WOW WHAT A BLAST AT MEL COTTON'S!

[MickeyD'sMom]

We sure had a good time at Mel Cotton's. Lots of newbies out there and as a matter of fact a newbie by the name of Jack (also a rescue lab) won the event with a 22' 1" (is that correct??, might be off by an inch) MickeyD (you know the one that does not know the command sit/stay) he came in 2nd I think with a 21'6". Dale & Rifle came in 3rd with a ?? and a newbie named?? came in 4th. Urs your going to have to help me out. I want to acknowledge my daugther, Urs, (yes I am referred to as her "Road MaMa") what a great job she did! She worked really, really hard to make this event successful. Thanks Urs! Oh yeah and by the way Urs & Gunner won 1st in SV! WAY TO GO URS :lol: :lol: It was great to see Karen and that wonderful labradoodle Guzi. Congratulations Karen for placing 4th in the open finals...quite an achievement as this was only their second event. Val you did great with your darling puppy and we look forward to seeing you in Auburn. Hope to see everyone in Reno.

[renegade]

Speaking of newbies - I wanted to thank everyone for supporting us! It was our first time out and everyone was great at helping Keith and I figure out what we were doing. Luckily Renegade seemed to have a pretty good idea of what he was doing and we were thrilled with how he did!

We now officially have caught the dock diving bug and will be seeing you at future competitions!

Wendy, Keith and Renegade

[Sardo]

Hey Urs,


I heared you won SV with a 6'8". Incredible, that dog is amazing.
Congratulations. Hopefully we can meet up some time in the near future.

I believe that holds the record for a border Collie . Actually Gunner might be the only Border Collie in SV. Way to go. The BEST is in the WEST. You ROCK. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Sassy Girl]

Sandra - 4th place was Renegade - Gold Ret, first time comp for him as well! A BADD Dog!!!!

I had a blast this weekend and Gunner, well I'm very proud of the boy! He didn't pull of any 24 footers, or any 23's and almost not even a 22 (best was 21'10") but he worked his butt off! Poor guy ran out of gas by Sunday afternoon. But still managed a 1st place win in SV!

Wow - SV - what a rush! I was so proud to see my boy take it 6' 8" on Saturday! We started at 5 feet, there were a lot of jumps to get to 6'8"/// :? And Sunday he followed it up with a 1st place win!

Congrats to all the newcomers to both Big Air and SV! There were alot of dogs there and I'll tell you the registration table was hopping. Tony - and all of SD's - I don't know how you do it! But I enjoyed being part of the crew this weekend and anytime you need the help, just ask! Special Thanks to my daughter and her friend Tom for running registration, they did a great job and kept things moving and kept me on my toes! Also to Melanie and Michelle of BADD for helping setup and fill in where needed - it was so much appreciated!

Some special brags from BADD - Bay Area Diving Dogs!
Once again we had so many newcomers to this event! The club is growing and we are so proud of all of our jumpers!

FIRS TIMERS:
Ruby - Lab (Kim) did awesome on her first comp! Ruby has height and she popped right off the dock with an 11 foot jump! This is after a long morning of agility training! Good job!
Annika - Belg Terv (Patti/Sal) - was soaring as much as 19 feet in her first comp! At only 15 months old! Made pro finals on Sunday and rocked!
Renegade - Golden Ret. (Keith/Wendy) - took 4th place Pro division and gave Gunner and I a run for our money on Saturday in SV!
Raika - Belg Terv - (Denise)a little slow to take to the pool and then a batt of the eye she was flying down the dock! I believe best jump was 14 feet!
Cisu - Belg Terv (Denise) - what a doll! This little girl took right to the dock and was ready to rock - top jump was 13 feet!
Loma - Lab (Karen) made open finals on her first comp! Best jump of near 14 feet!

And of course our great veteran members!
Murphy - Lab (Cheryl) took some awesome jumps on Saturday, I think tooped at 17 feet!
Abby - Lab (Melanie) doing really well and made open finals also! Best jump of 12'7"!!!!
Penny - Lab (Joe) - our little super star, went from 14 feet on Saturday to a new PB of 17 feet!!
Buddy - Golden Retriever (Michelle) poor guy had some issues with his confidence this weekend, but Michelle worked him and he pulled through and jumped in the open finals! Way to go Buddy!

Wow that list is pretty long - I'm so proud of you all!

I'm looking back at the weekend and see some things to learn from.... Thank you all for a great weekend and support as I was sick on top of it all and a little down but you all brought a smile to my face!

[Sassy Girl]

Hey Brian!

Poor Gunner pooped out on Sunday and only managed a 6'...We've now learned the hard way - focus on one event at each comp to get the best results.

His record is 6'8", but I guess the official result from finals was 6'. But thanks for the congrats. We will be looking forward to the next event, I can't believe he finally looked at the bumper!

[daftershock]

URS,

You make me laugh.... I am glad we have another SV pup on the west coast. Now dont you wish you were going to the SRS???? Guess we will just have to look at the dates and figure out a NON flyball weekend to go play.

Congrats to all the new jumpers...

Sandra~ tell Jim Hello....

[guzzigirl]

The Splash Dog event at Mel Cotton's was a memorable event for Guzzi and me. I know there are many different headsets going into events like these. What impresses me is everyone's desire that their dogs have fun. For those of you who couldn't get your pup to make that first plunge, we were all watching and rooting for you. Your being there in the first place is the first step. Guzzi jumped for his ball off a rock jetty the first time, and I remember thinking: holy cow, this dog likes to be airborn.
I know some people take this seriously, and that alone keeps the spirit of the sport alive. Many of us make up the ranks of never getting into that upper echalon of trophy winners, and will constantly support splash dog sports just because..... our dogs love it.

The champions were there, and you guys are awesome to watch. I just shake my head in admiration to the natural ability of your pups. They seem to want to go that extra edge for pure love out of you!

To the new folks who pulled a few upsets: WAY TO GO! I was heartened by your smiles and love for your dogs. You pulled a few upsets in the competition and that's incredible! You are keeping the sport alive and it will grow because of events like the ones at Mel Cotton's.

It takes quite an effort to make one of these events run smoothly. My appreciation to the race organizers. I will help you in any way I can to promote these events.

And thanks to Sandy and Jim. You made me feel so welcome right from the start. I'm always glad to see you and your wonderful pups.

Till next time.

Karen and Guzzi

[MickeyD'sMom]

Karen:
We are so glad you and Guzzi are enjoying this sport! We hope to see you in Auburn when Jim can spend more time with you and Guzzi. I think you have a champion there and you know how we feel about those labradoodles! :wink: We only wish Peja would jump...heaven knows we have tried! :( Take care and we will see you on the dock soon!

[Docker Mom]

HI everyone

Well, we made it back home safely. Phoebe is feeling better,although not her usual self. I took her to the Orthopedic vet today and we got Xrays of her spine & tail; apparently besides the swimmers/dead tail she has some lower lumbo-sacral soft tissue swelling so is suffering a little sciatica-like problem. She is on rest for a week & if not better or gets worse, she'll need to see a neuologist & get an MRI. She is also supposed to take Rimadyl for 2 weeks but I'm a little nervous about giving her that so any info you've guys have, let me know.Also, any ideas to help me keep her jumping in the future, I'm all ears--sports drinks, vitamins, whatever advice you've got, I'll take. I am looking into chiropractic options so that may help. This is her 3rd event that this has happened and it happened in only one day this time intead of 3 and it was alot worse for her this time, too,poor baby. And, from now on, moderation so if you see me signing up for more than one wave per day-just smack me :) :)

Also, I just wanted to congratulate everyone this weekend- so many great newbies! wow! It was lots of fun coming up there & seeing you all. Sunday I was tired, sunburned & stressed so I may not have been so with it but I really enjoyed watching everyone. So many newbies that are naturals- just amazing to see. And, of course, the 'big guns', it's always great to watch you in action. Mickey-D, you're quite the show stopper-I love it, the battle of wills. And,you SV dogs rock!

Hope we can come up & see you next month in Auburn. I'd like to bring Dunkin & get him up to 4' :lol: :lol:

And, lastly, a huge thanks to Tony & Greg for making all the events such a blast. I loved wrangling on Saturday-hopefully I didn't screw up anything too badly & you'll let me do it again :oops: :oops:
I'll use sunscreen next time 8)


Marilyn & Phoebe

[Sassy Girl]

Marilyn,

I'm sorry to hear Phoebe is still not back to herself... :( she is a very sweet girl.

As for Rimadyl, don't be too worried, 2 weeks is not that long. My older dog Sassy was on it for a year due to cauda equina syndrome, we do not have her on it anymore as it no longer helps. I believe they will do a blood panel before putting her on it.

It was sooo great to finally put a face to the name. Our next event will be Auburn also, so we'll see you there.

[MickeyD'sMom]

Marilyn:
So glad you got home safely. Phoebe will be fine shortly, keep the faith! Maybe in a month she will be well enough to make the trip to Auburn. Do whatever is safe, as I know you will. Take care and keep us posted.

[Ms. Talladega]

Hi Docker Mom,

I wanted to share with you that my last lab was on Rimadyl for years. One of the cautions about it though is to work it slowly into your dogs system. You can give your dog a few pills and it will actually feel so much better that they end up hurting themselves more. If there is injury, it will be worse if the pain is removed but the issue is still there.

I would recommend it for mobility in active labs, but don't overdue it.

On another note, just wanted to say thanks to those who shared in coversation during the lines of practice. I stumbled upon this event an hour before it started, and I was memorized by the organization, comfortable welcoming atmosphere was provided. My lab & I were in heaven. She is not very social, but she loved the energy there.

I have also registered for the Auburn contest. I have 0 training in my dog for this type of specific goal, but to me she is a natural. If I learn from those willing to teach, I will understand how to get her to go farther.

Till then,
Gianna