Most of us are familiar with the term “Dog and Pony Show.” “Dog and pony show” is a colloquial term which has come to mean a highly promoted, often over-staged performance, presentation, or event designed to sway or convince opinion for political, or commercial ends. Typically, the term is used in a pejorative sense to connote disdain or distrust of the message being presented or the efforts undertaken to present it. We may think someone is trying to put something over on us and we take it with a grain of salt.

Where did this phrase come from? The term was originally used in the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to small traveling circuses that toured through small towns and rural areas that were too sparsely populated or remote to attract larger, more elaborate performers or performances. The name derives from the common use of performing dogs and ponies as the main attractions of the events.

Often, local newspapers announced the arrival by rail of small troupes of performers who were billed as “dog and pony shows.” For example the Omaha Daily Bee of Sept. 23, 1885 stated: “The dog and pony show of Prof. Morris drew big houses at the matinee and at the evening performance yesterday. All who went, old and young, seemed delighted.”

The dog and pony shows were small time shows masquerading as circuses that were run on a shoestring budget and consisted of a group of musicians of varying levels of talent and ability, a ringmaster, and animal acts that were mostly made up of dogs and ponies. The success of the dog and pony show relied heavily on the proprietor’s ability to aggressively market the show through lithographed pictorial posters and handbills with flashy words accompanied by engaging sketches.

The oldest dog and pony show was “Morris’ Equine and Canine Paradoxes” which began touring in 1883. When Henry B. Gentry of Bloomington, Indiana hooked up with the show at the age of 17 in 1886, he learned the art of showmanship and animal training quickly. Morris’ show was deeply in debt and soon deserted by its creator. Henry and his brothers inherited the show from Morris and it became “Prof. Gentry’s Famous Dog & Pony Show,” originally called “Gentry’s Equine and Canine Paradox” which started small, but evolved into a full circus show.


Prof. Morris and Ponies

Professor Morris’ Equine and Canine Paradoxes, circa 1883. This is the oldest dog and pony show which began touring in 1883. When Henry B. Gentry of Bloomington, Indiana hooked up with the show at the tender age of 17 in 1886, he learned the art of showmanship and animal training quickly, setting off with his own dog and pony show the following year when he inherited the show from his mentor … a show that was deeply in debt and deserted by its creator. 

By 1897, Henry B. Gentry’s show had grown to an impressive 14 cars. Four years after that, there were four Gentry shows on the road with Henry and his three brothers each managing a show. The shows also included — along with the dogs and ponies — monkeys, pigs, goats, and eventually, elephants.

 
Prof. Morris and Dogs and Ponies

By 1906, the dog and pony shows were left behind as Henry B. Gentry’s shows became full-fledged circuses in the truest sense of the word.

 
Prof. Morris and Dogs

The term dog-and-pony show later came to be used dismissively of any small-scale or mom-and-pop operation, in the same way that dog and pony shows were thought to be cut-down versions of “proper” circuses, with their limited repertoire:

The published record presents a picture of the latest performance in one ring of the American broadcasting circus. The institute is not a Ringling Brothers production in its own chosen subject field, but it is not an itinerant dog and pony show either.

The Survey, published by Survey Associates, the Charity Organization Society of the City of New York, 1940.

However, the literal term continued in use in parallel with it right through into the 1950s; it was sometimes the name for one part of a larger circus, perhaps designed as a sideshow for the children, who were allowed to ride the ponies and pet the dogs.

It was in the 1960s that the term began to appear in print as a metaphor for some event that was more pizzazz than substance, like the tinsel and glitter of a circus ring. An early example of this figurative sense:

Mr. Ally said his agency does not do speculative presentations either. They will sit down with a prospective client, however, and talk about the agency and the client’s problems. “But the dog and pony show we will not do.”

New York Times, 4 Oct. 1967.

So, next time you hear the phrase “Dog and Pony Show,” you can think back to the originator Prof. Morris and his troupe of dogs and ponies.