Dock Dogs event in MD...

[Dexter Dogg]

SPRING FLING - April 16th & 17th 2011

Location:

Lilypons
6800 Lilypons Road
Adamstown MD

Event Schedule:

Sat April 16, 2011:

Onsite Registration/ Practice - 7:30 am
Extreme Vertical Competition - 8:30 am
Big Air WAVE Competition # 1 - 11:00 am
Big Air WAVE Competition # 2 - 2:00 pm
Big Air WAVE Competition # 3 - 5:00 pm

Sun April 17, 2011:

Onsite Registration/ Practice - 8:00 am
Big Air WAVE Competition # 4 - 9:00 am
Big Air WAVE Competition # 5 - 12:00 pm
Big Air Finals start at 2:30 pm (Divisional format)


***Register for event here***

[mylambboys]

We will be there with Max. Hope to see you guys at some practices this month if not see you at the Spring Fling.

[Dexter Dogg]

We will be there with Max. Hope to see you guys at some practices this month if not see you at the Spring Fling.

Cool!

Hope to get to one of the March practices for sure. Really excited to get back on the dock!!

See you guys there.

[deidra]

Do you know when or if there is one comin through central Illinois anytime soon? Also at an event can you sign up with your dog or do you need to take training classes with professionals first? Or can you train them yourself?

[Dexter Dogg]

Hey Deidra,

I'm not sure if you have a local club? I could not see one. The best way to get started is to go along to a club practice. That's how I got started. However, with regards to events, you can check on dockdogs.com for all events. Here is the page for affiliate club events...

Affiliate Club Events - DockDogs.com

You can sign up with your dog onsite at an event, but I would recommend that you sign up in advance of the event to be sure of a spot. Sometimes they let people jump their dogs in the practice sessions in between competition waves too.

You definitely do NOT need professional training classes. You can work with your dog and get him/her use to the dock and jumping off it. However, the real basics that you will need are a good sit stay and a high toy drive! I spent a lot of time playing frisbee with Dex and getting him to wait while I walked away from him and threw it. Now when he gets on the dock, he automatically drops and waits while I walk to the end and release him from a stay.

There is some GREAT information on this website regarding getting started with Dock Diving. Nancy used to be a member on this forum and she has achieved amazing things with her dogs...

Team 4 Dawg Flite Helpful Info

Has your dog been in water before? When I first took Dex, he had not been in water before. So, I took him to a shallow area and let him go in and get use to swimming before attempting the dock. We then progressed to the dock once he was comfortable jumping off the edge of a bank into water. Once on the dock, most dogs on their first couple of runs will run to the end and then stop!! But once they've taken the initial small jump, they'll never look back!

Hope this helps.