Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Secret Life Of Dancing Dogs’ On Hulu, A Docuseries About Competitive Dog Dancers And The Humans That Love Them

The Secret Life Of Dancing Dogs is a six-part docuseries that follows seven women and their pups as they prepare for the 2023 edition of Crufts, the ultimate dog dancing competition. The dogs are trained to follow their people in complex dance routines that involve precise steps, jumps, and moments when the dog climbs on their person’s back, among other moves. It’s all adorable, but that adorableness is achieved via pretty strenuous training.

THE SECRET LIFE OF DANCING DOGS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Shots of people getting ready to dance in competition, with voice overs of them talking about the rush they get right before the performance starts. Then we find out that these people are doing competitive dance routines with their dogs.

The Gist: The filmmakers follow three pairs in the UK: Lorna Syrett and her border collie Nora, Gina Pink and her sheep dog Swagger and Isa Randle and her chihuahua Lucky. In Hungary, we meet Christine Bérczes and her Australian shepherd Meredith. In Norway, we’re introduced to Marianne Elise Methi and her border collie Vega, the 2022 Crufts freestyle dancing champion, In Canada, we meet Jennifer Fraser and her Australian shepherd Daiquiri, and in Japan, we get to know Sachiko Kuniyoshi and her border collie Alena.

We first meet Jennifer and Daquiri. Jennifer and her family have about a dozen dogs, many of whom are trained to dance with her. She really thought that she and Daquiri won the freestyle competition at the 2022 Crufts show, but she was in a tie with Marianne and Vega. When the “music interpretation” score was considered, Marianne and Vega won by .01 of a point. There certainly is a rivalry between Jennifer and Marianne, and it seems like the competitive Jennifer did not take the narrow defeat as magnanimously as she should have.

Marianne, who has lived with dogs since she lost her hearing as a teenager, won’t be competing in Crufts in 2023, due to Vega’s advancing age. But she’s coaching Lorna and Nora. In the meantime, we see Christine, who runs a dog dancing school in her tiny town, practicing a new routine with her pup Meredith.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The subject matter of The Secret Life Of Dancing Dogs reminds us of Well Groomed, the documentary about competitive dog grooming.

Our Take: What struck us about the people profiled in The Secret Life Of Dancing Dogs is that these women not only love dogs, but they love the time they take to train these dogs to dance with them. As competitive as they may be, the filmmakers take the time to show that what they’re doing is more about love and connection than anything else.

There is a temptation to portray people who get wrapped up in a small competitive world like dog dancing and show them getting to obsessed and competitive, fretting over the minutiae of being in this world with blinders on to the world around them. That’s not the case here. The reasons why these women surround themselves with dogs are at times heartbreaking, but that doesn’t mean that the lives they’re living are sad; they’re not “crazy dog ladies”. They’re animal lovers who demonstrate the strong bond people can have with their pets.

Of course, the dogs themselves are adorable, whether they’re just running around the yard, rehearsing with their people or in competition. That will likely be what attracts people to this show; yes, there’s a bit of competitive drama, but it’s still pretty polite. One or two of the dogs are on the older side, so we may see some health drama pop up. But the idea is to a more inspirational and aspirational of these people-doggie pairs, and the filmmakers mostly accomplish that.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Scenes from the upcoming season, which culminates in the 2023 Crufts competition.

Sleeper Star: All the dogs. Every one of the good boys and girls who are so well trained and seem to really enjoy bonding with their people as they practice and compete.

Most Pilot-y Line: Really, there are none. The filmmakers have too much respect for the dogs and their people to use mocking music or narration.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Secret Life Of Dancing Dogs is a fun docuseries whose respect for its subjects, both animal and human, makes it even more enjoyable to watch.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.