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Thank You for your interest in the DockDogs Northern Stars!
We are
the Minnesota Affiliate Club of Worldwide dockdogs®
Inc. You are reading this because you have probably seen this sport on ESPN, The Outdoor Channel, or been to one of our events and thought, “I would like to Get Involved,” and have successfully made your way to our Website! Congratulations, We welcome you to this fun sport that we all enjoy and love so much! People “Get Involved” in dock jumping for many reasons, first and foremost as a way to have fun with their best friend. Others like the competitiveness of the sport while others are enjoying the friends they are making across the country as they travel. National Events and Regional Club Affiliate Events Dock Dogs® offers two types of events. Our National Organization hosts events across the country in what we call “National Events.” Ranking and Titles are earned for your dog if you compete in any of the three disciplines described below. Here in Minnesota, like others Affiliate Clubs across the country we host events referred to as “Regional Events.” Separate Rankings and Titles are offered to dogs that compete in these types of events. Our Big Air and Speed Retrieve are Manually Judged by Certified dockdog Judges. For a complete detailed explanation of all the Rules and Policies visit www.dockdogs.com under Events at the bottom of the drop down menu. The dock dog Team consists of one handler and their dog. Handlers need to be at least seven years old and any dog breed over 6 months who likes to swim will enjoy this sport. DockDogs has three exciting disciplines:
Big Air,
each Dog/Handler Team is measured for
distance by 2 dockdog®
Certified Judges (Regional/Club events) who “eye-ball” where
the dog’s hind quarter breaks the water’s surface.
Extreme
Vertical,
dogs jump and grab for an extended bummer
hanging 8ft out over the water starting at 4’6”ft. high. The
bummer continues to rise 2 inches until there is one clear
winner.
Speed
Retrieve,
a fast paced timed racing game. Dogs run,
jump and swim to retrieve a Dokken dead fowl at the end of
the pool.
Finals are held on the last day of the event for each division with Ribbons and prizes.
Earning Titles and Divisional Finals Format (more info) The DockDogs Northern Stars offer many events throughout the year and some will offer a “Fun Jump” (more info) and/or our training seminar “Let’s Try DockDogs” (more info) during the weekend event schedule. Coming to one or many of our events is certainly the best way to “jump” right in. With the many lakes and docks around Minnesota there is always a place to train. We encourage you to read the “Training Tips” offered by the folks at SportMutt (more info). There are both dry land and dock jumping tips you can begin with prior to entering a competition. We invite you to go to www.dockdogs.com our National Website. There is vast amount of information about how to get started. You can either scan the site as a guest or as we recommend, register, giving yourself a “User Name” which you will need to do if you ever want to enter and Register for a competition. You will also be able to post and ask for advice and be assured that there are plenty of folks out there who will offer you tons of advice and helpful hints, all you need to do is ask! The DockDogs Northern Stars invite you to join our club. The fee is $15.00 and you will receive a $10 Membership Voucher to use either towards a Wave or at our Merchandise Tent. Our members enjoy the ability to help at events earning Vouchers (more info) to offset the fees charged to enter our competitions. We look forward to special club get-togethers in the summer; we offer news and updates regarding events in Minnesota and our surrounding area. Teams who have earned either a Regional Club Title or National Title can go to the dockdogs® year end National Championships to compete against teams in their titled division from across the country; and as a club The DockDogs Northern Stars Team compete in the Annual Club Challenge. Rounding off each year, we have a Banquet/General Membership Meeting and Awards Ceremony.
On behalf of the DockDogs Northern Stars, we welcome you to the world of dockdogs®. We hope you will join us for an event or two and as always if you have any questions or need further information please contact any of us on the DockDogs Northern Stars Board of Directors.
Linda Ruiz, President DockDogs Northern Stars Linda@dockdogsnorthernstars.com 763-234-9538 |
