::Info on Dock Diving::

[RileyRoo]

So since March I have been researching and preping before Riley and I go to our first practice which I am proud to say we will be going June 30th at 11am.

anyways... I found this place most helpful over the months I have been reading up on the sport.
http://www.dockdogs.com/

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Contests in dockdiving include.

::Big Air::
Judged for distance, this competition judges how far your dog can jump from the edge of the dock across the pool. The dog can start by running from the beginning of the dock in order to generate momentum, distance is calculated from the edge of the dock to where the base of the dogs tail hits the water. There are many different divisions, so all dogs with different jumping distances can join in the fun and have success.
YouTube- DOCKDOGS BIG AIR | ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS

::Extreme Vertical (EV)::
This is the “high jump” for dogs. When competing in Extreme Vertical (EV), dogs jump upwards from the dock in order to retrieve the official Dockdogs Flappy toy, landing in the water.
YouTube- 7 FOOT DOCKDOGS EXTREME VERTICAL (EV) FRED HASSEN & REX

::Speed Retrieve::
DockDogs Speed Retrieve involves a run...jump...swim environment. The clock starts when the dog leaves the starting line on the dock, and stops when the dog swims to the end of the pool and retrieves the official DockDogs Flappy toy.
YouTube- Speed Retrieve World Record


::Iron Dog::
DockDogs Iron Dog competition is the newest DockDogs Sport. It combines all of the above three competitions and your dog competes for points. The best Iron Dogs are the dogs that are consistent and do well in all three sports. Many of the dogs that are strong in one area, but weak in other areas do not make strong iron dogs. All National competitions for the upcoming 2009 season will include Iron Dog. To register your dog for Iron Dog, you will need to compete them in Big Air, Speed Retrieve and Extreme Vertical but be sure to register for the Iron Dog so you earn points that go towards the Iron Dog scoring.
YouTube- Puma @ DockDogs World Championships Iron Dog QuarterFinals



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where can I find a club in my area?
(simple here is is a list of dockdog clubs)

DockDogs Northern Stars Club
Serving the state of Minnesota
www.dockdogsnorthernstars.com (http://www.dockdogsnorthernstars.com)

Puget Sound DockDogs Club
Serving Western Washington
www.pugetsounddockdogs.org (http://www.pugetsounddockdogs.org)


Wisconsin DockDogs Club
Serving the state of Wisconsin
www.wisdockdogs.com (http://www.wisdockdogs.com)
Cascade DockDogs Club
Serving Southern Washington & Northern Oregon
www.cascadedockdogs.org (http://www.cascadedockdogs.org)


Keystone DockDogs Club
Serving the state of Pennsylvania
www.keystonedockdogs.com (http://www.keystonedockdogs.com)

Gateway DockDogs Club
Serving St. Louis and surrounding areas
www.gwdockdogs.com (http://www.gwdockdogs.com)

Chicagoland DockDogs Club
Serving Chicago, IL and surrounding areas
www.chicagolanddockdogs.com (http://www.chicagolanddockdogs.com)

Chesapeake DockDogs Club
Serving Maryland and Northern Virginia
www.chesapeakedockdogs.com (http://www.chesapeakedockdogs.com)

Ontario DockDogs Club
Serving the Province of Ontario, Canada
www.ontariodockdogs.com (http://www.ontariodockdogs.com)
Buckeye DockDogs Club
Serving the state of Ohio
www.buckeyedockdogs.com (http://www.buckeyedockdogs.com)


Club 3D (Des Moines DockDogs Club)
Serving the state of Iowa
www.desmoinesdockdogs.org (http://www.desmoinesdockdogs.org)
mokan DockDogs Club
Serving Greater Kansas City
www.mokandockdogs.com (http://www.mokandockdogs.com)

Delmarva DockDogs Club
Serving Delaware and the Eastern Shores of MD and VA
www.delmarvadockdogs.com (http://www.delmarvadockdogs.com)


Alaska DockDogs Club
Serving the state of Alaska
www.alaskadockdogs.org (http://www.alaskadockdogs.org)

Dixie DockDogs Club
Serving Atlanta and NE Georgia
www.dixiedockdogs.com (http://www.dixiedockdogs.com)

Hudson Valley DockDogs Club
Serving the Hudson Valley of NY State and surrounding areas
www.hudsonvalleydockdogs.com (http://www.hudsonvalleydockdogs.com)


Las Vegas DockDogs Club
Serving the city of Las Vegas and surrounding regions
www.lasvegasdockdogs.com (http://www.lasvegasdockdogs.com)

Kentucky DockDogs Club
Serving the state of Kentucky and surrounding areas


Rocky Mountain DockDogs Club
Serving the states of Colorado/Nebraska/Wyoming


Suncoast Area DockDogs Club
Serving the western coast of Florida
www.suncoastdockdogs.com (http://www.suncoastdockdogs.com)


Tidewater DockDogs Club
Serving the Virginia Beach, VA Area
www.tidewaterdockdogs.com (http://www.tidewaterdockdogs.com)

1000 Islands DockDogs Club
Serving the Ottawa, Ontario Area
www.1000islandsdockdogs.com (http://www.1000islandsdockdogs.com)


Carolina DockDogs Club
Serving the North Carolina Area
www.carolinadockdogs.com (http://www.carolinadockdogs.com)

SoCal DockDogs
Serving Southern California
www.socaldockdogs.com (http://www.socaldockdogs.com)


-----------------------A few Q&A-----------------------
Can my dog wear a life vest? YES, even in competitions.

What types of Toys can I use? Airkongs, bumpers, tennis balls, foam balls, flappy's, retrieve dummies, anything that floats may be used. (no food, in or on the toy or live baits allowed to get the dog to dive)

Can I allow my puppy to dock dive? 3 to 4 months is ok to start. You can have them use the ramp and build them up with foundation work for later on.

My dog is none-papered can he dock dive? YES YES YES and YES!!

My dog is a mutt, can he still dock dive? Yes, any dog may dock dive. whether papered or not. Mutt or purebred. everyone is welcome.

My dog is old can he still dock dive? Yes, infact I was reading sites that said they have veterans who still do the sport!!!

what do I need to bring with on the first practice?
4' leash
water for you and the dog
Shade
cleanup baggies
crate
Float toys


----------------------------FANTASTIC READ -------------------------
So I had these bookmarked for a while and it truely covers everything anyone would want to know when starting the sport.

"Teaching Your Dog to Dock Dive: Part 1 (That First Jump)"
http://www.3dawgflite.com/resources/articles/Teaching%20Your%20Dog%20Part1.pdf
"Teaching Your Dog to Dock Dive: Part 2 (Form and Distance)"
http://www.buckeyedockdogs.com/docs/Teaching%20Your%20Dog%20Part2.pdf

Correcting Dock Diving Problems that might occur
http://blogs.dogtime.com/team-fire-and-ice/2010/02/correcting-dock-diving-problems-that-might-develop







and just a few First diving video's of dogs at their practice.
YouTube- Flip's First Dock Dive - Wave 1
YouTube- FASTSheltieAndBC's Channel
YouTube- Mossy's Puppy Dockdog Movie


*I will be posting up more as Riley and I go to each practice and learn more ourselves. but I figured I'd share my sites and the listings of clubs and Q&A I learned*

[...Sydney...]

if the vert jump wasn't into water we'd be in! but Sydney loathes water...

[kg420]

Awesome girl :D I'm so glad you started this thread :D

[RileyRoo]

My old girl Anubis hated water too. you couldn't get her to touch the stuff without her flipping out and hiding. lol

[kg420]

:D This is the club we will be joining and doing classes with

http://www.shastasplash.com/default.htm

[RileyRoo]

nice Kg! =)

[RileyRoo]

Here 's a short list of supply stores that offer some really nice aqua toys for low cost. and some offer other useful idems also.


DogSupplies (cheap everything pretty much a good site IMO)
http://www.dogsupplies.com/categories/Aqua-Dog-Supplies/

Dog.com (this is also a good place to buy cheap crates)
http://www.dog.com/Cart.aspx

CleanRun (They have many useful things not just float toys) (http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=274)
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=274

ActiveDogSupplies (Nice H20 toys)
http://www.activedogsupplies.com/dog-toys-water.html#top

Gundogsupply (obviously has some very nice decoy dummies and float sticks)
http://www.gundogsupply.com/dummies.html

Leerburg (Sch supplies, aqua toys, pretty much an all around GREAT site IMO)
http://leerburg.com/



RuffWear (Some float toys and Life Vests)
http://www.ruffwear.com/

Cabela's (float toys, life vests)
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/index/index-display.jsp?id=cat20864&navAction=jump&navCount=1&cmCat=MainCatcat603205&parentType=category&parentId=cat603205

BassPro Shop (float toys, life vests)
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SportingGoods_Hunting--Dog%2BTraining_10151_-1_10001_advisor_CA.CategoryExpand_N_425012000_4250 00000




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Some of those sites offer some nice flirtpole decoys and some have afordable life vests if you arent too sure your dog can swim.
Caleba's has phesant wings.
CleanRun has alot of "real fur tugs" and offers rabbit hides


and My uncle gave me this site. they offer phesant body decoys (could be great for flirtpole also. (I will be ordering from them to use that decoy myself with Spazz and Riley)
http://shop.dogsunlimited.com/item.asp?n=ctdpd&d=17&b=1

[kg420]

Super sweet thanks for the links :D

[RileyRoo]

haha, welcome. I am going through my list of stuff I have saved up. xD

[kg420]

Awesome I gotta have some one come down and take some pics of us. :D

[RileyRoo]

OH, yes!! I will have to see who can video me on our first practice. LOL!

I wanna see Dosia flying!

[George Bailey]

For the Texans,
Heart of Texas Dock Dogs
http://www.heartoftexasdockdogs.com/dockdiving.php

If you look at members, the very last dog is my friend's dog, she's a pit/Irish Setter mix, also a personal service dog, flyball competitor, and working on obedience and rally titles.

George Bailey

[chris mercer]

Thanks to everyone for bringing up this sport and to you Riley Roo especially for initiating the topic. If nothing else a good test of ob retrieving and targeting. Just kidding, all they need is drive? Thanks for the links , hopefully I 'll be going to the Carolina Dock Divers and seeing what is involved first hand. I dsidn't know it was going on as an organized sport here. Riley, are you swimming your dog now? I'm afraid mine might freeze up going off the platform so I'll work on this first. Mine will swim for the lure but are no jumpers. Chris Mercer

[RileyRoo]

well, the club will help you build your dog up to jump. no dog is going to leap like a dog who has been doing it for years. you have to train them and condition them to do it.
as for me, yes. I have let Riley swim but never practiced with her in lakes. that's best to be taught by people who know what they are doing and can correct my mistakes or tell me what I can do to get better results in a real competition pool since I will be doing competitions with her.
I have done ground work with her too so she is better prepared for it.(sit/stay and rushing/leaping to get the lure toy) basically I am building a stronger prey drive so when she is rushing she stays focused on that toy. a better drive means a better jump from what I have read.

---------------------------------More Info------------------------------
::Rules&Policies::
http://www.dockdogs.com/Rules_Policies.pdf

[chris mercer]

That's great, I'm going to do a whole lot more work with mine before venturing into this sport. The only water sports I've done with my dogs is strictly prey driven,as an old timer once told me the good ones must have kill in them, that is coon dog water racing. No, no coons are killed. Yes, it is a red neck sport. It is contagious we and a psychologist join our club because she had a coon dog pet. We think she just wanted to study us but got hooked, hell she started coon hunting.
I can see how you could love dock diving,I've got to find a dock.

C. Mercer

[DeidreM]

I love Chewie - she's one smart, interesting and complicated pooch. Her owner has lots of talent too.

[DeidreM]

When I was at Chewie's home a few years back, it was already of concern that the pool was fast becoming too narow for her jumps. I remember too that her owner asked her to retrieve a leaf from the pool and in she went and got it, no big deal. We also taught her to go shake on a target rather than spray us with her attempt at drying off.

[DeidreM]

Hey Chris,
I've heard your stories on the head to head races across the pond., coon flying overhead... no kidding. Anyway, I wish I could see, I apparently have a leaper too, nothing to compare with the power of a Pit, but hey, flying is flying. I'd also like to know who thinks that dogs exposed to water as pups are much more receptive to the water than those who were never exposed to it. My dog can swim extremely well but never knew she could swim until she was almost 2 1/2 years old. What a waste of lost fun and perhaps that fact inadvertently put a damper on the love of water/swimming. She does splash through the water and rocks up at Lake Champlain at break nec speed though, so maybe just maybe later this summer...
Thanks to everyone for bringing up this sport and to you Riley Roo especially for initiating the topic. If nothing else a good test of ob retrieving and targeting. Just kidding, all they need is drive? Thanks for the links , hopefully I 'll be going to the Carolina Dock Divers and seeing what is involved first hand. I dsidn't know it was going on as an organized sport here. Riley, are you swimming your dog now? I'm afraid mine might freeze up going off the platform so I'll work on this first. Mine will swim for the lure but are no jumpers. Chris Mercer

[DeidreM]

This post is from Debrah Lee Miller, founder of Canine Water Sports. I have her permission to share this. I've met this woman and she is very passionate about what she does plus is very big on "water safety."

"There are few things that concern me. I am not telling anyone not to go enjoy Dock Jumping, but I do think you need to look at a dog's structure, weight, health, and conditioning before you embark on any sport that qualifies dogs base on intensity. In this case height and distance of a jump which includes speed of launch. Dock Jumping Competition is different from asking a dog if they want to chase a bumper while standing dockside or on the back of boat. Dock Jumping asks that you increase arousal, adrenalin and intensity. The dog is asked to run down a 40 ft runway and encourage to propel her body off the edge of a dock to see how far she can jump (the newest event also asks for a vertical leap) over a pool. It looks incredible fun and I am sure owners are amazed at their dog's ability to leap into the air. I love all kinds of water play with my dogs. I think we just need to be fair to our dogs and be their advocate when it comes to COMPETITIVE sports.
Here's where I say be careful:
Dogs who are over stimulated (pumped for a chase) do sacrifice their bodies to achieve what their mind seeks. Dock Jumping is based on predation instincts - the chase. This adrenalin driven predation instinct is what drives a wild predator to chase and capture prey animals many times its own size, even enduring all kinds of kicks, goring and bites from the prey. A dog chasing a bumper is not much different than its wild counterpart when predation instincts switch on. The trainer's job is to recognize when a dog is approaching this "wild" zone-out and to bring the dog back into a more thoughtful state. Those of you who have a ball crazed dog know exactly what I am talking about. I had a dog who jumped from a 2nd story balcony and ran through a glass plate door because he was over stimulated. He indeed loved being excited, loved the pursuit mindset, felt all powerful right up to the point he felt the pain bringing him back to reality. I am sure we all have stories about dogs (we know and love) acting fearless and reckless when over stimulated and in chase mode.
Not all dogs are created equal. Structure and temperament dictate performance potential. Look at the size and shape extremes we have in the dog species. There is a reason we have different jump heights for dog sports. I think it is easy for humans to select a dog sport based on what WE WANT, rather than let the WHOLE Dog guide the direction the team needs to take for ENRICHMENT AND EXERCISE. Dogs do not care about ribbons and titles do not guarantee their WELLNESS. Trainers need to evaluate what activities are best suited for their dog's structure, temperament and good health. That means you also ask, will this activity leave my dog suffering from injuries and arthritis in her senior years.
Splashing into water sounds like a soft landing - no harm can be done - right? Think again. Water has surface tension. Depending on the angle and speed of entry that surface can be as damaging as landing on a brick wall. How about your first belly flop when you were learning to dive. Did the water feel soft then? Remember dogs are being taught to increase their speed off the dock to gain distance for the competitive jump. From what I have seen, the breeds most noted for their jump distance and spectacular leaps are also breeds who have a high tolerance for pain.
I am not an expert on canine structure, but I have seen cases where dogs leaping with force have "hyper- extended" their hips and rear legs placing great pressure on the lumbar-sacral area of the spine. My own dog suffered an injury in this area of her spine while jumping from a boat and had to be retired from watersports. I was once shown a photograph of a airborne, dock jumping Labrador. The dog was stretched flat in the air with his rear legs above the line of his spine. I told the owner about the pressure on the spine that such positions create, especially if the dog hit the water with legs in that position. The owner then confessed the young dog was retired from Dock Jumping. He was suffering from pack pain and they had no idea how the injury occurred.
Again I have not made it my life's work to research this, but vets have told me that dogs can injure their neck and spine when enter the water with force. Just look at how some of these dogs are landing in the water. I get "whiplash" sympathy just watching them. Who is keeping track of the dogs who compete - what is their health status after months or years of leaping from docks.
I have stewarded for dogs leaping from boats, (from a standing position!) I have seen dogs who slip on the edge and slam their knee into the platform, or twist their body from the missed step and dropped hard into water. Now add the speed of a 40 foot running jump to that scenario and you can see the risk.
The Dock Jumping event that is a vertical jump really scares me. The dog is asked to jump as high as it can over the pool to grab a suspended dummy. Some of those dogs are coming down vertical into the water. All the pressure of the landing is on their rear assembly and spine.
Why I team with my dog for sports:
I love communicating with my dogs - teaching them behaviors.
Some activities are highly pleasurable and safe for my dogs. I select activities based on their potential to enrich and strengthen my dog's body and mind.
Fun, shared activities tend to increase bonding and deepen my love for my dogs. (hopefully this is mutual)
I love socializing with others who train their dogs and some of my dogs totally enjoy play sessions with other dogs.
And, while it does not directly benefit my dog, I admit, I enjoy the brag rights that come with attaining a sports goal. May I always appreciate Success is a Team venture.
Stealing from a great American President, when it comes to selecting a sport for your dog:
ASK not what your dog can do for you, but what YOU can do for your dog."

Deborah Lee Miller-Riley
P.O. Box 842, Monroe, CT. 06468
www.deborahleemiller.com

[DeidreM]

I was just writing back and forth with a friend in Houston about her doc diving dog. She doesn't use the "chase" method- she uses the "Place and Send" method, which is like a restrained Go Out for Flyball.
She said that the dock dogs are adrenalized but not as much as in lure-coursing or flyball. She says that the tournaments are much safer than her throwing a ball in her pool because her deck is slippery.
When I asked her how she taught the extreme vertical, she said she put Chewie in a stay about half way down the dock and held her toy over the water and told her to go get it. Then she used a pvc pipe with the toy clipped and held it over the water. Now she can point to her toy hanging on the Extreme Vertical boom over the water, take her back and send her. The dog likes it and can easily jump six feet. She says that her dog doesn't run very fast but has a beautiful launch and snatches the toy.
She did concede that she was worried about the belly flop on landing.
I forgot to ask her how high these vertical booms were.
Julie, have you seen any good pictures of Chewie doing this? I think you sent this list a link the other day. How I wish I could see them.

[DeidreM]

JT writes: The Extreme Vertical boom is 8 feet away from the dock and our height is about 5 or 6 feet above the dock. Do the math.
How would this compare with a Flying Beany, as the picture was captioned. One of you alone can answer this question!