IT’S DOG- GONE FUN

When Chris Perondi searches for dogs to add to his traveling All-Star Stunt Show, he doesn’t need to look far. He simply heads to the dog pound.

He travels to fairs and other shows with 12 dogs, all of which are rescue dogs either from a local pound or rescue groups. Perondi doesn’t have any desire to look for expensive dogs from breeders.

“It’s sad that society has pushed with people that dogs are bad from rescue places,” he says.  

Perondi pointed out how there is a huge problem of pet overpopulation in the U.S. “Five million dogs are brought into shelters and half of them don’t make it out,” he said, adding pet owners are failing to spay or neuter their pets.

For Perondi, he finds it sad to see all the dogs waiting in shelters who have no care or love given to them. “When they don’t make it out, it just kills you,” he said.

Perondi, who lives in northern California, has been on the road with his all-star dogs since 1999. He travels at least seven months throughout the year. He has brought the show to the Steele County Fair for the past few years. And this year they are also performing at the Minnesota State Fair. It has evolved into one of the largest touring animal acts in the world.

And it’s simply dog-gone fun.

The show features dogs that are “high energy and friendly with people,” Perondi said. It’s his job to work around the strengths and weaknesses of each dog.

“We custom tailor the show around their personality and their behavior,” he says.

All-Star is a family owned business led by Perondi and his wife, Suhey, along with their son Anthony. They have produced more than 8,000 live shows.

Some of their acts include world’s best flying disc dogs where they soar, spin, jump and fly as well as high-jumping challenges. They even perform weave pole and barrel racing and the big-air daredevil stunt over kids taken from the audience. The big air jump happens to be Perondi’s favorite stunt.

While they focus on entertaining crowds with fun acts, their mission comes with a serious tone.

“We promote pet adoption, responsible pet ownership and educate on the importance of spay and neutering,” said Perondi. “We try to encourage on the Bob Barker tradition (former Price Is Right host) who always ended his show by encouraging viewers to spay or neuter their dogs.”

Perondi also encourages people to train their dogs with positive techniques. “Spend time with your dog and give them a chance and you’ll be surprised,” he said.

He has written a book, “Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever,” as a way to teach others about how to train their dogs to do tricks.

It typically takes a year to a year and half to get dogs fully trained, according to Perondi. But he warns that pet owners do not need to spend “hours and hours” training their animals. “Give your dog 10 minutes a day two or three times a day,” he said, adding it’s important to make them “good practice sessions” to maximize their potential.

Most importantly, Perondi said dog owners need to share love and affection with their animals. “You need to be energetic with your dog,” he said. “Give them that energy, and they will give back the energy.”