Just updating...finally

Well, lots of stuff has happened since April. We went to Costa Mesa for the Splash Dogs event. Loder jumped well, got his PB of 15'02". Not at far as we would like, but it is always a work in progress.

A practice jump:


From sideline feedback and pictures, Loder is leaving the dock anywhere from 3-4 feet early which is cutting significant length from his jumps and hindering his "pop" from the end of the dock. To combat this, we've been practicing his sit/stay/release at home. He is doing well at home BUT around other dogs, he is all bonkers which is something we definitely need to get under control.

A competition jump, leaving waaaaay too early :(


Despite the early launches, he was able to earn 2 more legs toward his Senior Title which puts him at 3 legs total (he also has 2 legs in Junior). We've been debating which events to attend to work on getting those last two legs and we'll probably just attend the Bakersfield event in September. The goal is to have him titled by the Championships in Oct/Nov. But, if not, the world won't end ;)

The two COOLEST things that have transpired since April are:

1. Loder is now sponsored by our raw food distributor, Rah RAW Rah Pet Foods!!! Awesome!! THANK YOU THANK YOU, Suzanne!!!

and

2. The creation of the Las Vegas DockDogs club!!


We put in our application and are now official members!! I took Loder to one practice event but with his overwhelming desire for every turn to be his, it didn't go so well and we had to leave early. We went to another practice last Sunday sans Loder and hopefully there will be practices set up soon at a local pre-fab pool facility. It will be nice to have a more formal setting so we can hopefully work on his sit/stay/releases.

I am also really excited to start Loder on Speed Retrieve. It's what he basically does anyway for his Big Air jumps, so SR only seems natural :)