Dock diving help?

Lizmo

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#21
She's got good speed and drive - that's always the toughest battle to overcome with new dogs.

As for the popping, like others have said, just work on teaching her to actually CATCH the toy in the air. That's how you get nice pop.

Just a few pointers from watching the video (please don't take this as me saying you did something wrong, totally not my thinking! For your first time, you both look great! Just some pointers you might mull over for next time you're on the dock to get you guys even further! :) )

~First, get her to chase and catch the toy. Get her amp'ed up about jumping up and grabbing the toy from you. I practice at home by setting him up just like I would on the dock, walking away about 20', then releasing him (using his dock diving release) and having him grab the toy from my hand that's about 3/4ft high. This is what you'd want her to look like:

Dock:



Dry Land Practice:


~Timing your throw. Something that took me a long time to learn and I wish someone had pointed this out to me sooner (and therefore, not wasting jumps because we still had fun, but not allowing him to jump to his fullest potential). Once you get her catching down, start gauging at what point to throw. As the founder of UAD taught me, use the gate around the dock to help you. It helps SO much! You're not worrying about when to throw, you can concentrate on how you throw.

I either start my throw at the end of the first gate or the second pole. The second pole like in this picture is what I used here:



~How you throw. Everyone throws different, of course, so experiment with what works best. But what I've seen many handlers use (myself included) is where:

Release dog, when dog gets to marker (1st gate or 2nd pole) bend down, swing the toy behind myself toward coming down, start bringing toy forward and raising up so the dog follows the toy up, then release toy.

Example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33724690@N04/7847158584/in/photostream

~KEEP IT FUN! :D No matter what, I'm always smiling and using happy voices when the dog comes off the ramp. Because no matter how he jumped, I always want it to be fun, even when he's dead serious about it lol.

So excited for you guys to go to your first event! It's loud, crazy, fun, and addicting! :D
 

Beanie

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#22
All I can hear in my own head while reading this thread is:

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER NOW

And that Zinga better now get used to being able to not only go to a pool but visit an ocean in winter. She's going to be so upset next winter.
Ugh I totally started googling the other day to see when the lake I take Payton to opens for the season.

IT'S BELOW THIRTY OUTSIDE.

So much tired of the cold. -_-
 

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