Splash Dogs in Lancaster, CA!/ Our first jump!!!!!!
samsm...@yahoo.com
Thanks for the invite! I'm glad someone started this group!!!!!!!!!
Yesterday Jaxon and I drove down to Lancaster and met up with Jody
Dushkes and her 3 IWS, as well as Sally Lewis and Lois MacDonald and
their 2 IWS. So there were 6 of us there. They were having a Bark in
the Park event there, Splash Dogs was there. It's like Dock Dogs but a
different company, I think. Anyway...
We started off by going over to the Splash Dog area and signing up.
Then we stood in a long line (that seems to be a big part of this
deal :-))). When it was Jaxon's turn I was told we could go up on the
dock to jump or start out by standing on the exit ramp to jump in.
SInce Jax has only jumped into a pool from the edge, not from 2 feet
up, I thought we should start on the exit ramp. He LOVED it. He jumped
right in and got his bumper (BTW, I bought a bright orange bumper for
this andI am glad I did, as it got later in the day, looking down at
the water from the dock all you could see was the sun glaring off of
it. Quite blinding really, so I am glad Jax had the added help of
having a bright neon colored toy to look for in the pool.)
After 2 times jumping off the exit ramp I decided to try the dock. By
this time Jaxon knew what to expect so he was quivering with
anticipation and whining by the time we were 2 or 3 dogs from the
front of the line. OMG! My upper body is so sore today from holding
dogs back. Jody had 2 of her dogs at a time out there so I held one
while she jumped the other. With a dog in each hand, both playing off
of each other's excitement, my arms were really getting tired. It
wasn't until the last jump that I got wise and just stepped on her
dogs leash, egad!
Anyway, Jaxon was so zizzed, with the rock music playing and the
splashing water and me holding a toy it was almost more than his
little heart could bear! When we went up on the "big boy dock", not
the exit ramp, Jody was nice enough to hold him while I walked closer
to the end of the dock. I turned and showed him his toy and said,
"Okay! Go get it!" Jody let go of his collar and he laid rubber! He
ran like a banshee toward the toy, right up until he got to the edge
of the dock, then he squealed to a stop, right on the edge of the
dock, he looked up at me like I had 2 heads! (You want me to WHAT?!)
After a few encouraging words from me he must have decided it was okay
and he let go of the edge of the dock and PLUNK! jumped straight down
(a fine 2 ft. jump!) and swam out to his toy.
After that first encounter with the dock's edge he was much better. We
tried it again probably 6 or 7 more times and he got better each time.
His final jump of the day was a whopping 8 footer! Tada!!!!!!!!! He
still hesitated just slightly at the end of the dock, but I think as
he gets braver and more comfortable with this he will hesitate less
and less. On the last few jumps I decided to try what I had been
seeing others do. The sit/stay all by himself while I walked to the
edge of the dock and then released him with my voice command. It
almost worked the first time, he just sat there and vibrated until I
got about halfway to the end of the dock, then he broke and just RAN
towards the dock's edge. I just threw the toy, and called it good. The
second time, I was gave him a FIRM command to sat and stay, then I
walked confidently away, (okay, not really feeling confident but
faking it, like they tell you to do in obedience class). He actually
stayed! Quickly, so as not to press my luck, I showed him the toy and
released him, before he released himself. Phew! It was close! That was
probably the most structured of all of the jumps and he jumped the
farthest that time as well.(That was our big 8 footer!)
It was getting late in the day and we were all tired so we decided to
call it a day and go pack up. I was beat! Jaxon slept all the way home
(about an hour and a half), then drug himself in the house and ate a
huge dinner. He put himself in one of his crates and quickly went to
sleep. Early this morning I had a large brown hairy bed buddy. He was
probably as sore as I was, so, even tho I promised myself I would no
longer share my bed with the animals, we snugged in together and fell
back asleep.
This is going to be fun...
Dorothy and the Jax-Man
P.S. Jody Dushkes, Sally Lewis, Lois MacDonald and Allana Kew wouild
like to be added to the list please...
