A day in the life of WeeWee the chiweenie, a traveling stunt dog

NINA MOINI: We love it. We love to hear from our Emily Reese, our amazing newscaster every day at noon. You are listening to Minnesota Now live from the Minnesota State Fair. Whoo.

AUDIENCE: [CHEERING]

NINA MOINI: People travel here, as we know, from every corner of the state and beyond to show their animals. There's pigeons, fancy pigeons, we've got cows. One of the hard-working performers this year is joining us now. WeeWee the Chiweenie is on stage here with her trainer, Abby Cline. And we have Chris Perondi, who's founder of Stunt Dog Productions. They're part of the team behind the All-Star Stunt Dog Splash over at the Northwoods stage. Thank you both so much for being here.

CHRIS PERONDI: Absolutely. We're happy to be here.

NINA MOINI: WeeWee, we got to see what WeeWee's got here. WeeWee is just for our listeners who are not here, resting on your shoulders, Abby. Like, I don't even how that happens. Look at him. He's standing on your shoulders.

ABBY CLINE: He was a performer in a past life.

NINA MOINI: Well, Abby, if you all want to kind of get started, we'll try to play by play for our listeners here, some of the beautiful performances that WeeWee is doing. So Chris, tell us a little bit about WeeWee.

CHRIS PERONDI: Well, Wee is actually a chiweenie. So she's part chihuahua and part Wiener dog. And--

NINA MOINI: And how much does she weigh?

CHRIS PERONDI: Oh gosh, what does she weigh, Abby? About--

ABBY CLINE: I'm telling you.

CHRIS PERONDI: About 20 pounds? Is that what she said?

ABBY CLINE: No, 11.

CHRIS PERONDI: Oh, she's only 11 pounds. OK. Yeah.

NINA MOINI: Wow.

CHRIS PERONDI: Maybe 20 after the fair.

NINA MOINI: So she's doing these flips.

CHRIS PERONDI: That there's called the back stall. And she'll do a twist on her back as she's--

ABBY CLINE: Sit pretty.

CHRIS PERONDI: And then she'll finish up with a sit pretty on the back.

NINA MOINI: Let's give it up for WeeWee the Chiweenie, everybody.

CHRIS PERONDI: We use all positive reinforcement when we're training the dogs. They're motivated by their favorite toys, their favorite treats, and love, and affection. And this trick right here, Wee is up on her foot, balancing as Abby is laying down, and then transfers from one foot to the next. That is one of her signature tricks.

NINA MOINI: Oh, I feel like I'm calling a sports game here. There's so much-- a play by play here. There's so much going on.

CHRIS PERONDI: Look out. She's setting up for her famous move. She's about 15 feet away from Abby. Watch this. She's going to do a walking paw stand as she walks across the stage on her front paws to Abby.

NINA MOINI: So--

CHRIS PERONDI: Yeah, that's one of her signature moves. We also do a lot of fun things in the show. One of the big parts of the show is dock diving. We'll have dogs jumping out in the pool for distance. But we also have a segment in the show where Wee does amazing tricks, as you're seeing. And of course, we do frisbee in the show as well. And we actually do halftime shows with these dogs.

NINA MOINI: So Chris, you've been doing this for 25 years.

CHRIS PERONDI: Yes.

NINA MOINI: Congratulations.

CHRIS PERONDI: Thank you so much.

NINA MOINI: That is amazing. A niche, maybe, market.

CHRIS PERONDI: I think so. Yeah--

NINA MOINI: That you're in. What got you started?

CHRIS PERONDI: A few of us out there. We actually have five teams now. We perform at zoos, we do theme parks, fairs, halftime shows, the NFL, NBA. Here's Wee up back up on Abby's back here, on her shoulder.

NINA MOINI: She's amazing.

CHRIS PERONDI: She also jumps rope. That's one of her also signature moves.

NINA MOINI: Should we get the jump rope going here?

CHRIS PERONDI: She jumps rope.

NINA MOINI: Oh my gosh. So yeah, I love that you said positive reinforcement. Right? That's really the best way.

CHRIS PERONDI: It is. I mean, the dogs really respond to love and affection. You don't need to be aggressive with your dog. All that's going to do is make him shut down, tail tucked between their legs, and not want to do anything.

NINA MOINI: Here she goes.

CHRIS PERONDI: So you want to make it fun.

NINA MOINI: Full out jump roping.

CHRIS PERONDI: And she is jumping rope now like a champ. Give her a hand. Oh, yeah.

NINA MOINI: So Chris, how long does it take to even teach one of these tricks?

CHRIS PERONDI: It takes, for a new trick, maybe a few weeks to introduce it, start getting the hang of it. But it could take months for them to master it, and even longer to do it in front of a live audience with distractions, smells of the fair, and events. So it takes a dog that's very focused, I like to say, that has tunnel vision, that's really into what you're doing being a toy or treat. But you got to find out what motivates your dog. That's the first key to training.

NINA MOINI: What do you think motivates WeeWee, or Wee?

CHRIS PERONDI: What does motivate Wee? What is her favorite-- Lucy pet treat. She loves her Hip To Be Square treat. But she's motivated by her affection of her mama. I mean, she does. I mean, we train trained these dogs with love and affection, and we want to encourage everybody out there to train positively, too. There's no better way to train your dog. And that's why our dog's tails are wagging, and they're so happy when they're doing it. Because they're just playing, and having fun.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and so you've been doing this, like we've mentioned, 25 years. You've been on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show. I mean, when you were starting out, were you nervous that this wasn't going to be something for you to kind of do long term?

CHRIS PERONDI: Yeah, I was. I thought it was just going to be a one-year hobby. And it ended up becoming a full-time career. I mean, I basically sold my house, quit my IT job, bought an RV, hit the road, went from California, that's where I'm from, all the way to Long Island, New York for my first big gig. And--

NINA MOINI: That's inspirational.

CHRIS PERONDI: From there is pretty much history. Yeah.

NINA MOINI: Good for you.

CHRIS PERONDI: And now, we have five teams going across the country. Abby here has been my right-hound gal.

NINA MOINI: Right hound.

CHRIS PERONDI: 17 years that Abby's been a part of our team. And she's pretty much going to be leading the production here at the fair this year. And I'm trying to--

ABBY CLINE: Take the reins.

CHRIS PERONDI: Pass the reins a little bit.

NINA MOINI: Sure. Sure.

CHRIS PERONDI: Here at the fair. This will be your second time here at the fair.

NINA MOINI: OK. So--

CHRIS PERONDI: At this fair.

NINA MOINI: So WeeWee is a chiweenie. And are there breeds that are, say, easier to train? Are there certain breeds that you prefer to work with?

CHRIS PERONDI: Well, we love all breeds, of course. But we do work with a lot of the sporting breed dogs, herding breeds like border collies, cattle dogs, terriers. But for dock diving, then we have the border whippets, the labs, the Belgian Malinois. They're very popular in that sport.

NINA MOINI: So we have to ask, because Minnesotans were very proud of the Minnesota State Fair.

CHRIS PERONDI: Absolutely.

NINA MOINI: And since you've been all over.

CHRIS PERONDI: It's the best fair on Earth.

NINA MOINI: Well, that's the right answer. No, I was just going to say, how does this compare to other venues and places that you all visit?

CHRIS PERONDI: This is the one we look forward to every year. And of course you know why. You know why. Especially if you're from here. But this fair is just, it's special. It's a very special fair. You guys should be very blessed to come out here, and have a good time at this fair, because there's so many great things to eat, there's so many great things to see and do. And the best concerts too.

NINA MOINI: So I'm assuming they have time off. Like, what's a day in the life of WeeWee the Chiweenie?

ABBY CLINE: Well, we just got done performing at Dollywood for two months. So then we went home to-- I'm originally from Moorhead, Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: Whoo. Whoo.

ABBY CLINE: Yep. But now, I live in Iowa.

NINA MOINI: Oh well, that's OK.

ABBY CLINE: So we went home for two weeks, and they just got to chill. They got to hang out in the house. They got to run around the backyard. We live in Okoboji. So they went swimming at the lakes. And so when we have time off like that, they're just house dogs. We still take them out every couple days and play Chuckit! Or frisbee.

But it's good for them to have time off as well after performing for two months at Dollywood. So they had a blast being home. But I can tell you, when we loaded everybody up in the RV to come here, everybody was amped. They were like, all right, let's go. We're back to work. We're ready.

CHRIS PERONDI: They get bored at home.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, they do.

CHRIS PERONDI: They were ready when it's time.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, they're on a world tour. So Abby, how many pets do you personally have?

ABBY CLINE: Pets or dogs?

NINA MOINI: Or dogs? Or I mean, do all the dogs live with you all? Or--

ABBY CLINE: Yeah, so me and my boyfriend, Sam, we have 13 dogs.

NINA MOINI: Oh.

ABBY CLINE: And I mean, you got to remember, some are older and retiring. We have up-and-coming younger dogs that we're training up. So they're not all in the shows yet. And some of the retired ones, we'll bring them out in between shows. She loves to swim. So you'll see her out, maybe out there in between shows. But we have the 13 dogs, and then we have three cats that travel with us as well. But I taught them to do tricks, but cats are a whole different ball game.

NINA MOINI: Oh, sure. Chris, do you have a lot of pets that you own?

CHRIS PERONDI: We have 10 right now.

NINA MOINI: Wow.

CHRIS PERONDI: My wife and I have 10 dogs. Yes.

NINA MOINI: Just 10 dogs.

CHRIS PERONDI: And they're all rescues from a pound, a shelter, or rescue group. And that has been the mission since we started our show.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, round of applause for that. That's amazing.

CHRIS PERONDI: Pet adoption. And encourage everyone to check the shelters first. There's some fantastic dogs out there that'll make great pets for you, your family, and your kids. And please consider spaying and neuter your pets as well.

NINA MOINI: Chris, we have just about a minute left. Tell us again about exactly what you all are doing at the state fair, and how people could come and see you.

CHRIS PERONDI: Absolutely. We do three shows a day. We're in the Northwoods area of the fairgrounds, right next to Giggles Campfire Grill. We have dock diving in the show, where dogs will be competing, jumping for distance. We'll have a world-champion frisbee dog doing a frisbee routine on the stage. Really awesome. And of course, we will be doing some tricks with some of her best pals. And it's just a fun show for the whole family. We even do an audience participation part, where we get kids up to try to jump some of our rookie dogs in the water. So it's fun for the whole family.

NINA MOINI: All right. Everybody, make sure and check them out. Thank you so much. Weenie. WeeWee the Chiweenie.

CHRIS PERONDI: And the shows are 11:00, 2:00 and 4:30 every day of the fair.

NINA MOINI: Good to know. Thank you both. Chris Perondi, the founder of Stunt Dog Productions, Abby Cline is a trainer with the company here, of course, with WeeWee the Chiweenie. Again, catch them and all of the other all-star stunt dogs on the Northwoods stage. That's every day of the state fair, like Chris said, 11:00, 2:00, and 4:30. Thank you all so much.