So frustrated

[red poodle]

Ok we drove 3 hrs to auburn decided she could wear the vest even if she looked like a freak . First attempt she actually jumped in I was sooo stoked 3 more trys yesterday 2 this morning no way no how she had major stage fright never even looked at her beloved ball we tryed everything we could think of . I know i wasent the only one that dident jump . I need some encourgement tricks of the trade stories on how you did it and is there ever a water/ball loving fool that just wont do it HELP Thanks in advance !!
Rhonna & Denali

[SplishSplashCrash]

2 reasons a dog is going to jump:

Suuuuuuuper confident
or
Very high drive/desire for the toy

My dog, Crash, loves water, loves swimming, jumps over waves, insane retrieve, loves to jump as he plays flyball and agility, etc. But it took him a long time to work up the courage to jump and even though he jumps everytime it is aways with hesitation. So while there are tricks and a little bit of training is involved a lot of it is natural ability and a strong desire from the dog.

[GoodLabs]

No magic answers.

The #1 rule is if you get frustrated (and upset), your dog will pickup on this and it will only make things worse. Be encouraging and positive. Have fun.

If you have a club or group with which to practice, this will help your dog alot learn to deal with noise, other dogs and crowds.

[Team Chloe]

I would offer this sugestion....

Both Wendy and Ursula train dogs. Ursula holds dock diving classes. She has pups jumping that you would never imagine would jump...and jump well....

She is on this board also, so hopefully she will see the post. She is in the Milpitas area and sometimes has training in Redwood City. She is also the president of the Bay Area Diving Dogs. They are sponsoring an event in Pittsburg at the end of the month. You might get in touch with her and see if she can help you!

Patience, Persistance and Praise.....is what gets these dogs in the water!

Denali is a beautiful pup.....and I am sure in no time will be back in the water...

Dave & Chloe

[hershey kiss]

Red Poodle don't give up.I need to tell you a short story about how long it took me to finally get Hershey Kiss to jump it was 4 very long days and we went though the same thing we stayed long into each night trying to get her to jump.I think she injoyed watching everyone instead of jumping.Just don't give up on your dog befor you know it she well jump and she well be just fine good luck.Hershey Kiss

[red poodle]

Thanks i needed some encourgement And i did meet lots of great people so i am planning our next trip as we speak I would love to get involved with badd but it is just to far i will look into if they practice on weekends i could possiby go on weekends . S o we came home went to the pool at first Denali dident seem like she usually does around the pool then she observed the edges realized she knew how to do this jump and she was off 1 hour later she was shivering and shaking but she said she was just studying form and technique at the auburn event shes a visual learner so next time she will give it a try that and mom is going to okie rig a makeshift dock so the looking down part isnt so scary . Thanks again every one !!
ps second pic is after her first long day of contemplating dock jumping

[FoxgloveBC]

Dont worry, it took Foxy a while to learn to jump. She wouldnt even get in the water at first when I took her to a pond. Slowly she got into it and then started swimming and liking it. Then I had to take her to a dock and get her to get used to the clear pool water by letting her go in at the exit ramp. I had to set her in the pool and show her it was ok to go in the water, as soon as she knew it was the same as the pond, she was going off the exit ramp ok. It took a few tries to get her to jump off the dock. Finally a couple weeks ago, she did her first "jumps." We are going again this weekend for practice and then we will go to a DockDogs competition the weekend after. It took about 3 months or so but she finally made it! Sometimes it takes dogs a bit longer, I know it can be frustrating when a lot of the labs come in and have never done it before and within 10 min they are jumping off the dock... LOL it was hard to watch that.. but Foxy is finally coming around now!

[Sassy Girl]

Dave said it best, patience, persistance and praise....

I don't know your dog, so can't give you the majic answer, but I will say the more comfortable you can get your dog around the dock and on the dock, the better. Sometimes it takes time to get a dog to launch off the dock into a pool, even when they have a pool in their own backyard. Depending on the dog it could be a fear of the height, issues w/the environment or of the blue bottom pool. It of course could also be a combination of things.

Sounds like she is familiar w/the pool (is yours blue bottom or different color?), so it's either a fear of the height or environmental. Try to take your dog to different locations and jump him off of different surfaces and varying heights, be careful not to go too high too soon and make sure you know what's in the water (rocks, trees, etc). During your height/surface training you can take breaks so the jumping doesn't become too repetitive, play some recall games, some frisbee, to give them a mental break in between if you find they are struggling a bit.

redpoodle - where are you located? BADD does hold weekend practices, however we've been a little delayed this summer due to my own schedule...If you'd like I do hold private sessions, PM me if you're interested.

The most important thing to remember is dock jumping is about having fun, you want your dog to enjoy himself from the moment he gets on the dock to the moment he gets out of the water. Don't get frustrated or feel that your dog "has" to jump right now because your at a competition, utilize the competitions to get her used to the environment, launching off the exit ramp and playing on the dock, playing while in line w/you. Relax, enjoy the learning process, it will help you learn a lot about your dog and one day very soon, she'll take that leap and you'll be so proud!

[Team Chloe]

was just thinking....

when you have her swimming in your pool or jumping off the edge of your pool, does she wear the life jacket? If she only wears the life jacket when on the dock, it may cause her to fear cause you are feeling the fear?

Also, the first time she jumped....everyone started cheering, she kind of looked around like what is that!! That may have also scared her. That jump it looked like she was going to be a natural....then she wouldn't jump after that.....I think it might have been the cheering that caused the problem. Even though it was positive....it was a loud shocking noise to her!

Just a thought!

[red poodle]

She always wears the life jacket although i am weaning her from it .She wasent a very good swimmer at first she improves daily so by the next splash event she will be vestless ,I do think the cheering was an issue so now we all have to stand around the pool and hoorah her , I am real not to worried i did get anxious at the auburn event as it was MY first time doing anything like this so i am gonna take a chill pill and have fun! thank you all for the support i feel lots better looking forward to giving it another try !!!