Texas Practice!

[choco's mom]

Hey all just to let you know we are offering open practice at the dock at my home. Just shoot me an email or give me a call to check for times to come out and practice. We will be offering this through October 10th!

firelady75189@yahoo.com

[FoxgloveBC]

I know this is way late, but I wanted to ask where in Texas are you? I didnt think there was any dock diving in Texas and just found out tonight that there was an event next month in Pearland. I wanted to get my BC started so she could maybe do some practice jumps..but have no idea where to begin or how to train her to get used to jumping in water, and what kind of places i could even go to for training her. Thanks in advance.

[renegade]

Many of our competitors get their start by utilizing the $10/day practice time at our events. Our dock is open for practice whenever there are not competition waves going on. We always have people willing to help you get a start and give advice.

I got my youngest boy started, just by lots of retrieving in lots of different bodies of water (lakes, streams, pools, etc). At first he was tentative about entries, but the more different lakes he saw, the more confident he became. The first time he saw an "official" dock, it was no big deal to him... My oldest boy meanwhile required 3-4 different events of dock practice time before he actually jumped...

In the meantime, I hope TX based people chime in as far as if there are other options available for practice.

[Goldenone]

There is a training facility in San Antonio that has a small area she will let beginners, but I have no clue the size. She doesn't have a dock, so it is just jumping off the side of the pond. They sometimes go to Canyon Lake to an area. Once I find out where in Canyon Lake, I'll post.

Also Greg Sharp holds lessons at Hearts and Paws in Austin. If you are in that area, let me know and I'll get you in touch with him.

Yes, seems there are more and more folks in Texas getting keyed up for Dock jumping, yeah.

Debi, you were up really late posting. Maybe we can get up there sometime, not sure when, but hopefully (you know it is 5 hours for me to drive there, but I may can do it once in a while).

[FoxgloveBC]

I have a place I can maybe go to in Hallettsville that has a pond with a pier. I work at a gun dog kennel and there is a pond nearby that I can get her used to swimming and jumping off of the banks, I dont think it has a pier or anything. I am sure if I get her used to launching into a pond, that the transition from a dock would not be that hard for her since she has always been a very high drive dog (what else would you expect from a BC?)

If I have to, I might end up driving to one of those facilities to just try it out before the event.

I am about 3 hrs from San Antonio, 2.5 from Austin. We are only about 20 min away from the park in Pearland where the event will be held.

[GoodLabs]

If you have a chance to try it out or practice before hand, then do so. However, you can work on it all day at the Splash Dog event for $10 and not have to drive out of the Houston area.

We will be glad to help you out. We all were beginners at some point and Tony & Randy have had LOTS of practice helping new dogs and handlers.

Just remember to have FUN with your dog!! That's why we do it!!:)