Abracadabark, the latest installment of the SuperDogs show, has expanded into uncharted territory, combining the classic elements of the long-running dog show with magic.
“Kids and families love the SuperDogs, and they also love magic so it seemed like a natural marriage,” SuperDogs creative director David Acer said.
“Even though the SuperDogs have been around for 41 years now, they hadn’t done that before. So this was our first opportunity to blend magic with the SuperDogs.”
Acer, who has been in his current position with the SuperDogs for the past six years, also has over two decades of experience as a magician.
Beyond the disappearing acts and rope slips, sometimes the dogs stray away from the act as it’s planned.
“Sometimes dogs don’t do exactly what you expect them to do, but in a way, that’s kind of magical too,” Acer said.
It’s moments like these that make the work done between trainers and dogs so important.
“They’re doing so many different things in SuperDogs, you want them to have a good mental and physical balance coming into it,” SuperDog trainer Meaghan O’Neill said.
“So, I do lots of agility and obedience and swimming and anything that gets them active, but also mental games and stuff like that, too. Lots of trick work is mental work.”
WATCH: (Aug. 28, 2018) Squire Barnes meets the 2018 SuperDogs