing," Cashdollar added."We do both individual and group (dances)," Youkers said.The women and their dogs hold their sessions at their meeting room at the old Mitchell Hill School in Summit Township.Although the sport is great fun, it takes a lot of hard work on both the handler's and the dog's part. In order for a dog and handler team to even be allowed in the Doggie Dance group they must have taken and passed several milestone exams."You have to have a foundation in basic obedience, (have passed the) canine good citizen test and the therapy dog test," Scarnato said.Right now the Butler group is into the dancing for fun and exercise. They call themselves the Prancing Paws. Their goal is to compete in a national freestyle competition, but they admit they still have much to learn.First they have to master the basic dance moves.When a dog and handler compete, depending on the category or level of competition entered, certain requirements must be met. Just like in figure skating, the routine must last a specific amount of time, it must cover a certain percentage of the dance floor and include various required moves.Many of the moves are really variations of the basic commands learned in obedience training classes. Some of the moves are actually tricks many owners teach their pets. Tricks like creep, rollover, paws up or bowing fit nicely into a routine.

Group members have learned dogs are unique in their musical preferences. The canine partners perform better and look better when dancing to music that fits their personalities.For this reason, the group works with variations in beat and rhythm. Kieffer explained, "They move differently (because they) are built differently."The dogs are not expected to fit into a certain mold, either. The Prancing Paws group encourages members to discover what works best with their dogs."We work to their strong point," Youkers explained.Youkers' two dogs are Winkie, a 5-year-old toy poodle, and Willa, a 2-year-old standard poodle.Willa loves to jump, so Youker's incorporates a move into her routine where she lifts her leg straight into the air. That's Willa's cue to jump. With front paws in the air, she hops over with gusto.Winkie is a little more prim and proper dog that prefers more floor work.Kieffer's dog is a 7-year-old terrier mix named Maddie who looks a lot like Benji from the movies. Similar to Benji, she likes to put both paws up and beg. Kieffer has incorporated that into a "wave" during her routine.

Scarnato's German shepherd mix, Yoda, is one of just two male dogs in the group. He's a little bit of a fraidy-cat. He was rescued by the humane society as a pup."They think his litter was dumped on the side of the road," Scarnato explained.The dancing is good for his morale. His favorite singer is, not surprisingly, the smooth voice of Barry Manilow."(Our favorite) is 'Don't Rock the Jukebox,'" Cashdollar said.She works with her high energy Scottish terrier, Tessie Trueheart. The dancing has been a good way to channel that energy."This is good for these high-energy dogs," Youkers said.Both her poodles are very lively. Especially in the winter, the dancing is a great outlet for them."You could get pretty tired in the living room," she said.Although Canine Musical Freestyle is a serious matter in the dog world, these ladies and their dogs are having great fun. Competing is the goal they are striving for, but in the meantime, they are kicking up their heels, learning the ropes, and laughing along the way."You need to be able to laugh at yourself," Kieffer admitted.Cashdollar agreed, "You need to have a sense of humor."