5 days ago
On a hot summer day, give these dogs a dock, and they're all eager to take the plunge
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For instance, there was ol' Sully, the 8-year-old St. Bernard now in his seventh season of dock diving competition. Per owner Kim Goodwin of Nashua, Sully has a trunk full of AKC ribbons garnered over a career of more than 600 jumps. At slightly more than 100 pounds, the big, broad-shoulder fella has a commanding presence, punctuating his jumps with a huge splash.
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Sully's career best leap: 19 feet, 1 inch.
Nick Carleton, a judge at the North America Diving Dogs event, watched Polar Bear leap from the dock.
Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Lincoln, a whippet, hits the water at the North America Diving Dogs competition.
Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
'That was 3-4 years ago,' noted Goodwin, while Sully, feet ever-shuffling, tugged hard on his lead and barked, eager for his next jump. 'But now, you know, he's an old man,' one whose best leaps on the weekend were well short of his personal best.
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At this stage in the game for Sully, though, it's not about ribbons, length or legacy. Every day at the pool is a good day at the pool.
'The minute we pull into the parking lot, you can tell he's thinking, 'Oh, yeah, we're here to
jump
!' ' said Goodwin, channeling her best Sully mind-set. 'He yanks me down the hill, can't get here fast enough. If he ever got loose, I'd know where to find him — right here at the dock.'
The AK9C pool, typically open for jumping from early May to mid-October, is 45 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 4½ feet deep. The top dogs here, per veteran AK9C trainer Nick Carleton, who is originally from Andover, challenged the 30-foot range. A small red clip at the 36-feet-11-inch mark atop the pool's wall is in honor of Sounders, a whippet from Rochester, Wash., who set the world mark a couple of years ago.
Humans, with their dogs on leads, lined up 6-10 deep, and generally 6 feet apart, as they waited their turns on the weekend. Once ascending a set of steps to the deck, competitors had a total of three minutes to execute two measured jumps (or dives). All competitors also were initially offered an optional practice jump, which they turned down approximately half the time.
'For a lot of dogs, their first jump is often their longest,' explained Carleton. 'That varies from dog to dog, but generally they're amped up and that first one is their best. There's other factors, too, like dogs with hair adding weight after that first jump.'
Owners sit in the shade between their dogs' jumps.
Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Melissa Hannon holds the colorful "bumper" for her dog, Groovy.
Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
One or two humans accompany the dog to the dock's 40-foot-long deck/runway. If it's two, one human is tasked as the designated 'holder/releaser,' keeping the dog in place at the back end of the dock. The other human, holding a toy known as a 'bumper,' takes a spot at the forward edge of the dock and then calls for the dog to be released — triggering the charge toward the water.
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The timing and tossing of the bumper (think: oversized chew toy) often are critical factors in determining the distance of the jump. An ideal toss entices the dog to launch out and upward — what's known as 'pop' — in hopes of snagging the bumper in flight.
Velociraptor, owner Meghan Ryder's 2-year-old miniature American shepherd, didn't require co-coaches to execute her jumps on Saturday. Once Ryder delivered her to the dock, in fact, an animated 'Velo' first dashed to the front, where moments later she would launch, and calmly studied the pool.
For a few seconds, the sleek, curious dog peered out, as if thinking, 'Ah, yes, I came to Amherst for the waters.'
'Yeah, she likes to check it out,' laughed Ryder, who is from Nottingham, 'just to make sure there's water in there before she jumps. Reasonable, right? Really, it's all about patience, training them to be patient. Nothing fancy.'
Velociraptor (Carleton: 'Best name for a dog, ever!') prior to each jump calmly went to the back of the deck, awaited Ryder's call, then charged on command and attempted to snare the flying bumper in her teeth.
'She knows the game,' noted a pleased Ryder. 'She knows if she just jumps in, then she doesn't get her toy, which is what she's after.'
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Atlas, a rambunctious 4-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, made his dock diving debut on Saturday. For the most part, it was a fine coming-out, though owner Juliana Smart was forced to engage in a brief tug of war atop the dock when he refused to surrender his bumper after jump No. 1.
'Come on, Atlas,' she said, laughing and tugging at the bumper at the same time. 'This is really embarrassing.'
Not for Atlas. Embarrassment, say what? He was loving the game, almost as much as he appeared to enjoy his second jump, eventually. A patient Carleton encouraged Smart next time to bring a second bumper to the deck, thus enticing Atlas to surrender the first one.
Eli tracks his yellow "bumper" as it sails over the pool.
Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
It's a breed, noted Smart as she rolled her eyes, that comes with a certain stubbornness she called 'Chesa-tude … he's a character, for sure.'
Smart promised she and Atlas will stick with it, even if, during an interview with a Globe reporter, she was tipped backward out of her lawn chair by Atlas. He wanted more jumps. They've circled Labor Day for their return visit.
'For me, it's just having something fun to do with him,' said Smart, musing over what drew her to the sport and what encourages her to keep going. 'I want to become close to him, if one day we get a title, so be it. Sure, that'd be cool, but I don't necessarily need it. It would be an extra sweet treat, I guess you'd say.'
Smart, who grew up Billerica, Mass., instead looks at the larger picture. Dogs, she noted, have relatively short life spans, and she'd like Atlas to have a life 'as fulfilling as he can.'
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'So I feel like by doing this,' she added, 'spending more time is special for him.'
Oh, to be a dog. Oh, to be Atlas.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
