Dock Diving was on the schedule at one of the local harvest fairs this weekend. I have considered dock diving as a sport for Delilah so we decided to check it out.
I thought I was prepared to see the way people hype their dogs up for this type of event, and was pleasantly surprised to find most of the competitors we reasonably reserved.
There were some people who were trying Dock Diving for the very first time, in which case a couple of the dogs were timid in trying. This one little gal, wasn’t having any of it. One of the “stage hands” tried to entice her by bouncing her ball in front of her, but she wouldn’t budge.
The young lady sitting next to me had a lab mix puppy and she was checking out dock diving because she thought her puppy would like it. When this little gal wouldn’t go in I heard my neighbor say, “Push her in.” I cringed inside and mentally pictured the dog ending up in a shelter because he was so anxious and she couldn’t handle him.
Later during the program I was pleased to hear none of the dogs are ever pushed, shoved or in the announcer’s words, punted into the pool.
There were three entries who worked on hyping their dogs up, two of them worked their dogs like this
But the third one, was the one that almost had me running out of the stands to smack her in the head. The worst part is she is a veterinarian.
This was her second run through and I missed capturing the first one on video, but the first time the dog was up she was actually hitting his nose with the ball.
And yes, she is screaming about 3 inches from his ear.
Needless to say, if I choose to participate in this sport with Delilah, I will not be hyping her up.
Do you think there is a chance that these dogs can become reactive in other aspects of their lives?
What is your take on dogs in a competitive sport?
Nice videos and pics.
I think competitive sports can be a great outlet for the dog as well as the handler. I do think they have to be trained and handled appropriately and not every dog is cut out to be a dock diving dog, show dog, hunt test dog, agility dog, etc. I am no expert but I have not seen dogs become reactive from the events but from mis-handling, yes.
Riva likes the show ring but Cheyenne really dosn’t like it, so thats why I started doing field training with her and as it turns out I really enjoy it too!
So I think you have to know your dog and sometimes take a chance, try new things with them. If it dosn’t work out then move on to something else. But always make it fun and have fun with it.
Thank you, I appreciate your thoughts and experience on this subject. I will probably try her with it, but if she doesn’t like it, then I won’t pursue.
We first tried agility a couple of years ago and she didn’t care for it but we went back again after she had matured a bit and she loved it.
She’s an extremely intelligent dog and needs mental stimulation.
I think you hit the nail on the head “mental stimulation” our canine friends all need it in way way or another.
Yay for Delilah and agility. I have always wanted to try that with Riva.
This is a little off topic, but…
My dog likes one toy and one toy only… a small made-for-dogs soccer ball. When I buy him a new toy he loves it for a day or two, then goes back to his ball, ignoring forever his new toy.
I’ve tried and tried to get him interested in new toys and/or training (you know, need to keep his brain stimulated) and he’s emphatically not interested. However, I did figure out that if I repeat “get it” really fast, over and over again, in a really high, squeaky voice it does seem get the idea across that we’re supposed to be having fun here. It’s along the lines of getting him hyped up. Other than hunting for treats I’ve hidden around the house and his ball, he doesn’t get excited about anything unless I hype him up with that annoying high, squeaky voice.
I think you have to do whatever works for your dog, and Delilah may turn out to be one of those dogs that needs a bit of hyping before she’ll jump in a pool, whether you like it or not. I hope she does like it if you try it with her. It seems like great exercise and a lot of fun for the dogs. I wish my dog were at all interested in competitive sports, or anything beside that ball. lol I think he’s more of the therapy dog type, and if I end up having to move, it’ll be to a bigger city that offers training because I think it’s something he would really enjoy. And come to think of it, he does love to meet new people and greet friends; he does get excited about that (but not too excited, not so excited he couldn’t go to hospitals or nursing homes for visits), so yeah, therapy dog it is.
Good luck. I hope you can find something Delilah likes. I don’t comment, but I do read your blog daily, and I can relate to many of the walk problems you have (I can’t let my dog off the leash because he’ll go chase deer, completely ignoring my cries for him to stop, come back, etc.). I also had a dog that felt much more secure on the leash, which I could never figure out, but he was so much better behaved and listened so much better when he was leashed than not. And I once had a dog that chewed a corner of the siding off my house, and ruined one of my mom’s chairs, and chewed up a bird feeder. So yeah, I can relate. *sigh* 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to write the comment, I appreciate your thoughts and input.
I can see how your high squeaky voice could hype him up that is not a problem for me in the least. Some mornings I have to trick the dogs into going outside by say, “what is it?” or “you gonna get that, you ready? 1 2 3 go!” and out the door they bolt. I really have no problems with that. It is a two foot drop from the platform to the pool so I can see how a dog might need to be hyped up for that. I really had the problem with the vet screamaing in the dog’s ear. That really disturbed me.
I don’t get how Delilah is better on the leash either, although Sunday she took off on me with the leash and I had no choice but to follow her becasue I was afraid that leash would get stuck on something and she would hang herself. Turns out the people in one of the houses closest to the woods is dumping their cat litter outside. So there is the draw for her.
Thank you for reading, I will be checking your blog out too!
I am amused to see people have to “hype” up their dogs to get them to jump in water. (Maybe because the platform is above the water?) We are always working on settling our dogs down at “the line” and in the holding blinds. Thunder had some huge water entries on Sunday and of course I was not in a position to take a picture. But it was the bird that did that, not anything the handler did.
That’s what I’m thinking too, it is a two foot drop. I did have Delilah jumping off my sister’s deck into the pool and she had no problems with that.
I would think (as you indicated) it would be better for the dog to be focused. My problem will more than likely be her stay, she doesn’t care to do that well. 🙂
I have seen this on TV before and it’s fascinating. It looks to me like the dogs really love doing it but I don’t know about what prep they have to go through beforehand. I’ve never thought about that.
Maybe Delilah will love it too.
I hope she does Big Al, she does love water retrieving.
I think my dogs would be really nervous about diving off a raised platform, but I can see that it would be incredibly fun for some dogs. I think getting hyped up can be very healthy for some dogs, as long as there is then a good outlet for all that energy!
With my already overly-aroused foster dog, we’ve worked on the on-off switch game described here http://dogscouts.org/uploads/Self_Control_and_IA_are_the_keys.pdf. We teach him to get riled up, but then control his excitement on cue. A great exercise for all dogs, but particularly those with reactive or aroused tendencies!
Thanks for the link Kirsten, I am definitely going to check it out. I’m not really sure how Delilah would react to jumping off a platform, she did great with my sister’s pool, but that was three years ago, she does love to jump run into the water though.
I may pay the $20 and see how she does, I would never force her to do something she didn’t want to do.
Thank you for the comment.
Interesting topic, I saw a similar one about stress and dog sports recently.
Reactivity: Sophie was leash reactive before we ever hit the ring. Classes and tournaments have actually really helped with her reactivity. She has learned to focus and work around dogs while on and off leash. In general the high energy of flyball tournaments has helped make her a more focused dog. She can walk through an arena of barking dogs and looks to me for cues. She also has learned that leashed barking dogs are not always a bad thing and that I can and will take her out of a stressful situation if I note it.
As for my take on dog sports, I think it all comes down to the owner and the dog. I think a lot of people lose sight that this is supposed to be a fun way to bond with your dog. You do not need to be the best or fastest. I see some people scream at their poor dog for fumbling a ball or not lining up quickly enough in Flyball. I have seen the same in agility and rally. The poor dog looks nervous and has no clue what is going on most of the time.
I am a competitive person by nature but when Sophie and I are out competing in flyball and agility, it is purely for fun. Do I wish she never fumbled her ball? Yeah, of course. Do I wish she would listen to commands a little quicker in the obedience ring? Yup! But will I yell at her for not? No way!
Sophie gets amped up to play. I never had to build her drive, it was just there from day one. Put a tug in front of her and she is in heaven. Throw a ball and you just made her day. That energy transfers perfectly to agility and flyball, even obedience/rally. She just loves to play/work. If she didn’t enjoy it, we wouldn’t do it. I have always said the day she looks nervous in the ring or not interested, is the day we stop.
I sometimes amp her up before a race by playing tug. She normally walks into the ring ready to run, the amping up just focuses her. She equates playing tug with being rewarded and running.
I do put the tug in front of her and pull it away but I always reward her by giving her the tug after a little teasing. She knows that tug means its time to run. We tug, I say drop it and line up. She moves straight to her spot and as soon as I say ready, she distributes her weight and hunkers down. I do see people lifting their dogs up in the air and maybe that works for their dog. But, I know my dog and that would never fly.
As for dock diving. We tried it, she refused to jump off the dock. Whined like crazy for her toy but wanted nothing to do with jumping. I didn’t push it and we never did it again. Not her cup of tea, and really I can’t blame her…hurling myself off a platform sounds less than fun!
Like I said before, it comes down to the individual person and dog’s personalities. I do it for fun and to bond with my Sophie.
Patty, I was hoping you would comment on this. I always wondered how you worked Sophie to get her amped up.
I think you are right about some people getting carried away and that would be a problem for me, I’m not exactly sure I could shut my mouth while someone screamed at their dog. That was what upset me so much about the Vet. I would hope a Vet of all people could understand how that could affect a dog. 🙁
You make a really good point, I would be doing it to bond and have fun with my dog.
Thank you for weighing in on this.