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Dock Diving In Sydney


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They are landing in water, but we all know that water can be pretty hard if we hit it the wrong way. Humans dive into the water hands & head first making a minimal impact on the water surface, but these dogs are hitting the water at all angles on their bodies...back legs, hips, rib cages, sides, twisted,.. etc etc. & in competition whey can get up to some pretty big heights before they splash back down into the water.

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It only hurts people if they land on a large flat body surface such as flat on belly or back.

Dogs have legs that are underneath that help to break that and so even if they land hind legs first or anything, it is the same as us putting our hands in first

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It only hurts people if they land on a large flat body surface such as flat on belly or back.

Dogs have legs that are underneath that help to break that and so even if they land hind legs first or anything, it is the same as us putting our hands in first

Also, during competition, just like human diving comps, they keep the surface of the water moving, so that the surface tension is not an issue.

Cheers,

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It only hurts people if they land on a large flat body surface such as flat on belly or back.

Dogs have legs that are underneath that help to break that and so even if they land hind legs first or anything, it is the same as us putting our hands in first

Also, during competition, just like human diving comps, they keep the surface of the water moving, so that the surface tension is not an issue.

Cheers,

OK...that makes sense. :)

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I really would love to get him involved with something he does so naturally and with such enthusiasm and just loves it so much. It makes me so happy watching him do what he was bred to do and enjoys so much - retrieving in the water.

Thought about trying retrieving trials? You can really watch him do what he was bred to do there :thumbsup: Dock diving is great fun for the water loving dogs too :)

Yes I have thought about trying Retrieving with him and in fact checked out the Retrieving demo at the Dogs NSW open day when my boy was about 8 months and they gave him a trial run which he did really well at and I got all the contact details form the Retrieving people and was going to follow up once my boy had matured a bit more, both in body and mind :D I am still waiting for his mind to mature :laugh: Life got a little crazy and I never followed up on it and it is still on my "todo list". I am not sure about retrieving trials though, more for my sake than his. I want to do something more informal where he could indulge his love of retrieving in the water, swimming, and having lots of fun, hence my interest in dock diving for him. The only impediment to his success, will probably be me :laugh: - I have visions of throwing myself off the platform into the water inadvertently, when I throw his retrieving toy :rofl:

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I think that with any dog sport there is a potential risk of injury, so we need to educate ourselves and take preventative measures to minimise the risk of injury. I did some research awhile back on potential injuries with dock diving and this is a link to one of the articles I found. If my boy takes to dock diving and we pursue it as a sport, then I will be increasing our activities to increase his level of fitness to build more muscle tone and probably drop some weight at the same time to keep him in peak condition as he is a very solid, well built Lab (not fat) and increased activity levels will also do me good as well as I need to increase my fitness and drop weight, so we will both be "in training" :D

http://www.examiner.com/article/dock-dogs-preventing-injuries

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MAybe I should book a diving spot for my Border Pup. She has noooooo trouble launching into the pool so far. Maybe with some extra training she could be really good at it.

hope you do, I have secured a spot for my boy :thumbsup:

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I think I will come dogless to have a look. I have to go to work at lunchtime so don't want to be hurried etc.

It is only 6 km from my house so is easy enough to look into later if I see it and think she may like a go at a later date.

You coming PAX?????

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I think that with any dog sport there is a potential risk of injury, so we need to educate ourselves and take preventative measures to minimise the risk of injury. I did some research awhile back on potential injuries with dock diving and this is a link to one of the articles I found. If my boy takes to dock diving and we pursue it as a sport, then I will be increasing our activities to increase his level of fitness to build more muscle tone and probably drop some weight at the same time to keep him in peak condition as he is a very solid, well built Lab (not fat) and increased activity levels will also do me good as well as I need to increase my fitness and drop weight, so we will both be "in training" :D

http://www.examiner.com/article/dock-dogs-preventing-injuries

Thankyou Labrador for the link. What she is talking about is what I was thinking of when I posted the question about it being potentially bad on the dog's body. When my dogs jump off the jetty into the water, they are focused on the water & can position themselves for the best landing/splash. But in DD they are reaching, extending their neck & spine & focused on the flying toy & have no time to prepare their bodies for the right way to hit the water. :( I don't know...when I saw a clip from a competition out of America, I thought it looked a bit cruel. One of those things you do to delight the audience at the expense of the dog. That's just my opinion. :)

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1335106680[/url]' post='5808564']

I think I will come dogless to have a look. I have to go to work at lunchtime so don't want to be hurried etc.

It is only 6 km from my house so is easy enough to look into later if I see it and think she may like a go at a later date.

You coming PAX?????

Yesbiggrin.gif

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Honestly, I can't say that I have been Dock Diving "for years" and my dog has never had any trouble, but what I CAN say is that in the several months of training we had leading up to the World Dog Games, not once did I ever see any of the dogs come out of the pool limping or showing ANY signs of discomfort. Not to mention the fact that the amount of jumps a dog is allowed to do in a day are limited (6 to 8 jumps MAX). In a competition there are only 2 waves, and usually only 2 jumps per wave. So, a total of only 4 jumps per comp. Compare that to a sport like Flyball (which I also compete in with my dog), where the dogs are running full speed over jumps and pushing off of a box ALL DAY. Or, a dog could easily injure itself if it is not paying proper attention to the obstacles on an Agility course as well. In any dog sport there is the risk of injury, but proper training and conditioning is the best way to ensure that it doesn't happen.

Sheena, while of course you are entitled to your opinion, before judging the sport, why don't you come out and see it for yourself?! I guarantee you that Dock Diving was definitely NOT created to "delight the audience at the expense of the dog". It is actually AGAINST THE RULES to use any sort of physical coercion to get your dog to jump into the water. Nor can you use food to lure the dog. The dog only participates if it wants to, and if it doesn't want to, no pressure! That being said, compared to all the other sports I have tried with my dog (flyball, agility, lure coursing, disc), she goes the most nuts for Dock Diving. She literally drags me up onto the dock, screech-barking and vibrating all the way. And other than Dock Diving, she NEVER barks.

Anyway, to those of you who are sitting on the fence, I encourage you to, if nothing else, come out and watch all the fun on Wednesday. And if you can't make it on Wednesday, you are all welcome to come and watch any subsequent training session. I will post when we decide what days we will be opening the pool for practice.

Cheers,

Kelly

I think that with any dog sport there is a potential risk of injury, so we need to educate ourselves and take preventative measures to minimise the risk of injury. I did some research awhile back on potential injuries with dock diving and this is a link to one of the articles I found. If my boy takes to dock diving and we pursue it as a sport, then I will be increasing our activities to increase his level of fitness to build more muscle tone and probably drop some weight at the same time to keep him in peak condition as he is a very solid, well built Lab (not fat) and increased activity levels will also do me good as well as I need to increase my fitness and drop weight, so we will both be "in training" :D

http://www.examiner....enting-injuries

Thankyou Labrador for the link. What she is talking about is what I was thinking of when I posted the question about it being potentially bad on the dog's body. When my dogs jump off the jetty into the water, they are focused on the water & can position themselves for the best landing/splash. But in DD they are reaching, extending their neck & spine & focused on the flying toy & have no time to prepare their bodies for the right way to hit the water. :( I don't know...when I saw a clip from a competition out of America, I thought it looked a bit cruel. One of those things you do to delight the audience at the expense of the dog. That's just my opinion. :)

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Honestly, I can't say that I have been Dock Diving "for years" and my dog has never had any trouble, but what I CAN say is that in the several months of training we had leading up to the World Dog Games, not once did I ever see any of the dogs come out of the pool limping or showing ANY signs of discomfort. Not to mention the fact that the amount of jumps a dog is allowed to do in a day are limited (6 to 8 jumps MAX). In a competition there are only 2 waves, and usually only 2 jumps per wave. So, a total of only 4 jumps per comp. Compare that to a sport like Flyball (which I also compete in with my dog), where the dogs are running full speed over jumps and pushing off of a box ALL DAY. Or, a dog could easily injure itself if it is not paying proper attention to the obstacles on an Agility course as well. In any dog sport there is the risk of injury, but proper training and conditioning is the best way to ensure that it doesn't happen.

Sheena, while of course you are entitled to your opinion, before judging the sport, why don't you come out and see it for yourself?! I guarantee you that Dock Diving was definitely NOT created to "delight the audience at the expense of the dog". It is actually AGAINST THE RULES to use any sort of physical coercion to get your dog to jump into the water. Nor can you use food to lure the dog. The dog only participates if it wants to, and if it doesn't want to, no pressure! That being said, compared to all the other sports I have tried with my dog (flyball, agility, lure coursing, disc), she goes the most nuts for Dock Diving. She literally drags me up onto the dock, screech-barking and vibrating all the way. And other than Dock Diving, she NEVER barks.

Anyway, to those of you who are sitting on the fence, I encourage you to, if nothing else, come out and watch all the fun on Wednesday. And if you can't make it on Wednesday, you are all welcome to come and watch any subsequent training session. I will post when we decide what days we will be opening the pool for practice.

Cheers,

Kelly

I think that with any dog sport there is a potential risk of injury, so we need to educate ourselves and take preventative measures to minimise the risk of injury. I did some research awhile back on potential injuries with dock diving and this is a link to one of the articles I found. If my boy takes to dock diving and we pursue it as a sport, then I will be increasing our activities to increase his level of fitness to build more muscle tone and probably drop some weight at the same time to keep him in peak condition as he is a very solid, well built Lab (not fat) and increased activity levels will also do me good as well as I need to increase my fitness and drop weight, so we will both be "in training" :D

http://www.examiner....enting-injuries

Thankyou Labrador for the link. What she is talking about is what I was thinking of when I posted the question about it being potentially bad on the dog's body. When my dogs jump off the jetty into the water, they are focused on the water & can position themselves for the best landing/splash. But in DD they are reaching, extending their neck & spine & focused on the flying toy & have no time to prepare their bodies for the right way to hit the water. :( I don't know...when I saw a clip from a competition out of America, I thought it looked a bit cruel. One of those things you do to delight the audience at the expense of the dog. That's just my opinion. :)

I would LOVE to come & watch DDS, but unfortunately I am a good 8 hours from Sydney. I am probably basing my "fear of injury" on the programme I watched on competition in America, & of course, we all know the Americans can go a little overboard :D I think I will stick to my dogs diving of the jetty into the dam or diving into the swimming pool. They certainly love doing it, but it's at their own pace & they are not chasing a toy when they do it.

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