Bring your dancing shoes!

We've all learned a new dance step. It's called the Chihuahua Shuffle. It's where you shuffle your feet to avoid stepping on her when she prances around in front of you as if to say "where'we going!? Huh?! Huh!?"

And then there's the intermediate step - it's sort of a shuffle, lift, lunge. This is for when you think she's not there because you don't feel her with the shuffle step, so you lift your foot and then she comes out of nowhere and is standing RIGHT between where your foot is about to meet the floor, and then, of course, comes the lunge. Sometimes there are flailing hand movements that go with it.

Last but not least is the Tiny Terror Tango. Some prefer the Tiny Terror Tap Dance. These are both partner dances - the partner being 2.6 lbs. of pretend MONSTER! Her role is to look ferocious, growl, sweep in to bite as many toes as she can get during one move, and then swing to the left or right, grabbing hold of your pant's leg and pulling sideways, reminiscent of David taking on Goliath with his teeth instead of a slingshot. Her partner's job (that would be you), is simply to follow her lead, stepping and jumping, sometimes even twirling or doing a small pirouette, best if accompanied by a rhythmic "No! Rosie! No! Rosie! No! Rosie!" (can you feel the beat. Clap your hands.... No! clap Rosie! clap clap.. No! clap Rosie! clap clap .... do you have it?) It's obviously a much more complicated step, primarily because it's not always the same, but Rosie is an excellent teacher.

Rosie has also been learning some new solo dance and entertainment techniques. This evening she was working on her mime routine, the one where you pretend to run into the wall. She hasn't quite figured out that you're just supposed to PRETEND to run into the wall. But she's working on it. Earlier in the afternoon she grabbed onto a long bath towel as I was pinning it to the umbrella clothesline. I didn't know she was attached by her teeth and when I swirled the clothesline around 90 degrees, Rosie went sailing up into the air for about four feet before making a perfect two paw landing. And of course she's nearly perfected her boxing routine. She's also taking tumbling and clown lessons. I'm thinking of making her one of those little ruffly collars for her act. Or maybe I could just use a cloth covered hair band, it would be about the right size. Her dramatic acting, of course, has always been superb. Pssst, can you keep a secret? She's being seriously considered for the role of the adorable but pouty young drama queen in a well known day time soap opera. (I can't tell you which one because we're still in the middle of contract negotiations.)

She's also learned to "Sit". She wasn't sure this was really necessary. Her comments were "Sit? I mean, hasn't this one been done to death? It's an old trick. It's beneath me, really." I argued that one never knows what sort of demands will be made on an entertainer and better to have it in her repotraire and never need it then some day potentially lose a big role because she doesn't have any experience with it. (That and I bribed her with doggie treats.) Eventually I'd like to convince her that other "standard" tricks - like Stay, Lie Down, Come, Down - are equally valuable skills to have mastered.

Well, I better run. Our little Ziegfield girl needs her beauty rest and she can't get up on the bed without my help.