Being without a foster puppy has afforded me the time to do other things with my own pet dogs. This past weekend Fortune and I headed to the International Food Festival in London Ontario to compete in the Dock Dogs Event. We tried this sport a couple years ago and Fortune did quite well but life became busy with some interesting, or rather "challenging" pups so we haven't had an opportunity to hit the docks again.
Fortune entered one Wave on Saturday and jumped 8' 10" and 9' 8" to earn her the top Novice dog in that Wave. Most dogs run the full 40 foot dock before leaping into the water but since we haven't really had any practice I thought it best to have Fortune jump from the edge and then work our way back as she (and I) gained more confidence. We learned at the end of the day that Fortune's jump of 9' 8" was the highest of all novice dogs (those who jump less than 10 feet) and meant that she would make it to the finals on Sunday. I hadn't planned on attending a second day, but figured we'd give it a shot and see what happened.
On Sunday we didn't take any practice jumps so Fortune was wired when it was finally her turn to jump. I moved her back about 5 feet from the edge of the dock and let her go.
She launched herself 11' 8" and secured the Novice Division! She will move up at least one level, if not two, when we compete again in July since I am convinced she will be running the full dock in no time. As a handler I am holding her back from accomplishing what she is truly capable of so it's time to let her show her stuff. She's the confident member of the team LOL
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