By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

It’s standing room only,as a very special group of dogs take center stage at Henry Ford Village. From Pomeranians to German shepherds, terriers and collies—the Livonia Dogmatics are in full force as they show off the obedience skills they’ve learned while attending the Dan Morris Dog Training School in Livonia.

Morris, who founded the Dogmatics training school 25 years ago, is a former U.S. Air Force instructor, so it’s not surprising that the group of dogs performs as a precision drill team.

There are 22 members in the non-profit, all-volunteer group, not counting their more than 22 dogs. Most dogs in the group have taken a six-week “onleash” training course at the school, while others have made it to the advanced “off-leash” 16-week training program.

Dogs on tour
“They know 31 different commands,” Morris says. Some of the dogs do their very own special signature feats. “One lady does card tricks with her  Airedale— kids especially love it.”

Morris says all the dogs, who range in age from nine months to five years, get along just fine. He uses a specific reward system for the dogs.

“Mostly we reward them with verbal and physical praise, and save food as a reward only for those that do special tricks,” he says.

Encore performance
The group practices on Fridays and keeps busy performing at up to ten shows and four parades each year. Recently they visited the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Detroit in an effort to cheer up young patients.

The Dogmatics, who have visited Henry Ford Village before, impressed the crowd with their obedience skills. “The show was fantastic!” says staff member Myra  McInerney. McInerney saysthe show will definitely be coming to the community again in the future.

“I really enjoy watching the owners grow with their dogs,” Morris says. “To me this is not a job.”