Cats and dogs will entertain you at Pet Shenanigans, Busch Gardens, Williamsburg
This video is genuinely entertaining. It is very impressive. We have to be impressed with both the trainer or trainers of these cats and dogs and the animals themselves. I’m told that they are rescued animals and, yes, the trainers are incredible. The show encourages folks to consider adopting rescue animals. There is an underlying good purpose behind it.
Busch Gardens claims that the show is “wildly popular”. I can completely believe it. It looks incredible. The performance times vary daily and the location is: Shenanigans Theatre. You can buy tickets online. Just Google ‘Busch Gardens’ and you’ll find it.
THERE ARE MORE ARTICLES ON CAT TRAINING AT THE END OF THIS PAGE.
Who said that you can’t train cats? An outstanding feature of the show is how one cat sets another cat in motion. And another feature is the sheer number of cats and dogs that have been trained combined with the complexity of the routine.
One commenter on the Reddit.com website suggested that there is a person backstage, behind the façade that you see in the video, or persons, who help to coordinate the transition from one animal to the other. Initially, that had not occurred to me but it does seem plausible. And it would account for the fact that there is this long façade with cats and dogs going in and coming out of it.
Pet Shenanigans at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, USA. Screenshot.
I wonder, too, if they carried out a selection procedure to pick the cats and dogs who are most trainable? The biggest problem might be in selecting individuals who are more predisposed to being trained. And they have got to be high-energy cats. I don’t think all domestic cats would be suited for this performance. Another commenter said: “They’ve got really good with the animatronics these days!” ? You might be forgiven that it is animatronics because it is so well rehearsed.
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Everything okay with you Mike? Hadn’t received a email from you in weeks.
I am fine thanks. Do you mean a subscription notification? If so I stopped the old ones. Try using the new form it is far better. Hope u are well. If u mean not responding to your comments, sorry ?. Sometimes I miss them because I am busy.
Make sure you click on the big picture at the top of the page to see the whole animal. It’s a few years old but someone threw this animal away on the street looking like this.
https://petrescuereport.com/2020/rescuers-didnt-know-what-animal-it-was-under-pounds-of-matted-hair/
While it’s cute I wonder what they had to do to make the animals perform. I know for a fact hunger/food is a good training method for any animal. So I’m going to give it a thumbs down. I just do not think any animal should be used to entertain us. And how many times a day are these animals made to perform for people? Are they put in cages at the end of the day or do they get to go to a warm home where they can just be a cat or a dog? Do these performing animals get snuggles and pets or just a crate until it’s time to perform again?
According to someone who works tangentially as a food supplier for the animals, it’s all cuddles, healthy food and treats, and positive reinforcement. The animals will sometimes go “off script” if one sees a leaf they want to chase or something, while the rest go through their paces. As you can imagine, this is viewed with much amusement by the audience.