Santa Rosa or Northbay, CA Splash Dogs!!

[GonnaBeSplashDog]

Anyone wanting to get a club started out here? I'm not sure where to start or how to, but I'm willing to put in the effort to help get one going!!!

Our dog Shiloh, is a 5-1/2 month Border Collie/Lab that is long and sleek and loves to retrieve. Although she hasn't done so in water, I'm sure she'll take to it. What a wonderful sport for them and for us and the bonding we have with our dogs. I sure would love to see a group here! How about you??[/B]

Arlyn

[Teambaxter]

I would love to be able to be involved in a club for splash dogs. I have a 1 1/2 year old black lab that just loves to jump. Hold a ball or bouy in front of him and it is like bait. Let me know what needs to be done.

[splashvizsla]

i would be very interested, and know of at least 2 of my co-workers, who'd be interested in a santa rosa area club. where is there even a good place to take our dogs swimming in the area? i have an 18 month old vizsla and i just took her to the splash dog event at the fair and she had a great time. this was only her second time even to go swimming, and after barking at the water for a while (apparently to tell it who was boss), she had a great time. she went off the ramp several times, but the big chicken wouldn't go off the dock.

[tlroberson]

My 13 month old black lab loves to leap into the pool and I think she might have great potential to be a dock diving splash dog. We live in Sonoma and would love to be a part of a club in the north bay.

[GonnaBeSplashDog]

:)OK, I see we have 4-6 dogs/owners wanting to get one started. I'm going to see if I can post on my City bulletin board to see if we can come up with more. Anyone have a suggestion on a location with a dock??? I'm contacting Sonoma County Parks to see if there is something at Howarth Park.

Shiloh's Mom! GONNABEASPLASHDOG

[Gap]

I have a chocolate lab. I would be willing to join the club. I also have a friend with two dogs that wants to join

[splashvizsla]

any new info/update ???

[AussieWaterDog]

We have 2 Australian Shepherds that would just love to do this. Well, 1 for sure, the other one is a little chicken, but braver when wearing a life jacket. Hope there are still people here in the North Bay interested, because we are.

[Bill Hanson]

I write a weekly sportsman's column for the Community Voice. I want to do a feature for the ISE events in San Mateo and Sacramento in Jan. The close up will be the Splash Dogs events. In reading the threads, I see that several of you were looking to start a club in Sonoma Co. Please write me if there is one going. Judging from the number of entries at the SC Fair last summer, there are plenty of participants. I would like to jump my granddog daughter, a yellow lab, Honey.

Bill Hanson idiv4ab@gmail.com

[Hank_and_Hannah]

I tried a few events last year and had a blast. This year my Niece Hannah is going to be the Jr. Handler. We went to San Mateo and got 7th in the Pro finals. We will be going to Sacramento as well on Sunday. Hope to see you there.

[manda51084]

Hello I have one of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers and I just moved up to Sebastapool I'm looking to get more into Splash Dogs and if any one is starting a club I would love to be involved!!

Hope to hear of one soon!!

Amanda, Glory and Bradie

[Fina1979]

Hi!

My name is Sarah...my boyfriend Mike and I are still in the "buyers market" when it comes to a dog but looking at the Labrador breeds. I have always been interested in the dock dog sports and wanted to see if there were certain dates that you (as a group or individually) practice for these events that maybe we could attend to gather more information about it.

Any information about this sport would be fantastic. LIKE:
When & where do you pratice?
How many hours per week are you committing yourself and the dog too?
Is there a lot of travel involved?
What is the general cost of participating in events?

Like I said...we're still not even dog owners...just very interested in the sport and once we become dog owners we want to go in with a little knowledge of what we got ourselve into!

Thanks again!

Sarah

[LoveOurLabradors]

Hi Sarah,

Well you can tell by my user name that I'm partial to Labs, but there are lots of other breeds that enjoy dock diving too -- take a look at the results from an event http://www.splashdogs.com/events/results/ and you'll see the top dogs are often not Labs though most are retriever breeds. There is a lot of good info on the Lab breed out on the web and I'm sure you're finding it -- there are many reasons they are the most popular dog in the US (we've adored the 5 Labs in all colors that we've owned over the years after doing breed research many years ago).

Coming to see a dock diving event is a great way to learn more about the sport and talk to owners who are happy to share our experiences with the breed and dock diving. Unfortunately, you just missed the Sportsmen's Expos that were nearby but keep an eye on http://www.splashdogs.com/events/ -- Auburn isn't too far away.

One of the great things that attracts people to dock diving is you don't have to spend lots of time training. Most of us are just doing normal fetching (my 1 yr old needs at least 4 fetch sessions each day!) and basic obedience (sit/stay) with our dogs anyway, and then show up to have fun on the dock without any special training. Of course, getting further distances can be helped by swimming and other conditioning, practice jumping off docks, and (the bane for many of us) people practicing good throws (Ursula, you can stop laughing now).

If you're really interested in getting a dock-diving dog, you'll probably want to get an adult dog who is already showing lots of interest in retrieving (toy drive) and willingness to jump into the water. Of my 5 Labs, only 2 of them really have those qualities naturally -- I would have never guessed my 1 yr old would have talent when I selected her at 8 weeks old so either get a puppy and then be happy to do what they are good at, or select a mature dog who is showing the right interest. You can find rescue sites like http://www.petfinder.com/ and be sure to ask about retrieving and swimming interest.

Good luck!

[Barbadler1]

I don't know who Ursula is and you don't know who I am - yet. Never-the-less, I had to let you know that Ursula is not the only one laughing at your comment about the "bane for many of us."
I, too, burst out laughing! As you might have guessed, when it comes to this sport, I'M the problem! (Thowing)! HA! HA!
Ah, misery does love company....
:D:D

[manda51084]

I know the water isn't the best temperature right now but getting people together and planning takes a little while for a club to get started. Any one have any ideas on where dogs can swim in the area or if there is a dock any where? I think there are enough dogs that are in the area to come out to practice or get together!!

It would be very exciting to get the ball rolling!!

have a great day!

Amanda and Glory

[Team Chloe]

I think someone should approach the County of Sonoma and try to get a dock put up out at Spring Lake. There are so many dog enthusiasts in Sonoma County, that it would make a great place for events as well as a place for the locals to practice on.

It would probably take an extreme amount of persistance to get it done, but if it is a mulitple use dock, used by fisherpeople, inflatable boating and the boating concession...then someone might listen......

[AussieWaterDog]

I think your right Spring Lake would be the best and probably only logical choice. Last time I was up there they had 2 docks. The main one where they rent the boats out, and another small one around the corner that doesn't seem to be used much. The smaller one would be great since there's an easy exit ramp right next to it. However I think it would take a lot of persuasion to get permission to use it, since they seem to be very concerned about not bothering the ducks. Maybe if we could convince them our dogs weren't there to eat a Mallard Sandwich they might listen. Or perhaps offer to rent out the dock to us for some practice sessions. I wouldn't mind paying a small fee to use the dock if need be. If anyone else has any ideas about practicing here in the North bay please comment.

[Teal]

Sorry to drag up an older thread.. but I didn't want to start a brand new one, when mine is about the same thing!

I am in Lake County, looking for some relatively close dock diving... I have seen some in Santa Rosa before, and I would absolutely join a club if there was a local one!

Any new information on this possibly happening?

Thanks!