Janet808 Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Ok, I'm new here, so I wasn't sure exactly where to post this...but does anyone here do the Dock Dog thing? I've seen this on T.V., and since, I'm not exactly sure what 'flyball' is, and not into doing agility...unless it's for myself...I thought doing the Docking would be fun! I'm not looking to join any group, or get into competitive competition, it's just that we boat, and there's a dock and if I could teach Misty to go after a ball, frisbee, stick, whatever off the dock, it would be fun for her and me! lol Should she be a natural at it, it could be something to look into competitively, so I guess it's not out of the question. Let me know what your thoughts are, or if you've tried this. If you have, how does your BC do? Look forward to hearing from you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetJordan Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 I'll tell you if I had a good place to take Riley to do this I would. I know my lab would love it as well. Riley loves the water and already has an incredible long jump. Plus she'll catch anything in the air. I know it's mostly retrievers (usually labs) who dock dive, but I thought to myself awhile ago that Riley would be great at it. I have heard of BCs who dock dive, but have never seen any myself. Right now the lake we use has such a low water level that to put in a dock you'd have to probably go out for at least a mile which is why it won't work for us. I say if you have the spot and your BC loves the water go for it. Sounds like a ton of fun to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 I would totally love to do that with my dog. As you can see, he seems to kindda enjoy diving Just a tiny lil' bit Any dock diving training facility around Denver? (yeah, I thought so.... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Ouzo is such a natural! I give him a 10 for some of those dives -- his feet together, toes pointed and all! There is a website dockdogs.com Looks like it's sponsored by one of my favorite stores, Cabela's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Thanks for the link, Jan. Just as I suspected, there aren't any Dock Diving clubs in CO, the closest would be 3-4 hrs away - that ain't gonna happen. Oh, well, we seem to be doing well improvising diving from wherever we find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesqf Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 We need a larger version of the top right one. It sure looks like he hit the water and bounced off. Skipping stones, yes, but skipping border collies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetJordan Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Found places near me. But just realized w/ Riley's fear of strange dogs she would probably freak out. Too bad I can't show her off. And what great pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinah_kay Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 We have just started to get into this with dave. There is a club a couple of hours from me, and we plan to go up and train more once it warms up. I really hope to go to a competition this spring or summer. It is great for Dave!!! It combines his love ot water and toys, lol!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 We need a larger version of the top right one. It sure looks like he hit the water and bounced off. Skipping stones, yes, but skipping border collies? You mean, this one? Where the ball hadn't even touched the water yet and the two Goldens were eyeing it like two sharks? Guess who won ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesqf Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 You mean, this one? Where the ball hadn't even touched the water yet and the two Goldens were eyeing it like two sharks? No, the one on the other side, where there's a big star-shaped splash under the flying border collie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 No, the one on the other side, where there's a big star-shaped splash under the flying border collie. Aaaa, sorry, you meant "the other right" Here it is: And to show you it wasn't just a "one-off" here's another one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquilis Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Now THAT looks like good messy fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyMace Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 good topic! maceo and i are going to try this when it gets warmer as well... he turns 1 year old in 5 days...caught his first frisbee about a month ago...we are very proud of him! we have a house on a lake, and he loves to splash in the water...has any one ever trained their bc to dive? any helpful training tips are appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesqf Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Aaaa, sorry, you meant "the other right" Yeah, but I'm too polite to have put it that way myself :-) Anyway, just how the heck did he do that? Looks like he hit, and somehow launched again? And slightly off topic, what do you do with a dog who will only go in up to her tummy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Simply put, he "boing-ed" The water wasn't deep in those shots, so he was able to push himself off the bottom and zoom above the water. ETA - in these last 2 shots he did't dive since it was at a lake with no banks to jump from, he just ran from the shore into the water and jumped after the ball. When diving, once he hits the water, it looks like the shot on the bottom right of the collage (the right right ), there's no more boinging above the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katelynn & Gang Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Where are you located? I do some dock dog jumping in the summer. I don't have any fun pictures though! lol Katelynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Nichols Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 Anda, It looks like they are having a Dock Dogs competition in Colorado with the Pet Expo in April. It would be the first one I've ever heard of in Colorado. They always have opportunities for dogs & people who have never done it before to do practice with the dors. I've never tried it but it looks like a lot of fun. I couldn't find any details about the event on the Expo site yet, but they are listed on the map for the vendors. Also, if you look at the message board from the Dock Dogs webpage under the "Places to Train" section, there is a huge 4 page discussion about getting it going in Colorado. I'm thinking I might have to go & try it with one of my dogs. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 Thanks, Dana. I read about the Pet Expo on that message board. However, on the Pet Expo site it says to leave your dog home unless you're registered to participate in a contest. Fun for the whole family, but please leave your own pet at home. Only attendees who are pre-registered for a contest are allowed to bring their pet. I think they had something similar at a Hunting and Fishing expo last year - we went with a friend (I HATED it ) but it was so crowded and so tiny that even if you brought your dog, it would have been a pain in the butt to enjoy it. In the meantime we're going to practice at Cherry Creek and Chatfield - can't wait for the weather to get warmer and be able to go again every weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Wild Child Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I have done a Dock Dogs competition with my Golden Retriever. I think the last time I looked we were ranked 861st with a whopping big jump of 9' 1"! It is a lot harder than it looks; all in the toss and getting your dog to jump up and out, not just straight out. I had never done it before that day; except retrieving off of a bank into a pond or lake. We entered one flight or round (forget what they are called) and then got do to practice time. My understanding is that you start teaching the dog to jump on land first, then into the water. And giving up some 'good' manners by getting them to jump up for a toy in your hand. Several things to keep in mind. Dock Dog competitions usually jump into a pool with clear water. That can be a very different picture for a dog who is used to jumping into a lake or a pond off of a bank. Mine was a little hesistant at first going off, but then was fine. He had the most problems with the ramp coming up out of the water because of the visual distortion. If you do this for fun be very, very careful asking your dog to jump off of a wet dock that doesn't have any kind of gripping surface (texture). When I was on the Dock Dogs forum pretty regularly, there were quite a few cases of dogs getting hurt (sometimes pretty badly) from slipping or worse off of a wet, slippery dock. It is quite fun and if my BC would have been brave enough in front of the crowd I probably would have done it with him. And for the fun of it I was going to use his stuffed sheep toy as the lure! Wouldn't that have been funny - even though smaller, he is much a bigger jumper than my Goldie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet808 Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Wow! those pics are awesome! My hubby, was taking Misty for a walk one day and a man stopped to talk to him, asked what kind of dog she was, he told him. Somehow they started talking about boating and the water, and how Misty loves the water, and the guy said, he didn't know BC's could swim???? Well, I'd say, from the pics and posts here, that guy don't get out much! LOL Glad to see BC's in the water! I can't wait until this cold weather breaks, I'm gonna see if Misty gets braver as she gets older. Question on how to get your dog in the water past his belly...try going into the water too and coax him to you. We did this with Misty when we first took her down, of course, she was only about 3-4 mos. old. That, and we had Max, the HUGE black lab, to also help. I think she's in love w/ him! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearls pop Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 good topic! ..has any one ever trained their bc to dive? any helpful training tips are appreciated! A friend of mine had a aussie/bc X (Tyrone)that would dive into the river and retrieve the exact rock that had been thrown for him everytime. This was a murky watered river with a fairly strong current in the spring, Tyrone would stay down so long that I'd start to wonder if he was going to come back up. She said he learned that on his own when she would skip stones across the water, he would bring the rock back to her. I wish I could get Pearl to swim, she is one of those only up to the belly swimmers, even when the weather is hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I never got in the water with Ouzo. Not a sane person would get in the water at the dog parks that we go to If your dog is ball motivated, you start by throwing the ball in the water, very close to the shore. Then you throw it a bit further in the water each time, until they realize they won't gonna melt, and that if they just use their legs to swim they can get to the ball! If you can find a doggy buddy to show your dog how to do it, you're in business. The first time he got in the water and swam he was 5 months and he saw a big black lab swim in the Reservoir and he decided he can do that, too! We didn't have a ball with us, but floating sticks worked great to convince him to get in the water pass his belly. And that water was COLD, it was in March! This is puppy Ouzo experiencing getting out of the lake for the first time: (can't belive that funny stick he had for a tail ) He was more excited about the lab than about the water as you can see in this video. And he didn't even realize he was almost swimming! Since then, Ouzo has been the role model to many other dogs, giving them courage to get in the water and swim after balls or other retrieving toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha J Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Oh my, how did i miss these Ouzo shots!! Love that collection of pic's of him Anda, you have some very cool shots of him on there. They look good put together like that. I have never seen Dock diving here, we might do it over here. Not sure. It does look fun though. Holly wouldn't do it though, she likes going in up to the waist only really. Need to google now to see if we do it anywhere in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet808 Posted January 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 If you can find a doggy buddy to show your dog how to do it, you're in business. The first time he got in the water and swam he was 5 months and he saw a big black lab swim in the Reservoir and he decided he can do that, too! We didn't have a ball with us, but floating sticks worked great to convince him to get in the water pass his belly. And that water was COLD, it was in March! He was more excited about the lab than about the water as you can see in this video. And he didn't even realize he was almost swimming! Wow! This sounds exactly how Misty got into the water! Misty had her buddy Max (big black lab) who helped her, and she too was more interested in him than the stick! LOL I can't wait to share this w/ my hubby, I think he'll get a kick out out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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