Frequently Asked Questions
If you dont find your answers here feel free to contact us!
What kind of space requirements do we need to provide?
We can perform both indoors or out, our outdoor requirements are a minimum of 60 x 70 feet. We also prefer to use our custom 40 foot 5th Wheel Toy-hauler as a back drop to the show. The most important thing is the surface, it must be a flat grass park like setting or padded astroturf type surface with no obstructions i.e. trees, hydrants, rocks etc. This is for the safety of the dogs and trainers, our show is a high energy show and the dogs fly upwards to 8 feet high and need a safe landing surface.
Our indoor requirements are a minimum of 40 x 40, the surface needs to be some sort of padded surface i.e. padded carpeting, padded Astroturf and surfaces of that nature. Most indoor venues have provided typical low ply carpeting with 1/2 inch carpet padding underneath. Most Expos have these materials on hand.
Amusement Parks can fall under both indoor and outdoor requirements, contact us today for more details.
We can provide pictures of the numerous ways to set up for our show on request.
How long is the show?
Our shows typically are 25 - 30 minutes long, after each show we include a "Pat and Chat" where we bring out a couple of the pups or the horse for the audience to pet, take pictures with and ask us any questions, as long as there are people waiting to meet the animals we stay! We can perform up to 3 shows daily.
Sporting event Halftime shows vary depending on the wants of the organizers.
Where would be the best place to set up your show?
Alot of venues have us set up in the children's areas which is great, however keep in mind that this is a headlining type show and not only is it great entertainment for kids but its great for adults also. As a matter of fact after many shows we hear alot of comments from adults like "wow we thought this was for kids but this is a great show for the entire family!" We have taken great care in the production of our shows to insure we entertain everyone present, we like to say that its "Ultimate Family Fun from 1 to 101"
With that said you can feel comfortable having us set up the show targeting any audience. We do ask that scheduling conflicts with other performers, bands, loud noise attractions, etc. be taken into consideration. Our dogs do perform to music, and out of respect for the audience; and to not distract the human or canine performers, we ask that these considerations be thought through.
How many animals are in the show?
Five rescued and adopted dogs and a mini horse per show. We travel with 16 dogs and mix them up all the time so your audience can watch multiple shows in one day and see different dogs.
Do we have to provide you with living arrangements?
Another great feature of the Ultimate Canines LLC. is we actually live in the same trailer we perform out of so you do not have to provide hotels or the like. We travel in a 40 ft Cyclone Toy-hauler RV. Since we travel with up to 16 dogs and only use 5 per show, we ask for ease of transport and security, that it is always parked as close as possible to the actual performance area, we prefer to have the trailer as part of the setup.
What separates you from the rest?
Great question, we perform with dogs that are typical of your audiences dogs, mutts, dogs found on the street, showed up on our doorstep just typical everyday dogs not your high breed high priced dogs. We interact with your audience throughout the performance. We bring in kids from your audience to be a part of the show and they always go home with a prize. We add in alot of comedy and finally our show has a message, instead of preaching to them about adopting dogs we show them in person what you can achieve with a dog that was unwanted! These dogs are family and are treated that way and it reflects in the performance. Starting in 2012 we are adding a mini horse to the show, its a true dog and pony show now!
We are not your typical Frisbee Dog Show, although we do some Frisbee (Tom is a World, National and Pro Champion/Finalist) we include alot of other dog sports and throw in a bunch of doggie tricks!
One very important point we have to make, we are fully insured, State and USDA licensed, we get inspected (unannounced) on the road and at home by not only the State and USDA but our vet to insure our performers are treated properly, we have never failed an inspection, something we are very proud of. This occurs numerous times annually.
Finally our backgrounds prior to becoming entertainers are second to none, Tom was a Deputy Sheriff for 15 years so knows how to interact with the audience and Mary was a job coach for the mentally disabled. You cant get a more diversified couple to entertain your audience.
Do we need to provide you with anything?
Electricity to run our PA Equipment, RV (220 - 50 AMP preferred) and a running water supply for anything over 3 days. We provide fencing, performers tent, pa equipment, dogs, horses and we live out of the performing trailer so you don't have to worry about providing hotels which will save you hundreds alone! We are a turnkey operation. We do recommend bleachers or seating of some type. You will be amazed on how many people will stop what they are doing to see our show. I cant tell you how many times venues have scrambled after seeing our first show and how many people it attracted to get bleachers set up fast. Most shows are standing room only, every show has hundreds of spectators.
What about bad weather, do you cancel shows based on bad weather?
In extremely rare cases we have cancelled shows, the only reason to cancel a show is due to dangerous weather (tornados, lightening storms, hail, heavy rain) basically the only time we cancel shows is when it is dangerous for both the performers and audience alike as is the case with any outdoor performing act. Of course this doesn't come into play for indoor venues or outdoor "covered" venues (tent type venues). In 99% of the cases where we had to cancel a show there was zero audience in attendance anyways. We will do everything possible to perform regardless of weather even if it means moving the show to another location, we are very flexible.
Are you available for press, news and radio interviews?
Yes we are and have done hundreds of these, however it takes us the better part of a day to set up our show, we also like to have some practice time to get the dogs and horses use to the new surroundings, so we typically arrive one day prior to the event. With this said, having to take time to go to a television or radio station may not be possible, we have many venues to travel to throughout the year and our travel time is very limited, we may have just enough time to get the show set up and the dogs prepared before our first scheduled show and would not have the time for interviews. We cannot guarantee that we will be available for media but will make every effort to do so. If media is a must and it requires that we come to the venue more than one day prior to the event then we will include that in our price quote. We are also available for interviews via phone or e-mail at anytime prior to the event at no charge.
Do you hire others to perform in your place?
No, when you hire the Ultimate Canines (Muttallica) thats who you get Tom and Mary Clements, period!