Sassy Girl

Bay Area Diving Dogs New Year Splash January 30 - 31, 2010 Splash Dogs, the Bay Area Diving Dogs along side with the DogGone Dirty Dock Diving facility are pleased to bring you the BADD New Year Splash Dock Jumping Competition in Hollister, CA from January 30 - 31, 2010. This event is the first of it's kind, the inaugural event for the DogGone Dirty Dock Diving facility in Hollister, CA. The competition will feature: - Several Competition Waves available throughout the weekend which lead up to the Event Finals - Newcomers are always Welcome! Splash Dogs offers "Open Practice" with experience trainers available to help you and your dog get started in this high flying sport! - Racing Retrieve, a dry land timed retrieve game, your dog will have the chance to win a prize if they are a speedy retriever! - Event Finals on Sunday afternoon will include: Junior Handler, Lap Dog, Open and Pro Finals. Competition Waves and Practice will fill fast, so Pre-Registration is recommended. You can find out more information and pre-register at: http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/Hollister01-30.php

Hey everyone, Splash Dogs will be going to hold it's first Southern California event in January! Weather is great right now, take a look if you want more info. ********************************************* Come on out and join the FUN at the Splash Dogs "Bass Pro Dock Jumping Competition" in Rancho Cucamonga, CA from January 22 - 24, 2010! Splash Dogs is excited to be back in Rancho Cucamonga, in the heart of Southern California! - Several Competition Waves available throughout the weekend for you and your dog to take part in! - Event Finals will include Junior Handler (for kids 6yrs - 15yrs of age), Lap Dog (for our smaller competitors), Open and Pro Finals - Newcomers are always Welcome! Splash Dogs offers "Open Practice" with experience trainers available to help you and your dog get started in this high flying sport! Mark your calendars for Friday, January 22nd. "Open Practice" will run from 9am - 11:45am. Open Practice will continue throughout the weekend in between competition waves as time permits. For more information, please visit http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/...amonga01-22.php

What better way to kick the New Year off than to start in the spirit of giving? Join us for the 3rd Annual Arizona Wags for Wishes in Glendale, AZ from January 1 - 3, 2010. This unique event brings together dog lovers and owners from all over the westhern United States to partake in a fun filled weekend long event, all in support of the Make A Wish Foundations Arizona chapter. Ring in the New Year with a big SPLASH! The Arizona Wags for Wishes has something for everyone; Agility, Flyball , Rally and of course Splash Dogs! In addition to the various competitions there are lots of other activities to take part in such as Herding, Earth Dog Barn Hunt, Therapy Dog Testing as well as CGC Testing and Lure for the Cure (supporting the National Canine Cancer Foundation). For more information on Arizona Wags for Wishes, please visit: http://www.azwags4wishes.com Registration is now open for the Splash Dogs Arizona Wags for Wishes Dock Jumping Competition. There will be several competition wave qualifiers that lead up to the Lap Dog, Junior Handler, Open and Pro Finals on Sunday afternoon. Practice is also available as time permits between competition waves. Register now at: http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/Glendale01-01.php

I have a dvd by Moe and one by Rachel Sanders - I do enjoy both of them though I don't compete in agility, the foundation work is what I've used on each of my dogs to build a really strong handler focus.

aaah - I love you Melissa and you know I love my god doggie Angel and I can't wait until she is in the racing lanes. Can you believe this dog only has one "official" hip??? Next practice - we need to take video!!! You guys have done an awesome job w/her!

Too funny on the butt shot of Gunner, lol...It was great meeting you, Lucia and Grady. Flyball is definitley a hoot to run, you get such a rush!

There is also Dog Sport Magazine - it's got a focus on agility but also gives a good taste of the other dog sports. You can check it out at http://www.dogsportmagazine.com/

Yes, please bring me flyers. Splash Dogs likes to help promote rescue. If we have dogs onsite, in the beginning of our competitions we will see if they would like to come up on the dock to say hello to the audience. In hopes that an audience member or competitor may just find that forever friend. All dogs are welcome - not only water loving dogs. There are a lot of different approaches to healing some injuries. I took Gunner two weeks ago to a chiro in LA who I am now a major fan of. I've got a few chiro's I use up here in Nor Cal but was out of town for a month and a half so asked a friend for a referral. Her chiro came out to her house and did a session on Gunner. He used some new technology - a cool and hot laser which penetrated just the skin to the soft tissue. Gunner is pretty hard on his shoulders and also has some scar tissue from a muscle tear that is now healed. By the time he was done with Gunner he had increased mobility in his shoulder to 100% and the scar tissue in his back leg was barely the size of pea. I told this guy he works wonders w/this thing and hoped he liked to fly. I am going to be contacting him again very soon - before Cynosport to see if we can get him a tune up, lol... I really hope we see eachother at Cyno - there is so much buzz in the air there the dogs are excited and everyone else is too.

I'm sorry to hear about Annie...Have you looked into Chiro for her? I'm not sure how severe the injury is but I've had to put Gunner through rehab including Chiro and have seen nothing but good stuff from it. Accupuncture is also wonderful as it helps the blood flow to the injured area and decrease inflamation.

I will be there with the entire pack for the whole week! I usually run the Splash Dogs event and this year I'm taking a break on Friday to run some FLYBALL!! Come visit me at Splash Dogs if you really want something fun - also if you at BC Rescue have some dogs you would like us to help promote let us know, I am always up for helping put some new eyes on the available rescues!

We are looking forward to a long weekend of dock jumping in Vallejo. We just got back from Wags for Wishes - pics to be posted soon of that events. If anyone is interested, it is best to pre-register at Splash Dogs online registration tonight - as you get a free entry and parking. http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/Vallejo07-22.php

There is a flyball team in Pahrump if you are interested I could get their contact info for you. Unfortunately, you are out in the middle of no where, not like you didn't know that, huh...lol Oh the dreaded agility people, lol..we have many of those types in our area. The SF Bay Area is big on agility and if you aren't training in agility with someone who matters, well then you really aren't worth their time. I had a discussion with one of my clients the other day regarding agility in their area, Hollister, CA. I mentioned to them that I used to teach pet dog agility and that they should look into that. I guess they did that as well and just keep running into trainers who prequalify you and your dog to the class, is this a new trend? Is Agility only for people that want to compete anymore? Aren't dog sports about building a stronger bond with your dog and having fun, not just how far you can take them into competition? Or how many ribbons, titles etc they can get?...I used to love teaching Pet Dog Agility, cause I would get your neighbor down the street learning to have fun w/their dog and not just letting their dog sit around the back yard. Yes there were some prequal's but basically just aggression, manners, basic stuff.

Thought I would share my lure coursing video's from this past weekend in Soquel, CA... Our entire crew went with my daughter and I... The dogs are kinda tiny when they get further out but I still love watching them even further out...lol The BCs Gunner (my 7 yr old BC) Sniper (my 7 month old BC, first time luring) http://crazygooddogs.shutterfly.com/33 Aries (McNab/Pit Mix) Vandal (Border/Jack Mix) And a dash of Staffy...Twiztid and Twizzy's sensory overload moment... http://crazygooddogs.shutterfly.com/29

Finally a topic up my alley - I know nothing about HERDING....I actively compete with my dogs in dock diving and also train others to dock dive in my area. Acutally had to private sessions this evening and one was with a 7 month old BC pup. Dock Diving is a sport that is newbie friendly. Minimal training is needed. If your dog is a confident swimmer and has a lot of toy drive, you should do well. To get started, all you need to do is attend an event in your area, especially if your dog is already jumping off docks, rocks, boats etc. When you go to an event, you can sign up for practice or for competition. Signing up for practice gives you time to acclimate your dog to the dock and water prior to committing to competition. Many dogs compete the same day that they first come to an event. There are usually "wranglers" who work at the pool to help if people need help. You can just let them know that you are new and this is your dog's first time. They should be very helpful. Dock divers love helping get others started. Here are a few of my own quick tips in getting your dog started...First, I would suggest taking your dog up to the exit ramp. I usually will do two rounds here. The first is to make sure the dog will enter the water and that he knows how to exit the water. I do a warm up throw here as well, tossing the toy out about 15 feet towards the middle of pool. If the dog hesitates to jump from the ramp into the water and I have to coax him through it, I will stay here until they are not hesitating anymore. If they jump after the toy right away my next turn in line will be up on the dock. When you go up to the dock, keep your dog within the first 10 feet of dock and only throw your toy out at about the 7 foot mark. If they are not hesitating when launching off the end then increase to 10 feet and then 15 feet. If dog hesitates go back to where they were not hesitating. Once they are launching w/out hesitation, then it's time to add more dock to the equation. A few things to take into consideration at your first event, 1.)the competition dock sits 2 feet above the water's surface. so the main concern for an avid swimmer would be the 2 foot drop from the dock to the water. Some dogs have no issues while others take a little time to warm up to it. If your dog jumps off of cliffs or docks already, this shouldn't be much of an issue. However, if they freeze up, please never push them in, just give them as much coaxing as you can and if need be continue to work on the ramp a few more rounds. 2.) Pool events seem to be harder on newbies due to the clear water and blue bottom. There are many dogs out there that have never seen a blue bottom pool, for a dog it can be a bit intimidating. Best way to deal with this would be to splash the water in front of the where the dog is jumping so they understand it's just water. There are several dock diving organizations who sanction events, just like in agility. Splash Dogs, Ultimate Air Dogs and DockDogs are the main players. Super Retriever Series and the Incredible Dog Challenge are at a higher level of competition, Pro levels particularly. Check out their websites for more info... I have a ton of tips in getting better performance out of your dock diving dog, too much to get into on here. If you are interested or want to chat just shoot me an PM. I had to add these... here are some pics of my boy Gunner... Splash Dogs 2008 Top Border Collie - Gunner...(my rescue BC)

I have terriers and bc's as well. I love both of the personalities and drive that these breeds give to you. One of my bc's is a rescue who came with some trust and confidence issues so I know where your at, all though my boy's issues were not as severe. Definitely give your boy more time to adjust. He's got to relax first and then it will all come. It doesn't sound like this guy has had a good life thus far, show him your willing to wait a little and you'll begin to see his world open up a little at a time.