Dock diving?

[Liesje]

I have always wanted to do dock diving. Kenya will jump if I ask her to jump but is not motivated enough for a toy to really enjoy it. Coke is still a little spooked by the idea and doesn't like his head going under. From what I can tell, Nikon might just have what it takes. He's 8 months and hasn't actually been swimming yet, but he is crazy for toys and his ball, good with the idea of chasing them down and bringing them back. I've seen him go for a drink, dropping his ball in the water bucket, drinking, and then sticking his head way under to get the sunk ball back (unlike Coke who would not put his snout in). All the other dogs I know of from my breeder LOVE the water.

1. How old does a dog have to be for dock diving? Nikon's 8 months and his hip/elbows were x-rayed and look good/normal.

2. Does anyone know of any dock diving clubs near west Michigan?

3. Is this something can play with on our own or will you "ruin" a dog? We played with this using my uncle's lab (here is a video of her jumping) and I wanted to use her to compete but we see them so rarely, only a few times a year and only get to swim/dive once each summer on vacation.

[sleachy]

Depends on the venue but I think 6mths is minimum age. Ultimate Air Dogs always has a lot of events in MI! They will be at UKC Premier! Definetely sign up and give it a go!!! They are really nice folks and will help you get started and they will make sure its a POSITIVE experience for your dog. As far as ruining a dog for dock jumping, I don't know about that! I have never officially trained at it and my dog does ok. We aren't out to break any world records but she LOVES to jump and she has done well enough to earn a JJ-N (junior jumper, national level) from DockDogs!

Here is a link for ya:
Ultimate Air Dogs events

[Liesje]

I watch them each year at the Premier. I was thinking of taking Nikon this year if they are doing the small pool for dogs that want to try like they did last summer. I couldn't tell if they were doing that again this year.

[sleachy]

There is a DockDogs club in MI but they don't have their own website. Here is a link to their page on the DockDogs forum:
Great Lakes Dock Dogs on DockDogs.com forums

[Timber1]

My son's dog, a yellow lab named "Jumpn George" has been in the sport for three years now. He qualified for Cabela's World Championships last year, and has been invited back this year.

I am a GSD nut, but want Timber to participate in the long jump and extreme vertical. He loves water and was raised with the kid's labs. Although this sounds a bit negative, he will never be able to compete with the high end dogs. But he could win a few events, which again demonstrates the GSD is the most versatile on earth.

[Liesje]

I'm more interested in the long jumps than the extreme vertical. That looks cool, but my only experience is doing longer jumps, I have no clue how to train the vertical or throw the toys that way. Because of how we train for SchH, Nikon seems to do best if I get him all worked up with the toy, toss it out there while he's held (or show him where it is in the water), work him up a bit, and let him go. I understand for vertical you have to toss the toy the right way or have it suspended?