Dock Diving Training
The last month or so we’ve been re-training Power for Dock Diving. She is a HUGE jumper for the Frisbee, and also in the high jump, and she likes to fetch in the water. So we thought she’d be amazing at dock diving. Well except for the stopping at the edge and waiting for the toy to land in the water before she jumped in…she was a “natural.” Not!
But hey, 12′ 4″ is pretty good from a stand-still, right?
So back to the drawing board! We went to one of the best dock diving trainers around, Lou Mack of CoolDog Productions here in Las Vegas, Nevada. No Lou hasn’t won any DockDogs or Splash Dogs Championships, and he hasn’t set any world records. But I’ve seen the dogs he has trained that perform dock diving in his entertainment shows…and they are HUGE jumpers! Consistently HUGE. If he’d just enter a few events then you’d definitely see some of his dogs at the top of the rankings.
I’d really like to see Lou’s Pit Bull, Nubs, enter some competitions. I did a quick search on the internet and found a claim on the Pit Bull record at 22′ 6″. Is that true? Anyone know the current record? I’ve seen Nubs consistently jump at least that, maybe up to 25 or more feet? Which is pretty amazing for such a huge Pit Bull. But the most amazing thing is that Nubs only has three legs. Two up front, and ONE REAR LEG that launches him 25 feet!!!
Video of Nubs on YouTube, filmed by a fan. Nubs jumps at about 1:30 in…
Returning to the subject…Lou is an awesome trainer who knows what to do from day 1 if you want your dog to be hitting 25′ or more jumps consistently. He has a dock and pool at his house, complete with old “Incredible Dog Challenge” turf covering the dock. Pretty cool. So Power has been heading over there occasionally to get some training, doing ground work and dock work. She is a little bit of a softy and it’s been pretty slow-going, but Lou’s patience with her is paying off. You can see from this video that was shot today in my pool that she’s getting a lot more confidence, she’s not hesitating at the edge anymore and she’s jumping up to catch the frisbee in the air.
(that’s Bootzilla the Pit Bull who jumped in the pool from the side…she just learned how to swim a few days ago!)
Looking good so far! Next up is working on training me to set the frisbee in the air to the right place at the right time. I have to use a stick right now because I can’t throw it perfect yet. Frisbees are great to use for a dock jumping motivator because they hang in the air and a dog can get a better catch ratio with one. Well, if the person can toss it right, and there isn’t any wind! So once again, in comes the professional for the best training…Lou!
Check out Lou’s website for info on when he’s coming to your area: www.CoolDogProd.com If you’re lucky maybe you can get some training tips from Lou.
Flyball Updates – Envy and Bootzilla
The Flyball page has been completed on the new website, take a peek and let us know what you think! We added basic background info about the D.E.O. Speedwaggin’ Flyball team, highlighted a few of the dogs and our team accomplishments, and have also added all of our planned 2011 Flyball Tournaments to the Calendar.
We have a couple exciting new additions to our team for the 2011 season! First off, we’re really really incredibly stoked about adding a new height dog to our roster:
ENVY
This little dynamo is a 7″ jumping height dog who comes from Tooie and Ian Crooks of Blue Cedar Sport Dogs, they are on the Flying Colors Flyball team here in Las Vegas, Nevada. Envy had some issues in her former home(s) and was returned to the breeder…why?!?! As far as we can tell, she is a fabulous little dog who gets along just fine with our pack of dogs (but she IS a terrier mix, and she does not stand for wild puppy antics in her face – that’s all!). Since she moved back with Tooie, she has worked on her flyball training and has hit 4.6′s in practice (see video below). Wow! She is now a solid and dependable height dog who is going to race on the D.E.O. Speedwaggin’ team. So far she has raced with us in Phoenix twice and Denver once, all three tournaments she has been outstanding!
Envy is a sport dog mix…her dam, My-My, is a Border Border x Border Jack (Snap x Vice); and her sire, Pilot, is a Border Jack. Envy’s littermates are Nevada, Thrill, Timmay!, Grifter and Seeya.
You may have seen Envy’s dad, Tri-Hard Top Gun “Pilot,” with his owner Pam Martin performing on America’s Got Talent in 2009, or on the Martha Stewart Show, or on the Top Dog Racers flyball team from Dallas. He was the 2008 NAFA Region 5 MVP, and raced for years as Top Dog Racer’s 3.9 second height dog on their A team which ran in the 15′s.
And don’t forget about Envy’s Grandma, Snap! Also a member of the 3.9 second height dog racing club, Snap has even been nominated to the NAFA Flyball Hall of Fame.
We’re confident in Envy’s skills, and we plan to add another Division I Regular team to our roster at our next tournament! How exciting!
BOOTZILLA
At our last tournament in Phoenix, the rain came and all the other Division I teams left. We waited around, and a few hours later, racing resumed! So we ended up having several races to run against no one.
Woo hoo! We brought in Bootzilla and she got to run in several races with no one in the other lane to distract her. She did fabulous…ran some 4.5′s… and wore her shiney new bling-encrusted disco-style golden bedazzled harness! Congrats to Ethan and Bootsy for earning her FDX 100-point Flyball title!
