Heart of Texas DockDogs

 

Also known as dock jumping, the sport of dock diving is a rapidly growing sport in the United States. Most competitions are held in a regulation dock diving pool, while some competitions are in a natural body of water.

Anyone can enter his or her dog in a DockDogs competiton. The only requirements are that the dog is at least six months old.   Handlers must be at least 7 years old to compete.   You do not have to wait until your dog is an accomplished jumper. There is always open dock practice time at each event and staff members to help you.

The #1 rule to remember, have FUN with your dog!

There are three competitions within a DockDog event.  You can compete in any or all of them.

Big Air - Measuring distance
Speed Retrieve - Measuring speed
Extreme Vertical - Measuring height

BIG AIR - Measuring Distance   
Big Air is the most popular competition, as this is what most people think of when they hear the term dock diving. In Big Air, the dog runs down the dock and jumps out for a toy or object that has been thrown into or out over the water. The distance measurement is taken at the point where the base of the dog's tail (where it meets the body) hits the water. With 90 seconds to execute each jump, the team is given two jumps in each wave with the longer of the jumps being their official score for that wave.

 

 

 

 SPEED RETRIEVE - Measuring Speed

Speed Retrieve is the newest of the dockdog diving competitions and is exciting.  DockDogs Speed Retrieve scoring is based on time. The dog will run, jump from the end of the dock into the water and swim towards the end of the pool to retrieve the object. When the dog grabs the object and pulls it down, the timer stops.  The team with the fastest time wins.

A DockDogs Flappy is used as the retrieiving object.

If the dog begins his run and crosses the 20 ft. line before the signal is given, it is considered a false start and the run does not count. The handler has 60 seconds to execute the run. Each team is given two runs in each heat with the faster of the two runs being the official score for that heat.

 

EXTREME VERTICAL - Measuring Height

Extreme vertical is exciting to watch.  DockDogs Extreme Vertical scoring is based on height. The dog will jump from the end of the dock and grab an object from an extender suspended over the pool. The Team that achieves the highest height wins.

A Dockdogs Flappy is suspended from an extender 8 ft. out from the dock and at heights ranging from 4'6" up to as high as a dog can jump. (The current record is 8 ft.) The Flappy is moved up in increments as the participating dogs execute the jumps.