Carolina in the "Almost Winter" = More Dock Diving!

Today dawned clear and in the 50s, so the dogs and I met up with a friend and her dog for some dock diving practice. Both Aeri and Kes are entered in their first national level event at the South Eastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, SC in February, so the more practice we can get on the dock before the big day, the better!

We just practiced Big Air and Speed Retrieve since that's what they are both entered in, no EV this time around.

Notes:

• My throwing is in need of polishing after a break.
• Kes' jumps look very similar to those before our recent break, even with crappy throws, once he got back into his groove.
• Aeri is getting better about holding her stay for the Chase method I would like to use in Big Air.
• Aeri appears to not be watching the toy as she hits the end of the dock, which may explain her flat jumping style in Big Air.
• For Speed Retrieve, Aeri does better if I pull her back, allowing her to maintain eye contact on the spot where the toy went in vs. turning her around and walking her back, breaking eye contact.
• Aeri's swimming is much stronger and faster and she's much better about keeping an eye on the toy even during splashdown - I'm VERY glad I decided to enter her in SR as it'll be fun to see how fast she is!

Snipe was able to play in the lake a couple of times and, with the help of our friend's dog as a role model, she's starting to venture further out. She swam on her own (tho wearing a vest) several times! I'm hoping once the water warms up I can wade out with her and help her gain confidence in the water and when jumping off the dock. It'll be a while for that though, so we'll keep playing in the shallows until then! Light and fun is the way to go!

'Tis the Season

As 2011 comes to a close, I find myself spending more and more time looking toward the 2012 DockDogs season: planning events I want to attend, considering sponsorship opportunities, and looking at my dock diving goals for the next 12 months.

I figured sharing with our fans would be a great way to keep us accountable *and* share some fun stuff at the same time, so here's our list of Team Menapode 2012 Resolutions/Goals!

Team-wide:
- Erin trains for and completes her judging certification
- Attend at least 4 regional events: Carolina DockDogs' events at the Blooming Festival, Ole Gilliam Mill, and Lee County Fair, Dixie DockDogs' event at the Lake Lanier PetFest.
- Attend at least 1 national event: SEWE in Charleston?
- Sign enough sponsors to cover travel costs for all events.

Kestrel:
- Improve Big Air performance to achieve a regional Elite DockDog title
- Receive qualifying legs in Master or higher at a national-level event
- Improve Speed Retrieve personal best time
- Train for and successfully compete in Extreme Vertical at at least one regional event
- Enter IronDog competition

Aerten:
- Complete regional Senior DockDog title.
- Improve personal best in Big Air!
- Jump into the Senior division at a national-level event
- Enter Speed Retrieve in at least one regional event
- Continue to train in EV for a 2013 debut!

Snipe:
- Complete at least one Big Air jump in competition!