Just a Photo ...

Just a photo today. This is Indy at the UKC Premier, it was taken on 6/14/08. You may marvel at his physical prowess now :)

Dock Jumping Part 2

This past weekend, Indy and I attended the UKC Premier in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We went all four days and competed in every splash we could, 6 total. Having learned many lessons from the Dog Walk in May, I was much better equipped this time around. Namely, I purchased a pair of Crocs shoes, which are awesome! In fact, I've worn them every single day since I bought them, which was well over a month ago :)

Indy was a little monster the first day, he pulled until every muscle in my body ached and I just didn't think I could hang onto that leash a second longer. Having pushed me to my limit, and probably having grown tired himself, he settled down. He did not stop pulling entirely, but we had a dramatic improvement by the middle of day two. By the end of the weekend, other than the occasional jolt in his excitement to get up on the dock, he was much improved. I think that the more events we attend, the more he will settle down.

On day one, Indy jumped 9'11", a new personal best and top of the novice division. Because they had two pools set up at the Premier, Indy and I were able to get a lot of practice and we were able to get help from Gus' owner, Janet. Having two handlers on dock makes a big difference with certain block headed jumping maniacs. One person holds the dock in the right position and gets them riled up while the other person concentrates on making a well timed and straight throw. By Friday morning, Indy shattered his personal best record again, jumping over 13'. On Saturday, he set a new personal best that still stands, 14' 10"! He picked up 5'! That's near the top of the Junior division, only two inches shy of the Senior division. We were in first place going into the Junior finals on Sunday.

Thunderstorms were rolling in just as we started the finals on Sunday afternoon. Indy, Janet and I were the last team on the dock before the remainder of the event was postponed due to weather. We were a little off, and probably more than a little tired at the end of 4 exhausting days, still, Indy managed to jump 14'1", putting him in second place, right behind the other Indy, a White Shepherd that Jumped 14'4". The other Indy had a fantastic weekend, he also finished his UKC Grand Champion conformation title. We were really happy for him and honestly, you can't feel too bad about moving up a whole division and taking second place at your second event :)

As the rain began to fall, we all ran for our cars. I put Indy in the backseat then ran around picking up all our stuff, crammed it into the trunk, then got in the car myself to wait out the storm. There we sat, melting in the hot humid car for the next 30-40 minutes. Once the storm cleared, the weather was gorgeous. Some of the crowd returned to see the conclusion of the finals. Those who didn't return missed one heck of a show. After that storm all of the dogs were making HUGE jumps. I caught most of them on video, which is posted on this You Tube channel.

Indy got a lot of valuable socialization this weekend. He tends to annoy a lot of dogs and their owners with his hyper friendly rush right up and invade your personal space behavior. Waiting in line with other dogs and their owners is a challenge with him, to say the least. He's not very good about taking cues like growling and snapping to mean that he should leave another dog alone. He got a superficial bite on the muzzle which is healing fine and probably went a long way to teaching him to have respect for dogs who warn him off. He did meet a few other dogs that matched his temperament and who tolerated all of his rude behavior. Kya, a sweet little one year old Pit Bull and Teddi, a nearly two year old Golden Retriever. Indy's becoming quite the lady's man ;)

It was a fantastic weekend. I think Indy rested for a good 24 hours, but he was so happy, he's really hooked on jumping now!

Photo courtesy of Brian L. Butler, Grand Rapids, MI

Dock Jumping - Part 1

I've been such a bad blogger lately, but I'm going to recap what's been going on in Indy's life for the past month and a half.

On May 3rd we went to the Kalamazoo Humane Society's Dog Walk and participated in our first official dock jumping competition. Indy was very excited the whole way to the dock, when we finally got up there, he drug me to the end, I tossed the toy in and drug him back to the starting position and let him go, he shot out of my hands like a rocket then skidded to a stop at the end to peer over the edge, then he saw his Water Wubba and belly flopped in at a whopping two feet! Now the only trouble was keeping him off the dock. No, really, he tried repeatedly to drag me onto the dock when other owners and their dogs were on it, and one time, he succeeded. Just when you think the obedience training has been going well, they find new and creative ways to embarrass you.

We entered two splashes, you get two jumps per splash, the better score determines your place. In splash one, Indy jumped 6'2" and 8', finishing 5th place in the novice division. In splash two, Indy jumped 5' and 7'8", finishing 3rd in the novice division. Not bad for a newbie, good enough to progress to the novice finals. According the official record, in the finals, he jumped 8'9" and 7'. Though I could have sworn the judge called a 9'10" jump, but I could be mistaken and 8'9" was still good enough to finish first place in the novice division! I actually didn't realize for a few weeks, until the scores were published online, that Indy had won. I was so distracted trying to handle my wild boy that I didn't hear the announcement. All I knew was that he did well and I was proud of him :) We had a great time, but let me tell you, it was an exhausting day. I went home black and blue, swollen, scraped up, soaking wet and ready to drop. I'll share some valuable lessons that I learned.

#1 Insist on parking near the pool, do not park with the general public. You have too much stuff to haul and handling an 80 pound insane lab that pulls like a runaway horse through a sea of people and dogs is hard enough with out trying haul equipment and supplies that collectively, weigh more than you do. Unpack the car first, set everything up, then get the dog.

#2 Do not, I repeat, do NOT, under any circumstances, wear flip flops. One excitable lab who isn't used to crowds, let alone a thousand other enticing dogs, is going to dance around and spend a lot of time stepping on you. The pictures were too graphic to post, but my feet were not a pretty sight. Cut, bruised and swollen to an unnatural shape, walking the next day was practically out of the question.

#3 Bring a first aid kit. Pretend its for the dog, but really, if you're anything like me, you're gonna need it :)

#4 Bring baby wipes. They're amazingly good for wiping off your leg and shoe when your dog, confronted with a thousand strange dogs, marks his territory, you.

#5 Bring a training collar or slip lead that goes on and off quickly. Unless your dog has been at enough events that they are desensitized and able to remain calm in the face of the ultimate temptation, you're going to need it.

#6 Come equipped with the patience of a saint or a stiff drink. See #5 for the cause.

#7 Don't wash the water bowl and then leave it drying in the dish rack at home. But if you do, use one of the plastic bags that you brought for another purpose, fold over the sides and use it for a temporary water bowl.

#8 Do not place a pop up soft kennel that rolls easily next to an unstaked tent on a windy day. If that tent gets ripped out of the ground by the wind, rolls the kennel over several times with the dog still inside, have multiple people fawn all over him until he forgets that he's traumatized.

#9 Do not plan on moving the next day. You've just discovered about 50 muscles you never knew you had. You want them to rest so that they go away and leave you alone.

#10 Last, but certainly not least. Drink enough water to keep you alive, but not so much that you'll have visit the port-a-potty. Trust me on this.

Photo courtesy of Brian L. Butler, Grand Rapids, MI

Dock Jumping

It's 85 degrees here today, and like a loyal companion, Indy has abandoned me in favor of a much cooler spot downstairs in front of the fan. To be fair, he does come to check on me once in a while, when he verifies that I'm still breathing and still not preparing food for him, he returns to his nice cool spot.

In the mean time, I am recovering from a wicked sun burn that I got at the UKC Premier show on Thursday. We were at the show because Ultimate Air Dogs was hosting a dock jumping event, something I've wanted to try with Indy ever since we saw it on ESPN back in January. Like a good dog mom, I made a check list of everything that Indy would need for the day; crate, toys, water, treats etc ... forgetting, of course, people food and sunscreen. I spent the next two days laying on the sofa, huddled under a blanket even though it was 80 degrees in the room, trying not to move or breathe, while Indy would, at regular intervals, come up and lick, scratch or lean against the most painful parts of my body. He was trying so hard to be sweet. Now that the pain is starting to subside, I think it was all worth it.

We had a great time at the dock jumping event. Indy got lots of practice and improved with each jump. His first recorded jump was 2'10", don't laugh, it's not that bad for a newbie who skidded to a stop at the end of the dock to peer over the edge before proceeding :) I don't recall what his second recorded jump distance was (I had to lay down on the dock and splash my hands in the water to convince him that there really was water in the pool, at which point he used the hand that was still on the dock to launch himself into the pool, I was too busy nursing my hand to listen to the judge's measurement), the third jump was 5'10" and the fourth was 7'8". By the end of the day he had very little hesitation at the end of the dock. In all, I think he had a great time. Het got to spend all day outside meeting lots of dogs and lots of people and he got to swim and go for a long car ride ... what more could a dog ask for? He slept for almost 24 hours straight, a sure sign of a happy and content lab.