Starting Position?

A small poll is traveling around the dock diving circles on fb this weekend. It asks the reader which position is the best to start a dog in for Big Air. The vast majority of people suggest the sit position because it is supposedly the best for allowing a powerful push off at the start, allowing the dog to gain speed more quickly, but I'm not so sure. (I answered "depends on the dog" lol)

Let's look at this in more depth:

SIT: The most common starting position in my experience, sit does seem to be more stable than a stand, but still allows creeping at the start and for some dogs. Sit does gather the dog's hind feet below him as well, so they are positioned well for that push off when released.  Switching from a sit to running might be difficult for some dogs though, because the feet are under their body weight and they must push the rear up before moving forward. This likely only takes a split second, but does it use up needed force for that start?

DOWN: I've seen this used more by herding breed handlers than any other - it seems especially helpful for breeds that crouch when working as it is more natural than a full sit.  I have seen some dogs creep in a down, but less often than in a sit or stand, and their starting momentum seems about the same as a sitting dog, though when that creeping stance is in play there might be a slight advantage in having the front low in more of a down than a sit to allow the front legs to "dig in" a bit more.  Dogs who tuck their feet under or flop onto a hip before release will be at a definite disadvantage, however, as they'll have to get their feet sorted before starting forward momentum.

STAND: This seems to be the least preferred position and I think this is likely due to the difficulty most dogs have in keeping a true stand stay - creeping is just so much easier when you're already standing! One commenter on the fb poll did say that he had noticed dogs in a stand taking a stride to get up to speed as well, but I haven't watched enough stand started dogs to comment on this.

Another commenter on the poll mentioned trying a "bow" position (front down, rear up), which does make sense as it would eliminate the push up part of a sit and give the front more grip like a down, but I've never seen anyone use this, so who knows how well it works in practice.

For me, I've been starting Aeri in a sit just because she has a more solid sit stay than down stay at this point, but I may try all three positions in the future to see what works best for her.  For Kestrel, a down seems to help him maintain position better than a sit - in a sit he switches to a crouched stand with creeping some of the time, while in a down he switches to a crouched sit without the creeping.

Perhaps our next trip to the dock will involve some experimenting!

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!

Fun in the Sun at the Lake Lanier PetFest

Our final competition of the season: PetFest hosted by Dixie DockDogs in Georgia!

Kestrel *again* pulled out a "longest jump of the weekend" award with a new personal best; a whopping 23'4" jump that also meant he was the only dog who jumped into the "Elite" category for the entire 3 day event! Yay for the original Red Menace! :D

Aeri was on fire and is now consistently jumping into Senior with jumps between 15' and 16'2" (also a new personal best for her).

A compilation video:


The event itself was a good one - cool, sunny weather both days we attended, a great friend to hang out with between waves, and a very welcoming host club! We'll def be back next year!

I'm so proud of the progress I've seen in both dogs during out first season of dock diving competition. We'll be training through the winter and are hoping to start jumping in competitions again in March or April 2012!

"Under the Lights" with Team Menapode: Part 2

We had a *fabulous* weekend!

Both dogs made the finals and placed second in their jump group (Master for Kes, Junior for Aeri) and KESTREL HAD THE LONGEST JUMP OF THE ENTIRE COMPETITION before the finals! Wooo!

Aerten's full video (had music but it's been removed :( )


Kestrel's full video:


Kes got to do Speed Retrieve again and while he didn't qualify for finals, he still performed well, tying his PB from Cherokee. We did try EV, but Kes didn't really understand the concept. In practice he managed to grab the bumper at 4'6", but in the actual competition he looked at me like I had 3 heads and stood on the edge of the dock and barked - we've obviously got a bit more training to do there before we're ready for Iron Dog.

Given how well the dogs did this weekend, and the prize money they earned paying for their entries and most of my gas, we've decided to drive down to an event in GA hosted by Dixie Dock Dogs. We'll be staying with my friend Heather, so it should be a fun time regardless of how the dogs do!

"Under the Lights" with Team Menapode: Part 1

Kes, Aeri, and I helped at the Carolina DockDogs dock diving demos at the Lee County Fair tonight. I figured that 1. it would be a great way to get both dogs familiar with the dock they'll be jumping off on Sat/Sun and 2. it gives us a chance to give back to our club and share the joy of dock diving with more people.

The biggest news? AERI JUMPED!!!!!!



At the last minute I threw Aeri's life vest in the car just in case. The vest has given her more confidence in the past and has handles that would allow me to lower her into the water if needed, so I figured it might be helpful.

As at the Cherokee event, Aeri didn't want to jump all on her own, but I held the handles and started to lower her into the water and she finished getting in on her own. The next round, I held the straps but she jumped on her own, and then after that I just threw the toy and she did the rest.

After a few nice vested jumps, I went ahead and took the vest off and that's where the video picks up. :)

Kes did nicely as well, especially given that the pool was set up at a *fair*, only about 100 feet from the food vendors, and after dark!

We had a ton of fun and can't wait until this weekend!

Casual Saturday!

The dogs and I got a chance to attend a fun day at a local pool yesterday!  It was a great opportunity to get Aeri jumping off of a low surface (the pool deck) and in a new place in preparation for our next event. 

Dogs are poor generalizers, so making things easy in a new location can often help a dog gain confidence in their performance faster than trying to get them to jump at standard height in the new place where the setting can be intimidating, especially if there are spectators and lots of noise like at most events.

I'm hoping the extra exposure and recent practice will help prevent us from having another "Erin goes swimming" Big Air Wave. ;)