The Olate Family
Highlights:
· The Olate dogs are Poodles, Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers and Bishon Frise.
· Jose Olate has performed the family dog act for more than three decades. The dog act was begun by Jose’s mother, Miss Olga, who introduced the act in a Chilean-based circus owned by her husband.
· The Olates who hail from Santiago, Chile, has a long tradition in the circus arts as aerialists, jugglers, contortionists, ringmasters and even human cannonballs
Comedy Dog Act
The first thing Jose Olate trained a dog to do was to jump rope.
Now three decades later, The Olate Family’s world-famous dog troupe – he prefers to call them his children – can do back flips, play leap frog and perform paw-pattering tricks that delight audiences everywhere.
The family’s fun-filled act is back by popular demand for ZING ZANG ZOOMSM, the 139th edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®. “It’s the best circus in the world,” he says with pride about his return engagement.
Jose is the troupe’s conductor, the dogs his orchestra. He is joined in the ring by his wife, Martha, and nephew, Juan, but Jose is clear about one thing: “The dogs are the star.”
It doesn’t start out that way. Training dogs takes patience and practice. Teaching a dog a new skill takes about an hour a day for a month, he says.
Everything depends on the dog. In Jose’s estimation, the smartest and most talented are the poodles, Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers and Bishon Frise. The dogs can tell when the audience likes what it sees, he says. “It may be a simple skill but if the audience likes it, they can feel it.”
Jose starts with young dogs and first teaches them their names. Vocabulary is important, he says, because dogs associate calls with certain actions. To make the act work, the dogs must learn to block out the noise of the crowd.
Jose says the key to success is building a trusting relationship with the animals. The dogs “know when you’re disappointed, versus happy or proud…. You need to be assertive and joyful with them.”
And like so much in life, “Patience is the key.”
That, and food treats.
The Olates who hail from Santiago, Chile, have a long tradition in the circus arts as aerialists, jugglers, contortionists, ringmasters and even human cannonballs. The dog act was begun by Jose’s mother, Miss Olga, who introduced the act in a Chilean-based circus owned by her husband. Today, Jose’s four brothers and sisters also perform in circuses.
The world-renowned dog act keeps the Texas-based family on the road. They’ve appeared at Universal Studios Florida; resorts in Branson, Missouri; the Palm Springs Follies in California; and on the Martha Stewart Show and Andy Williams Christmas television special.
No matter his celebrity, Jose has a simple way of describing his life’s journey: “We want to leave a legacy through this act to make people happy.”