Hastings Rivertown Days!

Our next event brought us to Hastings, Minnesota July 17-19. We had a lot of driving to do that weekend, due to a busy work schedule but we were determined to make it happen!

We drove down to Hastings about 1 PM Friday afternoon and arrived to some cold & rainy weather! We decided to give Speed Retrieve a try with Nallah for the first time. The first Speed Retrieve heat was scheduled for 3 PM. Jim got a few practices in with Nallah before the first heat. It proved to be a little difficult and confusing for Nallah, she didn't quite understand what she was supposed to do. We never did get a score because Nallah didn't knock down the DFT, but at least we gave it a shot. I think we'll try again when she gets a little more confident being up on the dock!

More practice practice practice up on the dock before our first Big Air wave of the weekend. The anticipation was overwhelming! We were hoping & praying that Nallah would show us more improvement since our last event in Ely, MN. Our first wave was at 4 PM and Nallah DID shine through and prove to us once again that she had a true Dock Dogs spirit!! She never gave up and became more and more confident with each jump!

Wave #1: 13'3" and 14'1"

That put her in Second place in the Junior standings

After our wave we participated in a FUN JUMP and Tom Dropik gave everyone some great pointers on how to get your dog to fly off the dock. We learned that keeping the bumper right in front of their nose until you release is a very good technique.

After all the fun Friday, we drove to Stacy MN to stay with my brother Travis.

Saturday morning we were up & ready to go! Back to Hastings for a full day of Dock Dogs! First wave of Saturday was at 11 AM. So we got lots of practice in before hand. Nallah improved yet again with....

Wave #2: 14'5" and 14'3"

Our 3rd wave was scheduled for 12:30. MORE IMPROVEMENT!!!! :)

Wave # 3: 15'9" & 16'7"

We left Saturday afternoon VERY happy & proud of our little girl! Sunday morning we drove back to Hastings for more Dock Dogs!!! We didn't want to miss out on our last wave and a possibility at finals........

Wave #4: 15'9 & 16'2"

Nallah showed us that weekend that she really had fun with Dock Dogs and we were so happy we decided to give it another try. Officially HOOKED! Its too bad the season is so short......we only wish we could have a Dock Dogs event EVERY weekend of the summer! As always, the anticipation of our next event was already there......

Ely goes to the Dogs!

Our 2nd Event! The Ely Pet & Wildlife Expo was held June 5-7 2009. A long wait from February to June. This year we are definately going to have to fill that void and get to some more events in between.

We were so excited for our second event. It was finally "Summer" and Nallah had a few chances to get out and swim already so she had that sparkle in her eye when we asked her....."Nallah....do you want to go SWIMMING?". Even a little practice time on the docks up at the in-laws. We were ready. We even went out and bought a brand new camera for our new obsession. A Canon Rebel XS to capture those action shots!

This is how you pack for a long weekend of Dock Dogs!

We arrived in Ely mid afternoon. It was a little rainy & cloudy. About 60 out. Not too hot, not too cold. Nallah knew what we were going to do, and we both know she was excited about it. We were registered for the 1st wave on Saturday morning, but we wanted to get in a little practice when we got there. We attended the fun jump and I was SO HAPPY to see that Nallah was actually jumping off the dock! A little hesitation but she was getting the hang of it! That pool was no longer intimidating to her!!!

Our first wave was AMAZING. Nallah was excited and ready to go SWIMMING! She made us all smile by jumping 11'2" and 12'2" in her first wave. I was THRILLED. She was getting the hang of it, and made some HUGE improvement since her first event! ; )

Second wave, we switched handlers again. We wanted to see how she would do with Jim. MORE IMPROVEMENT! First jump came in at 12'6" and second jump at 12'7"!!!!!!!

So that wrapped up our second event. We were extremely proud of Nallah and she has so much fun! This event left us completely and absolutely OBSESSED with Dock Dogs. We couldn't wait for our next event. Let the addiction begin..........

Our first event........

Our first event took place in the middle of a Minnesota winter. Buuuuurrrrrr!!!

The cold didn't keep us from trying out this new and exciting sport! We waited in anticipation for February 21. The Minneapolis Convention Center was hosting the Pet Expo and we figured since it was so close to home, this would be a good chance to try it out. We packed up our gear the night before, the Tahoe was loaded down with stuff! Chairs, crate, blankets, towels. We headed out about 5 AM Saturday morning. Of course, it has snowed the night before and was still snowing on the way down. Made travel time slow way down and we were rushing to get there on time.

Here is a photo of Nallah watching me scurry around the house getting the last few things packed before we left.......I'm sure she was thinking......."Why are we up so early and WHERE are we going?! I want to go back to bed.........."

We made it to the Convention Center in the nick of time. Got our stuff hauled in and set up and it was time to JUMP! The moment we'd been waiting all winter for! I was registered as Nallah's handler in the first wave. Nerves were taking over.....I couldn't believe how nervous I was! I figured Nallah would have no problem jumping off the dock, the way she always did back home.

Much to our surprise....it didn't go as planned! We got up on the dock, I set her up in a sit/wait and called her down........she ran full speed to the end of the dock where she put on the brakes! No way was she jumping in that pool! I was a little discouraged that she didn't want to jump in, but I was told by several people this is how it is for most dogs their first time. "Give her time and she'll be jumping off that dock like she does at home". So for our first wave, no jump either time.

We switched handlers for the second wave and Jim gave it a try. He was a little more patient and relaxed about it and was trying some different approaches to get her in! : ) Jim tried getting her to stand up at the end of the dock and reach her toy out above the water.....which eventually got her to go in! YAY! Her first official jump was 2'4". Thats ok! We were so proud she actually went in!!! Now she kind of knew what she was supposed to do. Here's a few photos from our first event.

So we ended our first event with one jump. Not a monster jump by any means, but a jump! And it left us wanting more DOCK DOGS!!!!!!!

Well we're wrapping up the end of our first season of Dock Dogs and I thought it was only appropriate to create a blog about it! Dock Dogs first caught our attention when Nallah was a puppy. We saw it on TV and dreamed about some day being able to do that with her. A few years later, our story begins....