Dutch Shepherd Forum

Now that Bramble has gotten past the dog reactivity (aka I enforce the rules and not let her push the boundaries), I would like to add something fun to the service training, and wonder about vhf dock diving.

She likes water, and my son likes to throw the ball for her. I think it might be a good mix. We went and watched one competition (without her) and my son enjoyed watching the dogs jump into the water (he likes transitions).

But I don't know how to start and to what extent the rules can be modified. Obviously we don't have a giant pool with a long running dock in the back yard.

How do you start?

I saw that there could be 2 people. One to throw, one to hold the dog. Would three be allowed? One to hold the dog, one to help the person throwing and the thrower? Is a ball allowed or only the floating toys? Are Dutch Shepherds a "breed requiring a life vest"? Is there a time limit on how long it takes to throw? Do any of the dock diving organizations have classes for special needs folks? What is the training difference between the air and distance dogs, can you start by just throwing for either?

I hate to see unanswered posts with the potential for great information like this, so I did a little searching...

The first site that comes up when searching for "how to get started in dock diving" is dockdogs.com.

Finding a nearby club is always the best resource -> https://dockdogs.com/affiliated-clubs-and-facilities/

Here's a basic overview of 8 steps to training the dog: https://thedogtrainingsecret.com/blog/d ... asy-steps/

Some videos...







Of course, this is all basics and high-level overview. Again, finding a nearby club is probably the best way to start.

I can't wait to see the videos of Bramble learning this!

I do dock diving with my dutchie and my non dutchie. You get 4 minutes on the dock to do all your jumps. You can take one practice jump if you wish and then you get two judged jumps. They take the farthest distance out of those two judged jumps and keep it for your score. I personally am a one man show so I put my dogs in a sit stay and walk to the edge of the dock to throw the toy. I’m not sure about 3 people on the dock honestly but it might be ok. The mobile docks have stairs and no ramps but a lot of stationary docks have ramps (not sure if that makes a difference for you or not). Air retrieve requires more training to get them to get the target and you train it differently than regular distance dock diving. The distance dock diving does have some technique to it. When throwing the toy you have to make sure it isn’t too early or late in order for your dog to get their best jump. But if you are just in it to have fun it really doesn’t matter. You get a qualifying jump ribbon anytime your dog leaves the dock and after you earn so many you get different titles based on how far they jump. They do have nationals if you want to be competitive and earn a spot there but most just do it for fun. I have never had the luxury of a real dock diving pool except at competition so I teach my dogs by just throwing the toy into the lake or pond and then I usually find a boat dock to teach them how to jump off of. You can use a ball, really any toy you want. You are allowed to have two toys on the dock with you. When you first get to the dock diving pool it’s a good idea to throw the toy off the ramp a few times so they get their confidence in the pool. It’s about a 2 foot or higher drop off dock into the water.

I compete through NADD (if you are in North America). It’s a great organization and the people are fantastic. AKC also recognizes their titles if you’re looking into that also. Feel free to ask me any questions and I will do my best to help!

Also you’re dog does not have to wear a life jacket. That is at your discretion however it is allowed if you wish. None of mine wear jackets

Is there a time limit for throws in NADD dock diving? It can take us time to get the kid on in position and get him to throw, especially in new environments. We really wouldn't be very competitive, just in it for the fun.

ladyjubilee wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:05 pm Is there a time limit for throws in NADD dock diving? It can take us time to get the kid on in position and get him to throw, especially in new environments. We really wouldn't be very competitive, just in it for the fun.

Yes, so you only get 4 minutes on the dock. If time was an issue I would just skip the practice jump and only do your two judged jumps. That way you would do 2 throws in 4 minutes instead of 3 throws in 4 minutes. As long as he was able to throw the toy off the dock once in that time he would still get a qualifying score as long as the dog jumped. They have to keep it to a time limit because it takes a long time to get through all the dogs each round. They call each round a splash. And its specifically calculated so they can fit 45 dogs in per splash and it takes 2 hours to do it. They usually do 4-5 splashes per day.

There is something else called try its. You get 5-6 minutes on the dock for $10. You are allowed to do whatever you want in this time. People will use this to teach their dogs to go off the ramp or the dock. You could start going to events and just doing try its to see how it goes. It will be a lot cheaper than registering in the regular splashes while you guys are still learning and figuring out what will work for you

If you look on the NADD website they have all the rules listed and it explains the process well.

I would think your dog would have to have high prey and ball drive

Yea you probably want the dog to have high toy drive for the item you’re throwing. You should talk to some working dog trainers in your area and see if there is a club for it. You’d be surprised. There may be a club in your area that teaches it. We took zoey for her first dock diving experience a couple weeks ago.

I posted a link to this thread on the Forum's Facebook page, and got some replies. I guess it also brought moniquenicole into the conversation (thanks). I don't know if you're on Facebook, but you can check out the post if you want: Link

Here's some comments so far:

There is an event next week only an hour and half away. We think we are going to give it a try so I emailed the contact. The time limit might be an issue for us as everything takes longer . But it is worth a taking her as it does have some try it out sessions.

According to her trainer she has a "very high prey"...which was born out by our outting to a festival today. She definitely interested in small moving animals like Papillons and Chinese Cresteds.

Based on Joxgirls recommendation I used a toy to get her to the correct heel position. My big question is whether she will retrieve or just leave it.

Wow Zoey looks like she was having a great time. You keep her very active.

Unfortunately, I don't do Facebook. I might foster again sometime in the future and just don't want my information that far out there.

Also, keep in mind most of the dock diving venues rent the pool by the hour or half hour. If you don't want to worry about the stress of competition day just rent and enjoy jumping and swimming at your leisure...

A couple photos of ICE and little Diamond

Wow those are some awesome photos!!

I hadn't considered renting the pool. That is a great idea.