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BIG AIR® is the original and still most popular DOCKDOGS® competition.
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Each dog and their “Handler” are a competition team and each team competes head‐to‐head against the other teams to see who can jump the farthest distance.
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Each team is allotted 90 seconds to get the dog down the dock and into the water.
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The Judge will evaluate all jumps electronically using digital video stop‐action technology developed by ESPN’s MIS Department.
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The official jump distance will be measured, and when it’s all said and done, the dog that jumps the farthest takes home the crown!
Big Air® is a “long jump for dogs”. The dog, which may be placed anywhere on the 40′ dock, runs and jumps into the water after a throw toy (provided by the handler) is tossed. The distance is judged from the end of the dock to where the tail set of the dog breaks the water’s surface.
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In the Spring of 2005, EXTREME VERTICAL® was officially launched as the second form of DockDogs® competition after initially being developed as a training technique for Big Air®. Just as Big Air® is equivalent to a “Long Jump” for dogs”, EXTREME VERTICAL® is the equivalent to a “High Jump” for dogs.
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Each team is allowed to use a maximum of 20 feet of the dock surface and is allotted 60 seconds to jump in the air while attempting to remove the “Bumper” from the Extender Arm. If the team misses on the first attempt, they will immediately return to the dock and will be given a second and final attempt to remove the bumper.
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For the Preliminary Qualifying Competitions, a “Bumper” is hung from a specially designed Extender Arm and placed 8 feet from the edge of the dock. The Bumper is then placed at the chosen starting height for each team.
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Rounds will continue with the bumper being raised in 2 inch increments per round until the dog that jumps the highest takes home the Prize!
Vertical
Extreme Vertical® is a “high jump” for dogs. The dog starts off at the 20’ mark on the dock & jumps up to grab a bumper toy extended out 8’ from the end of the dock over the water. The starting height for Extreme Vertical® is 4’6” & goes up in 2” increments as competition progresses.
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The newest form of DockDogs® competition, which was introduced in 2008, has nothing to do with the dogs ability to jump but rather its speed.
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Similar to Extreme Vertical®, in SPEED RETRIEVE each team is allowed to use a maximum of 20 feet of the dock surface and is allotted 60 seconds to get into the water. However, instead of measuring distance or height, each dog is racing against the clock.
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Upon entering the water, each dog must swim to the end of a 40 foot pool and remove the DockDogs ® designated object from a modified Extender Arm in order to complete their timed run.
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The dog that removes the object the fastest wins and walks home with the prize and more importantly the bragging rights.
Retrieve
Speed Retrieve® is a “timed event”. At the far end of the pool a bumper toy is suspended 2” above the water with a starting indicator light above it. The dog is then placed at the 20’ white starting mark on the dock, when the light turns green the handler releases the dog, the time clock stops when the dog has pulled the toy from the Speed Retrieve™ bracket.
A Few Simple Rules
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The dog must be AT LEAST 6 months old, and handler must be AT LEAST 7 years old to compete or practice.
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No pushing, shoving or throwing the dog in the water. He/She must go willingly!
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When at a DockDogs® event all dogs must be on a 4′ leash, 8′ away from other dogs at all times or in a crate within the kenneling area.
