We're in Cincinnati - how can we get started?

Hi! My family and I saw your show at the Cincinnati Pet Expo and absolutely loved seeing the dogs flying into the water! What an amazing thing to see in person. I'd love to get one of our 3 labs into something like this. We have a very athletic 9 month old black lab female who loves to fetch and loves jumping into the water. Are there any classes in the Cincinnati area? Are there places we can go to practice? Thanks for any info. It looks like you all have a blast :-)

HI
I know there was a booth at the Expo that did all kinds of dog training in the Cincy area including dock jumping. I can't for the life of me remember what the name was Let me do a little more digging and get back to you.

Lynn

Welcome! I live in Michigan so I'm not very familiar with what there might be down in your neck of the woods. If Lynn can recall the name of that dog club you can contact them for more information.

When I first got started in this sport, I too didn't know where to go to train. We practiced jumping/retrieving into a neighbor's pond, which didn't even have a dock! From there, my sister let me use her backyard in-ground swimming pool for practice, still with no dock. Once I was sure my dog had no problem jumping off the side of the pool into clear water, we headed to our first pool event. There were several nice people at that event that gave us pointers and the rest is history. If you can't find the name of that group/club my advice is to practice wherever you can (public lake, pond, pool, or river) and then just sign up for an event. Don't be afraid to ask for help once you get there, everyone of us was once in your shoes. Good Luck!

Hi, thanks for the replies! I did some searching yesterday and found a place where there is a trainer not too far from where I live. Yay!

Did you all have your dogs enroll in obedience first?

No need to have them in obedience first. The main thing for dock diving is a high toy drive and a love of water. Our dog Rocky is a retreiving fool. He only wants to bring back the toy so you can throw it again. As a puppy we had to play with him at least half an hour every night no matter what the weather outside. If not, he became very obnoxious. The obedience comes in if you want to do the technique called "chase it". That is where you put the dog in a sit/stay at the far end of the dock then release the sit/stay and throw the toy at the moment the dog reaches you at the water end. This will (hopefully) get the dog to follow the toy up and out to get a little more distance. With UAD you can have a second person hold the dog if they aren't very good at the "chase it". The other option is to do the "place and send" where you throw the toy out into the water while holding the dog. This lets the dog mark the toy, then you walk (or run) to the other end of the dock and release the dog to get the toy. You will see what technique works best for you when you get on a dock for real. It's a learning curve.

We have not done obedience with ours. My wife holds them and I throw. The sit and stay is only necessary if you are going to jump with other organizations where they allow only one person on the dock, or you want to do the place and send. Not many people use this as it is hard to get elevation in their jump, which will give you more distance. We practice at a pond down the road and are looking for someone who has a dock that will let us use it.
As Jason said the most important thing is to get them crazy about retrieving and water. they will figure out the dock thing real fast if they are really into the retrieving and water.

Good luck
UAD has an event in Cleveland in Nov, and lots of others around you.
Look forward to meeting you and your dogs

jim

Guess I'm odd man out, because I highly recommend some basic obedience training. Your dog will be off lead for a short period and you'll want to make sure you have a solid recall...it could save their life. Just for an example: If your dog happens to slip by you while you are up on the dock and runs down the steps, they can take off and be gone in a heartbeat. I've seen it done and it can be very scary, especially at an outdoor, unfenced event. Also, as mentioned, a solid sit-stay or down stay can be very handy as well when training alone on the dock. JMO.

i agree some solid basic comands are key which in gingers case i have done on my own with sit stay .I am also very new to this sport but the uad people have helped me with any ? I have had since joining this forum so you have come to the right place. ginger also goes swimming and jumping into a pond

Ann is right basic obedience is needed.

I should clarify:
We have trained our girls to come when called, and sit, but they don't stay, at least anytime except when I am holding a treat .

we have not done any formal obedience training with them.

Jim

I agree with Ann we are still needing to work on a solid recall,we did have our dog run off the dock and WOW how scary that was.

Bob,
You have done an excellent job with Ginger...she had a rock solid sit stay in Chantilly -- very impressive for her first event!

thanks. what can i say ginger empresses even me sometimes for me the key was patience hers and mine

Jake has the best sit/stay I have ever seen. He will stay in it on the dock no matter what I have for him at the other end and how much I beg him to release it.

Matt,

Is that Sit/Stay or Stuck ??

We are still working on Stay...always have and always have to !!

We agree that although obedience classes are not mandatory for this or a number of other sports, we urge people to enroll their dogs. If for no other reason- it helps build a dog's confidence and develops and fortifies an ability to stay tuned to their handler during all kinds of- DISTRACTIONS.

Second the opinions already given... obedience is a good idea, at least to a basic level. It also helps with bonding, trust, and learning eachother's signals, body language, etc.

While I do formal obedience with my boys, I don't emphasize or stress it at dock events. My boys clearly know the difference between sports (and most dogs will figure this out and act accordingly, too) and behave MUCH differently on the dock than in sports that require a bit more precision, restraint, and control.

I found the training Club name I am not sure where they are located but at least you have a name....

Canine Sprots and Behavior Center

Have fun
Lynn

Here is their website: http://www.caninesportsandbehavior.com/

It doesn't say a whole lot about their training background or methods... but you could probably contact them about that and ask.

They're located near Cincy and do classes and compete through another organization, DDs.

Thanks! I contacted them and am awaiting a phone call back. They're actually not too far from where I live which is great considering Cincinnati is not a small city :-)

I've been working with my girl, Jazmine, on obedience lately - just basic sit and heal commands and she's doing really well. She's the type of dog that really likes to please. She even gives me the toy when she brings it back as long as I praise her a lot! My silly male likes to bring the toy just within the point where I can almost reach him and then runs off with it (looking like he's laughing at me).

I'm looking forward to the WARMER weather so we can go out and swim (well the dogs, not me!)

We have one that does that . So I have a treat in my pocket and start to run away, calling her and showing her the treat. I let her catch me, give up what she has, and then give her the treat. Starting to make a difference

I'd highly recommend the "trading game" too. When I work with my
puppy, Baako, I near always have two or more of the same toy.
Otherwise, he will sometimes play keep away (not bad or
excessively, but still not a complete retrieve). Having a
second identical toy to trade back and forth with fixes the
issue. If they won't give up the first, they can't have the
second. And, if they still insist on playing keep away, make a
HUGE deal out of the other toy, playing with it yourself and ignoring
whatever they already have. Eventually, they get bored and
jealous/frustrated and at least start trying to make a big deal out of
their toy, running to/towards you with it, vocalizing to draw your
attention, etc. Each time they run your way, praise them and make
a big deal out of it. At first, you may nto get a complete
retrieve and may have to settle for a dropped item/toy out of
reach. That's okay. Go ahead and throw/reward with the
second toy and repeat the process again. Eventually, you start
holding out for closer retrieves until you have them bringing it all
the way in.

If you have a dog that obsesses over the first toy only though, do
trading with them in hand only at first. Use something you can
still hold onto, give it to them (but keep your hand on it), have them
release, and then reward them with the second toy. If they still
just want the first one, reward them with that instead.
Basically, they learn that the only way the game continues is when they
return the toy to your hand when told. If they want to tug with
it without permission, freeze and act like it's the most boring thing
ever. So, again, the game isn't fun unless they play by the
rules.

Another suggestion... for a real habitual keep away gamer, use a long
line and/or stay in a fenced/enclosed area/inside at first. Then
remove the line, and then move to a less confined area... until you're
finally working out in the open. It gives you a bit more
control that way. I've never had to actually use the line... but
that's because the dog basically already knows it's there if
needed. Most don't bother to test it once they understand how
much more fun playing by your rules can be.