BARK your calenders! A member meeting of the Green Mountain Dockdog Club will be held at the Lakehouse on Lake Bomoseen on October 21 at 10-1.
Thank you!
BARK your calenders! A member meeting of the Green Mountain Dockdog Club will be held at the Lakehouse on Lake Bomoseen on October 21 at 10-1.
Thank you!
Green Mountain Dock Dogs and Dock Dogs Inc are proud to be participating in the annual Shelburne Museum Goes to the Dogs celebration on Sunday September 16th, 2012!
This is a fully sanctioned and organized regional competition from Dock Dogs featuring all three signature events: Big Air, Extreme Vertical, and Speed Retrieve.
Come one, come all! There will also be fun jumps for folks that have never tried jumping their dog before. Just bring a favorite toy and your dog must be at least 6 months old!
For more details, visit the museum website at http://shelburnemuseum.org/visit/planning-your-visit/event-calendar/event/family-day-shelburne-museum-goes-to-the-dogs/?date=2012-09-16
And here is a great news story on WCAX with the Green Mountain Dock Dogs president, Cindy Chaffee: http://www.wcax.com/story/19500315/everything-animals?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7706480#.UE3zszkr6xU.facebook
Hello all Dock Divers!! We had originally scheduled a practice jump for this Saturday but due to some organizational issues and a tragedy for the owner of the Lake House, we are cancelling the practice jump. We will keep everyone posted as the new leadership team is installed and we get something back on the schedule!
The “Fastest Growing Sport on Four Legs” Comes to Vermont
Lake Bomoseen, Vermont – Green Mountain DockDogs, the newly-formed Vermont chapter of DockDogs®, will hold its first “Fun Jump” on Sunday, May 20th, at the Lakehouse Pub & Grille on Lake Bomoseen. Registration starts at 11:00AM. The Fun Jump runs from 12:00PM to 4:00PM.
DockDogs runs competitions all over the country to see how far, how high, and how fast dogs can jump off a dock to retrieve a rubber throw toy. Although it’s exciting to watch the big dogs make leaps of nearly 30 feet, DockDogs also has divisions for smaller and older dogs who make shorter jumps.
Official DockDogs competitions include three “disciplines” (Big Air, Extreme Vertical, and Speed Retrieve) but the only discipline included in the Fun Jump will be Big Air, which is a “long jump for dogs” with a safe landing in the water.
This isn’t the first time DockDogs has come to Vermont – the national championship was held in Killington last year – but the Fun Jump is meant to be a lower-key event to introduce dogs (and their people!) to the sport.
Event organizers Suzanne Ellis and Jeff Leonard of Rutland plan to take part with their dogs Wilder and Chester. Although her dogs are veteran national competitors, Ellis says she is looking forward to welcoming beginners at the Fun Jump. “The Fun Jump is a great way for dogs and their handlers to learn more about DockDogs and to practice jumping from a DockDogs ‘regulation’ dock. It’s going to be a relaxed fun day for everyone.”
Andrew Allen of Burlington, who plans to participate in the Fun Jump with Lily, a rescued Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix, is also anticipating an enjoyable day. “My wife and I went last summer to check out the national championships and we were thinking that it was going to be some pretentious ‘Best in Show’ kind of thing. But we were pleasantly surprised. It was competitive, but that was definitely secondary to making sure the dogs were happy and having a good time.”
Another first-time participant will be AJ, a gentle, squarely-built black lab, who serves as a guide dog for his human partner, Dustin Atkins. Dustin is excited to let AJ “let off some steam” at the Fun Jump. “AJ has a really stressful job, and this is a way for him to just be a normal dog for a while. He is crazy about the water and I think he’s going to love jumping.” Dustin plans to participate, too, as AJ’s handler. “I’ll have a sighted person guide me out to the dock and tell me which direction to throw the toy in, but I’ll do the rest myself!”
CONTACT:
Suzanne Ellis, suzellis@gmail.com, 802 774-9398
Welcome to the new online home of Green Mountain DockDogs. This site launched on Monday, May 14 and we are still busy adding content. Please check back soon for updates.