Training Your Dog to Dock Dive!

WRITTEN BY TOM HOWELL JR., Bark Brains & Palmetto DockDogs ®

Your dog can be a DockDog® too if you’ve got a dock, a toy and an open body of water. DockDogs® is an elite dog sport consisting of three different dog disciplines advertised as “The World’s Premier Canine Aquatics Competition”. DockDogs® is prepared to bring a 40 foot dock and a 40 foot pool to y’all anywhere across the country. In fact, DockDogs® is an International Dog Sport with docks and pools in Canada, Australia and Italy.

Big Air is the first and most well-known discipline-equivalent to the long jump in track. Your dog is measured by how far they jump off the dock into the pool. Unlike in track where you’re measured by your feet hitting the sand, DockDogs® distance is measured based off where the dogs’ “tail set” (where the tail is placed on the body) enters the water. You are provided two jumps per event wave and there are normally 6-10 waves per event. The World Record for Big Air is 32 feet! All dogs start out with Big Air and ramp up to the other two more difficult disciplinestracking a bumper at the end of the pool and tracking a bumper raised above the pool.

The second is Speed Retrieve (Speed), where the true definition of “team sport” starts coming into play. For Speed, you’ll only be allowed to use 20 feet of the 40 foot dock. There is a two foot rectangular box you will be forced to keep your dog in to avoid triggering the tripwire laser at the start line. A drag strip style light is anchored to the end of the 40 foot pool with a “bumper” free hanging and dangling several inches above the water. A red, yellow and green light is produced for you to release your dog to retrieve the bumper at the end of the pool. The time is finalized as soon as the dog takes the bumper off the magnet, as they’re not expected to retrieve the bumper all the way back to you. Speed is treated like a time trial and measured based on time, so you can get disqualified for releasing your dog too early during the red or yellow lights. All dogs compete against each other until final times are posted and are put into divisions based on the fastest times. You are only provided two jumps at Speed and there is likely only one Speed discipline for each event. The World Record for Speed Retrieve is a sub 4 second retrieve!

The last event is Extreme Vertical (EV) and is equivalent to the high jump in track where your dog is measured for how high they jump off the dock to retrieve a toy bumper hanging 4’6” above the water. For EV, we’ll need to use the “EV rig,” a “hangman” style apparatus that is extended out 8 feet over the water. You’re only allowed to use up to 20 feet of the dock with the EV rigs’ minimum starting height (4’6”) (measured from the dock). The handler provides a starting height at the minimum height/where they feel comfortable with their dog making the grabs without any misses. The height is raised in 2 inch increments each time your dog takes down the bumper. You have the opportunity to keep jumping higher until you’ve reached two misses. While there’s most likely only one EV discipline for each event, you are provided with as many jumps as needed so long as you have not reached two misses. Even the humans have some fun at certain competitions with the human EV record being 8’9” (me), while the DockDogs® EV world record for dogs is 9’0” (Sounders)!

I got a dog 8 years ago, barely knowing what this sport was, and it has changed my life! Not only has DockDogs® provided my dog with a channeled outlet, it has provided a community unlike any other. I never could have imagined myself being named Vice President of Palmetto DockDogs® (SC’s local affiliate) nor could I have imagined starting my own dog training business (Bark Brains®) to follow my passion and train the best dogs in the world. Bark Brains® has allowed me to give back to my local community so I would JUMP at the chance of training you and your dog. If you love dogs, enjoy being outside, being active and having fun with like-minded dog folks... give DockDogs® a try! Especially right in your backyard during Charleston’s best festival, SEWE, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition! ■