Think back on the best stage shows you’ve ever seen. They might have featured a mix of comedy, daring physical feats and heart-tugging moments. The best of them had a message that resonated, some important statement about our place in the world and those with which we share it.
Now, imagine all of that delivered by a cast of talented canines. That’s a peek at Mutts Gone Nuts!, the long-running, critically-hailed, family-friendly dog spectacular which visits Houston this weekend. Performing Arts Houston presents a pair of afternoon shows Sunday, October 23 at Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater.
The cast includes some human-types like producers Joan and Scott Houghton. Scott is the show’s emcee. They’re joined by lead trainer Samantha Valle and comedian David Kaplan. But they’re support for the show’s true stars. The dogs featured in Mutts Gone Nuts! are wildly different in many ways, according to Joan Houghton. She said there’s a mix of breeds with a mix of talents. Some dance, some flip, some jump rope. The world’s highest jumping dog — a Guinness World Record holder – is in the cast.
The one thing they all have in common is they were once discarded dogs. Since its beginnings in 2005, Mutts Gone Nuts has featured dogs adopted from shelters or rescues and the message that resonates from the show is the importance of fostering and pet adoption.
“Scott and I used to do a different act for 25 years and we decided to do a dog act. I did some fostering of dogs, we did some volunteering with rescue beforehand. I think that most people don’t realize that often dogs end up in shelters through no fault of their own and we thought this would be a great way to help some dogs and do a show,” Houghton said.
The Houghtons have been entertaining audiences together for 40 years. As a comedy duo, they’ve performed everywhere from Canada to New Zealand, in cities like Las Vegas and Tokyo. When the family adopted Nikki, its first dog, the Houghtons shared their heart with her. Doing so allowed them to see how they could one day share the stage with dogs like Nikki.
“Our kids had always wanted a dog. They were about five and 10 years-old. Scott was going out of town and I said, ‘Hey, I want to get a dog.’ We toured a lot so we were finally in one place for a while doing a long-term contract, and he said okay. He went out of town for a week and he came back and we had a dog. I wasn’t going to give him a chance to change his mind,” Houghton said with a laugh.
“She was an awesome little dog. I think she would have been a great show dog. We didn’t really know much about training at that point. She was a little terrier mix and she was actually not socialized with other dogs. That’s how we got into fostering and working with rescue. Nobody wanted Nikki to play with their dog, like neighbors and stuff, because she was dog-aggressive.
“I started fostering so we could gently introduce her to other dogs and she became good with other dogs. That’s how we got into rescue.”
This Sunday’s performers, like Nikki, were adopted. They include Feather, a Greyhound, who is the world’s highest-jumping dog with a Guinness World Record of 75 ½ inches; Border collies Nerdy, Rocky, Finnie and Valor; Pixel, a Heinz 57 mix who skews toward Australian cattle dog; and, Whitaker, a black Labrador Retriever.
“I like having a Lab in the show because a lot of people have Labs and they’re usually crazy,” Houghton said, “So, they can see a well-behaved Lab, although she’s kind of nutty.”
Producers of stage shows featuring human performers might scour college theater programs or acting schools for talent, rather than the people equivalent of a rescue. What common elements in rescue dogs make for good show dogs, we asked?
“When we get a dog and we’re deciding it’s a dog that we think will work well for the show, we’re looking for what behaviors they’re naturally offering. If they’re just an absolute nut for Frisbees, you know, we’ll do something with that. Chico was always walking around on his hind legs, so he did a lot of hind-leg tricks. Biscuit is constantly bouncing up and down, he’s going to be in the show very soon, he will be a jump rope dog.
“We look at what they are naturally good at and then we do that with them and that way they’re having a great time,” Houghton added. “We probably lean a little heavy on the working lines, but they’re the ones that like to work. And they’re often the ones that are given up because they like to work. There’s a saying – if a Border collie doesn’t have a job, they’ll make a job. And it might not be the job that you want them to do. It might be reupholstering your furniture or digging out your garden.
“People get them because they’re beautiful and they’re smart and they don’t really do the research,” she said and noted a little research goes a long way. If you’re not up to exercising an active dog or meeting its grooming needs, maybe that dog is not for you.
“We really want one with good toy drive and good food drive because you have to reinforce the behaviors that you want,” she said and added the dogs are trained only by way of positive reinforcement. “If they don’t have any drive like that then they’re probably not a good fit for us. We like them busy.”
Another featured performer is Charlie, the retired Jack Russell terrier Scott spotlights in a segment focused on rescue. Charlie used to walk tightwire in the show.
“He always ran out and ran up the ladder and ran across – in fact, he would do it so quick it was like ‘Charlie, slow down, make it look more difficult.’ But he was so eager to do it,” Houghton said. “And one day he ran out and he stopped in the middle of the stage and he was tentative going up the ladder and he looked scared and we just said, ‘You know what? Charlie’s not feeling like doing this today, but let’s give him a big hand anyway.’ And that was it.”
Houghton said Charlie earned his retirement and “pension.”
“He is still with us. He actually makes a cameo in the show,” Houghton said. “He is a lovely dog. They get a full retirement with us. I know some dog acts might part with their dogs when they’re done but when we commit to a dog it’s for their life. Right now, I have two 17 year-olds and a 16 year-old.”
“The main thing behind that is we want our dogs to be happy, so I’m never going to ask a dog to do something, even if it’s capable of doing something, that it doesn’t want to do,” she said.
The Houghtons have become expert at pet adoption. They realize that most dogs in shelters aren’t “broken,” a common misconception. Joan said senior dogs, who are sometimes overlooked, are especially good adoptions because they’re housebroken and trained. Just as Mutts Gone Nuts matches its adoptions to the show’s needs, families should research for the best match to their needs.
“I encourage people, if you want, volunteer with a rescue and foster the dog. If you foster the dog you can really see if it’s a good fit for your family and if you don’t feel like it’s the right kind of dog then you’re helping that dog get placed in a good forever home. It’s a lot easier than giving up a dog that you’ve already adopted.”
Mutts Gone Nuts!, presented by Performing Arts Houston, performs shows at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, October 23 at Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater, 501 Texas. $29 and up.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
