Xtreme Vertical

Saturday was spent with the dogs at our local dock diving practice venue. Pallo continued to hop off the dock after his ball (still so proud of him!). He still comes to a stop and hesitates at the end of the dock before jumping, but it is still great progress for him.

Koira thinks dock diving is the best thing ever. She had a blast doing her xtreme air practice (which is simply a long distance jump with a running start). This time, we also started practicing XV, xtreme vertical, as well. The goal is for the dog to jump off the dock up and out and grab a stationary bumper before dropping down into the pool. XV is a separate competition from XA, but I think a dog learning XV can help them jump farther in XA, since it can teach them to follow their thrown toy up and out instead of straight out. And if they get a higher arc in their jump, they get more air time, and hence, more distance.

Koira is probably never going to be a rockstar with XV, but she had a lot of fun and was doing really well with her baby dog version (where we had the bumper both lower and closer to the dock than the lowest competition setting).

Post by Willamette Valley Pack.

Wordless Wednesday: Otter Flop

Pallo's version of dock diving.

Making a Splash

The slight angle this picture was taken at makes it look like Koira is jumping a bit farther than she probably is in reality. This was a practice jump we did after the competition "wave" was over, specifically to get some pictures.

Me and Koira headed out to our very first dock diving competition this week. Koira loves dock diving more than any other sport we compete in. When we first arrived, she was hot and still shaking from the car ride up to the State Fair where the competition was being held. As soon as she heard the first splash when a dog hit the water, though, she turned into a crazy desperate beast who wanted to dock dive, and wanted to dock dive NOW.

It is so much fun to compete in a sport you know your dog loves. Pallo loves flyball and both dogs really enjoy lure coursing (and for that matter, Koira has a lot of fun at flyball too), but Koira really REALLY loves dock diving.

When competing with the Northwest Challenge X-Treme AirDogs in the championship fair tour, the goal is fun. But, there is of course a set of rules about it. Basically, dogs jump in one of four divisions, divided up by the distance they jump. Novice is 0-10 feet, Amateur is 10-15 feet, Semi-pro is 15-20, and Pro is 20+ feet. So, you are better served with a dog who jumps 9.5 feet than one who jumps 10.2 feet, since one will likely win the Novice division while the other will probably come in last in Amateur.

Koira's distances have been as bad as 10.5 and as good as 12.6 in her jumps so far. A lot of her jumping distance has to do with my throws, though. Also, she had a bit of a time adapting to jumping into a clear pool instead of a murky pond or river, which is where we have practiced. I spent a lot of time on the dock and the practice dock with her (I doubt I can really tire her out too much to jump!), and each jump she hesitated less and less at the end of the dock- she just had to realize it was the same thing here, even if the water is clear! Overall, I think she has done really good. I am hoping to go back again before the end of the series on Monday and see if we can't nail a really awesome jump.


Since the Northwest Challenge is a series of competitions done at fairs around the state, a lot of what is involved is geared toward wowing the audience. The competition waves are narrated by someone on a microphone, announcing the competitors, distances jumped, and general information. In addition to the competition waves, though, a number of demonstrations and exhibitions are put on as crowd entertainment.

We would never jump two dogs at once during competition, but during an exhibition, Emma and Frankie, both seasoned competitors who are very familiar with each other, are able to jump together to wow the crowd.

Emma here, and her handler Josh, won the National Championship last year. This picture is from one of the competition waves this week.

Pallo doesn't really dock dive, as you know if you've seen my previous posts about it. I brought him along as a crowd puppy. He helped out by wearing the Chase Away K-9 Cancer donation vest and brought in $37 in donations for a great cause.

I did take him out on the practice dock during the down time between demos, exhibits, and competition waves though. And you know what? He actually jumped off the dock three times. About a total of a foot or two in distance, but he did it! He wouldn't do it a fourth time, but I'm hoping he will get some more confidence with practice and be a competitor next year.

Pallo, wearing the donation vest and working the crowd (though he just spotted me in this picture)

X-treme Airdogs

We went to some more dock diving practice today. Almost from the beginning, Koira was hesitating way less at the end of the dock. Instead of coming to a total or close to total halt at the end of the dock, then jumping (which is what she was doing last time we practiced), she was jumping from a run this time, consistently. Or, well, as long as my throws weren't too stupidly off.



I also decided that Koira needed a diving vest, and threw one together last night after getting off work to see if it would work for her. I found a small amount of the swimsuit fabric in a discount bin because of a print flaw, so used that for this first trial run vest. It ended up working great, so I will use it for our practice vest and make a few more in various fabrics for competing later in the summer.



I also think the vest is good for helping keep Koira cool on hot, sunny days. Her fur is so thin that it does not help cool her at all, and since she is black, she gets really hot in direct sunlight. A light colored lycra swimsuit fabric vest helps reflect some of the sunlight off of her, and I think it will be good for getting wet as well to keep her cool. We'll have to test it out on a hot sunny day as soon as we get one.



Pallo came along, but he didn't do any dock work. We played a little fetch from the shore, but that was it. I think, since he has so many other sports to do, that Koira can have dock diving for now. She loves it so much, it is awesome to watch. I'm glad she finally found something to love doing!




Koira did start a little bit of extreme vertical (EV). This is where the bumper is held stationary above the water and the dog has to jump up and out to get it. The first step is just going to be teaching her to jump up for the bumper at all. I think we'll get there, though. I hope I can find somewhere here in town that we can practice, at least a little. With so many docks on the river, there must be one that goes off into the water somewhere without too much current.

Off to California, and Extreme Challenge pictures

Don't forget to check out the Happy Tails Spa review and giveaway post!

Well, me and the dogs are packing up the car and headed south. To Gridley, CA specifically.



Pallo will be running in his first-ever U-Fli tournament. This should be a ton of fun! I haven't been to a tournament since last fall, and it feels like it has been FOREVER!



Before we take off, I wanted to share a few pictures from our adventure last weekend with Extreme Challenge trying out some dock diving with the pups. Koira really loved it, and I think she will do awesome if we keep practicing.

This little girl is an awesome jumper, and hilarious to see her expressions that I captured during her jumps.



Here she is again with her handler throwing the toy.


Here is one of the pictures of Koira jumping. I think the people taking pictures of my dogs were afraid to zoom in too much and miss the dog completely, but I'm happy to have any pictures at all.




This one was hilarious. They were trying to show the dog on the dock that other dogs were happy to jump in the water. The bumper was basically dropped into the water, and Emma, the one in the air, just dove straight off the dock for it.



Another one of Koira jumping. She has such a silly jumping style.


I think this is my favorite one of Koira. The splash in the water just makes me happy, with her jumping into the air and me in the background.


This is as close as Pallo got to jumping off the dock. Silly little boy. He had fun swimming from the shore, but nothing would convince him it was a good idea to leap into the water. Finally, something Koira is way better at than Pallo...



This is probably my favorite shot of the day. This dog was out with some pretty serious injuries for a while, and this was his first practice back. I was super impressed. Plus, this is just pretty hilarious anyway. I still need to get around to actually editing these pictures, so you can really see the colors and amazingness.


And here is the same dog with his handler.


Hope everyone has a great weekend! We'll have to let you know how U-Fli racing goes for us, and see everyone again on Monday. I am hoping that during the drive home on Sunday I will be in the Medford, OR area around 6:23 for the peak of the solar eclipse. If so, I will try to get pictures.