Triggering, code signals, recreating drive, and strength after a souring experience.
All we had was two weeks. Just two weeks to go until our seasonal highlight event: the Dock Dogs World Championships. Facing refusals and logical stops created at our 2020 Regionals/Nationals outdoor outing, I had to retrain my dog, earn his trust, rebuild his confidence, and ultimately convince him that playing and chasing after a toy was nothing but fun. Years of work had just been seemingly flushed away in less than a minute.
My thought was to replicate the whole scenario of a speed retrieve competition without any water exposure. The outdoor temperatures had consistently dropped into the low 30’s that week. The pond water truly had turned into just another cold, and therefore risky, option, and wearing the neoprene wetsuit would not help much as it previously did not offer enough protection under similar weather conditions at Regionals. The next closest indoor facility was 100 miles away; and just getting there, creating the almost identical replica of a previous scenario of traumatizing impact, did not make much sense to me. Even so, with the indoor water was in the 80’s, Bernhardt wouldn’t know the difference without trying. Since the actual competition does not offer any opportunity to get off the ramp first, that pattern was not a training option. Bernhardt also did not need to (incorrectly) learn that the side exit and ramp were to be used for creating some safe haven of a “let’s check the water” type of scenario. I needed to come up with something else to get our dynamic behavior pattern back by reinstating a high drive combined with triggering signals that did not take any risk of discomfort or even the smallest pain infliction.
So, I returned to one of the old exercises that used when we started out: using a double drop (or bank, as it is known in the horse world) in reverse. That setting offers beautiful training varieties because there is no front landing impact (which I try to avoid as much as possible for several reasons), it strengthens the hind end, and it offers placing options even exceeding the 40-foot distance of a standard dock. With this setup, there is plenty of space to run for the object of desire: a brand-new squeaky football. And there is no risk of disappointment, except for the occasional rabbit or squirrel that could be a sudden major distraction. Once the behavior pattern is linked to the code word and triggering body language, the actual toy truly does no longer matter that much. As long as there is just some remote interest in the target, the training sequence will work. Drive for the toy, interest, and conditioning is a whole different topic that I will explain in other posts. I hope that you can find an incentive and inspiration in my thought process on how to work when things do not work – just do not forget about the dog!
Conditions, what to look for and how to take precautions in regards to the runoff and take off area. Learning the effects of: daily traffic patterns of the facility, how crowded the facility is, location of the dock (mobile at AKC shows; local, indoors, and within city proximity), the type of client most frequently using the facility, and how the quality of management can influence the quality of the surface. Explanation of necessary basic safety steps to avoid one of the most common injuries in diving dogs resulting from high impact slipping: the dreaded Iliopsoas strain.
Early on in our career, I honestly did not pay much attention to the surface. We jumped a lot from natural grass shores and once in a while from some wooden fishing docks where there was not much of a run (length) to it nor a huge kick (special edge from which takeoff occurs). The natural wood surface gave enough support and traction with a placement of no more than five feet of the edge at best. If the wood was painted and wet, it then became slippery so we did not jump off of those docks. You must inspect the surface for any large gaps, cracks, or uneven boards as well as sharp, protruding objects. In our experience, running from the grass was, and still is, the very best and safest option; so in hindsight, we were just very lucky to have started training that particular way.
One of our favorite training grounds: safe natural grass. Ensure that water is deep enough with nothing right under the water surface.
In the fall of the 2019 season, my habit of not checking out the commercial docks dramatically changed. Bernhardt genuinely slipped during a training session from an indoor dock located in the Midwest that featured the identical surface as some mobile docks that can be seen at the AKC shows. As usual, we got up on the dock, which got him all excited and ready to play, then I threw the toy for him. From the back section of the dock where he accelerates (reaching over 20 mph!), next thing I knew he slipped in the take-off area near the edge of the dock, where he was catapulted into the water. After that slip and fall, he would still jump from that area, but the length in which he was jumping was reduced. I noticed that his jump lengths shortened by three feet the first time and averaged around the same length on the next few jumps, so I stopped right away. Two days later, we returned to the same dock and he would not jump at all. It was the very first accident that he ever had and the experience stamped on his memory. Not only his memory, but also his body. The Iliopsoas muscle, also known as a hip flexor muscle, is the target of negative experiences like this. All that I could think about was how the scar tissue of a tendon or muscle will never ever have the exact same strength, elasticity and durability than it was originally, even after a full recovery.
The day off that accident, we had a late appointment (5:30PM, the last time slot available) on a very busy day for that facility. The facility is located near a major city and has a ton of recreational traffic patterns inside, mainly dogs swimming but also a few top jumper dogs. I found that handlers using the facility would take their long-haired dogs, even in bundles of two or three at a time, and just launch them down the ramp, only to then let them return to the take-off area where they would shake off all the water on their hair. There was a spray of water and the dogs’ product-filled hair in close proximity to the take-off area. This process went on for 30 minutes, sometimes doubling those efforts and reaching up to an hour. During this time, the dogs would make up to 15 trips off the ramp and back, shaking off afterwards each time. This was not just happening one time, but multiple times a day. Many facilities have much more swimming facilities than actual jumping equipment, so it is important to be aware of the fact. This routine will clog up the carpet on the ramp! Combined with the limited drainage in the area, it is easy to predict that a dangerous buildup of water and hair on the ramp will create a hydroplane effect for the dog who is moving at high speeds on the surface. Due to the lack of ongoing high impact dynamics, most operators would rather tend to turn a blind eye concerning the safety of their carpets and ramp surfaces. Recently, there were multiple reports concerning a slippery carpet related to an outdoor championship level event that was run off of a mobile dock in October, 2020 in Georgia. These reports showed a focus on problems with the mobile docks that are frequently used at AKC breed shows. It is likely that the wear and tear on these mobile docks comes more easily from the high traffic of incidences that are described above. I remember one outing in which the water surface was covered in hair to the extent that I would just grab a toy used as a retrieve tool that had a net on it and pull the layers of other dogs’ hair off of it. All I could visualize was my toy receiving the open-mouthed breathing dogs plus the debris floating in the water around it.
In my three years of competitions and training sessions, I have seen a single facility owner/operator taking steps for increased safety during these high traffic conditions. Jay Crisman at WestRover Water Sports in Westover, Alabama would use breaks between the splash from a jump to sweep off the water with a strong leaf blower as well as dry off the dock surface. No surprise, he is also an excellent veterinarian.
Some facilities decided to invest in more expensive carpet material for their dock. One facility that stands out is Prime K9 in Winchester, Kentucky. They have a surface that is outlasts rainy conditions. The in-ground pool of the Tin Woof Inn in Frankfort, Kentucky has a superior carpet surface on their ramp.
So, the rule here is that when the carpet looks exactly like artificial green grass, one should check before sending their dog out to jump and be more alert, always. In my personal observation, I have found that none of the so-called “safer” surfaces actually look artificial green grass, and it must be surmised that the dock operator takes impeccable care of that kind of a surface.
Walk up to the edge of the ramp and slide your shoes over the spot, look for puddles of standing water, clumps of hair clogging the surface, and bring your own towel to use with or request a brush from the facility. It is your dog, your money paid, and it could soon be your vet bills or eventually even the end of your beloved dog’s career. Please do not be afraid to say something. You can really make a difference for yourself or another animal that loves to jump and is eager to please because they give their all for their owner. Believe me, watching your dog suddenly turn sour and stop doing what they once loved is an experience that you do not want to encounter, especially when it is easily preventable. In particular, a dog that is rather a heavy weight such as Bernhardt (about 72 pounds of muscle) or are very speed- and catapult-driven, the traction of the surface truly matters.
All the best, safe jumping, and do not forget the dog is first!
Cultivating and conditioning owners’ heads and pocket books versus scientific analytical pragmatic founded overall skill in the animal training industry.
In training and body conditioning, there are very few fundamentally correct ways of working the field. My own expertise and upbringing originate from a very disciplined, structured, systematic, observant, and analytical education background supported by federally implemented rules, laws, and guidelines. This education background includes ancient techniques that have successfully withstood even severe challenges of modernization. In fact, theology and evolution shows that animals were the first creatures on this Earth. The never-ending quest to learn by studying animal behaviorism, body expressions, biomechanics, and any other patterns there were as a means of observing and, more importantly, creating feel and sensation. I lived within the animal society much deeper than outside of it, and I have always loved it.
Based on a handful of recent personal experiences, I will provide a few examples to outline the difference in training or behavior studies. It is dramatically important to just not get a path working around horses, dogs, cats, or any other species for that matter.
A horse in the cross ties to have his hooves cleaned when sweat outbreaks, he beings shivering, or shaking his head. The first reaction is to looking at a trainer, farrier, veterinarian, chiropractor or bodyworker, and everyone’s respective equipment… The horse is not super excited, not joyfully looking forward to being shod, treated, cured, healed, ridden. Is he shaking because he cannot keep it together from having so much fun? If that is not the case, than it can be made to have fun…
A dog who is short haired, has no undercoat, is small and bony in size, lacks fat layers, and is older in age. He jumps into a body of water and is greeted by bracing cold temperatures in the mid-30’s. Though it was only a brief exposure, he suddenly decides that he does not want to get back into water again. He had been lured into a trap created by humans. He is not distracted by the busy environment and accidentally getting into the water, not disobedient, not incorrectly trained, not missing out on the calling of being a duck hunter. He simply might have just manged to survive.
A loyal senior citizen rescue dog falls off of the message table. Bless its heart, he tries to get back on the table. He is now rocked around by his shoulders, losing his balance. He should give up. He does and he is on the solid ground, stretching out his limbs, shaking, shivering, and panting. He is not desperately begging for more attention by doing whatever is necessary to receive it, not going through a mental healing process. The combination of the right placement and correct touch should create an almost instant calmness and sense of comfort.
Those are just three samples of the “Kool-Aid” business approach. It targets the owner or handler with just one perspective: control. We all have dreams and fantasies. We all fall for illusions here and there, thinking that we understand exactly what our animals are trying to tell us. We all are learning and mean well, which eventually opens the doors for “the Joneses.”
Quite often, just using our God-given natural intuitions we actually succeed in supporting our animals, even unknowingly. That outcome is based on a true phenomenon – there is no capitalizing involved. Not financially, not emotionally. There is good money to be made with animals working both for and with animals. And then there is bad money that comes from working against animals; using them for profit by manipulating the owner. A true animal person will always prioritize the well-being of the animal; by doing so, this will seemingly fail to please the human. That failure is indeed an illusion. The truth is that a good trainer or bodyworker or conditioner is willing to pay whatever price to make a world of difference for the sole benefit of the animal!
11-month-old Bernhardt at his very first Dock Diving event in August, 2018. Energetic, attentive, ready to go.
When commercial interest promotes mass consumption, lowers the quality of the sport, endangers soundness and well-being of animals, and opens the gate for sandbaggers.
One of the large entities that host dock diving events on national levels as well as being an American Kennel Club (AKC) affiliate offers a very unique model to qualify for their annual year-end event featuring the North American dock dog diving championships. One way to get there is through the simple accumulation of thirty jumps within a designated division or fifteen jumps in a special discipline, such as air retrieve or hydro dash. This must be done within a current season and since jumps do not expire, it can also be done through a sequence of seasons. The only performance that actually matters is staying within the margin of the division at which the dog is ranked. Basically all that one has to do is pay for and complete the entries: $840 within a season at minimum for distance jumps or $420 for a special discipline. It does not matter whether you are at the lower end or middle of the pack (of competitors): pay and are on your way. And eventually, you hope for a burst of talent and energy – or knowingly have prepared for such outcome using the title card wisely – to get a final slice… if that even matters.
The business logic of that system is not only very revenue-friendly by creating gigantic fields of the “I’m just glad to be here” folks paying $75 a pop at the year-end finals, it promotes an oversized crowd that is nearly impossible to effectively manage, which then leads to inappropriate conditions promoted by all who are involved. It also caters to limited or non-competitive dogs and the emotional stage of their handlers. The AKC will recognize the very simple fact that someone launched their dog thirty times (and unfortunately, that number can reach into the hundreds) off of a dock and into a pool, so they issue a credential of outstanding performance which can get framed and hung on the wall. These are bragging rights of the engaged human. A dog truly never cares about a title certificate nor does it know what level of venue it is at, whether it has been part of the US Championships, or has qualified or competed at those events. But to the human, it is of superior ideological and emotionally rewarding value. Winning even when losing seems to be all that matters. d
One can see very clearly through the overall company strategy what the real message is. Qualifications are easily available and possible through a “you win and you are in” system. The ranking criteria has a narrow margin for success by limiting entries to one per qualifier where other companies offer four entries but absolutely no title option. Further, the act of allowing only the top ten of the season into the field for the finals channels the vast majority of competitors towards the title route. Now you may ask: why is all of this bad?
SOUNDNESS & WELL-BEING
We will focus is on the main actor: the dog. The starting allowance age of a puppy that is eligible to jump with that organization is six months. Yes, six months to drop off a 2’6″ dock, chasing after an obstacle of desire while being energetic, playful, willing, and seemingly in need of a serious workout. As a reminder, the maturity level of dogs circulates around 12 to 18 months of margin and the larger, heavier breeds can take even more time.
There is no daily limit to entries at the so-called “cluster shows” which enables one to jump four times a day – at least twice plus eventual practice, warmup, and possible “try it” jumps – which at best ends up with an estimated 48 attempts, of which 16 will count towards a title. Most dogs are actively jumping each day of a four-day event. Younger dogs undergo serious repetitive risk exposure to slipping, sliding, and foremost severely challenging body impacts. And at this young age there is still a huge deficit in proper coordination and balance without much in the way of self-preservative judgement. The bones, joints, and soft tissue are still undergoing growth spurts and firming up procedures, mildly strengthening exercise with caution would be the proper way to go.
I have seen a Vizsla at a breed show who was approximately seven months of age jumping sensationally into the twenty-foot range, but not just once or twice. Every break there was between rounds, the owner paid for a “try it” and jumped the dog, over and over again, thrilled by the spectators’ attention without any real training goal in mind. Similarly, there was a case of a young dog with a milder form of hip dysplasia who was very clearly moving three-legged-lame down the dock, the facility operators fully aware of the fact yet not pulling the dog or trying to make the owner aware. Might be bad for business!
Once one title is accumulated, the dog will eventually be moved on to the next discipline, collecting more jumps as they go. Even the hall of fame nomination and criteria revolves around, you guessed it, the number of jumps leading to excellent title VIII. Compressed risk exposure for any animal through a human who is chasing merits over collecting jumps at an obsessive pace without any real true performance value will lead to a higher amount of serious injuries. This practice of using up animals at very young age estranges the handler from reality. Poorly conditioned and physically unfit dogs of any age undergo the “collector item” mentality of their owners can and will be severely damaged quickly.
QUALITY OF THE SPORT
National championships feature the very best of the country. They are the ultimate reflection and most transparent outing that the interested public gets to see. It is not the whole football league who buys their way to the Superbowl. There is a selective process in place supporting the quality of competition and also the conditions under which they are being held. The only way to get to finals must be as a direct qualifier, a seasonal final standing, or a win at an event final. Boring huge fields with rather limited looking jumps are a turn-off and nobody truly wants to sit and wait for decades to come, to see their favorite team on a livestream. Huge numbers of participants with only two docks available (2019 finals in Orlando, for example) leads to a stressful 90 seconds of dog practice, getting lost while not being able to find the pool exit, and distressed animal behaviors on display for the world to see. The handling of a rather sensitive animal, one that requires proper warm ups and decent practice time to get used to the environment, or the animal just needing to get off the ramp to simply being able to know where the “emergency” exit is becomes at times an impossible mission. Less is truly more when it comes to proper advertising for a great sport.
SANDBAGGING
Some handlers will no longer pay any attention to the physical, emotional, and actual real-time performance level of their dog. They get to the championship competitions with an, at times, zero percent competitive animal. But then there are more tricky owners going this route that truly happened; they qualified their dog, who all year has been around the seventy jumps level with an average distance of roughly 18 feet and never able to excel above that distance, then suddenly is at finals and finds their dog is being very competitive with top (distance) scores within the upper marks of 19 feet. It is very possible to work with positional placing or toy placement to control and manipulate actual length scores and keep the (score) number in the middle of the pack. The large number of outings would create the impression that this is truly the best that the dog can do. It is interesting, however, that in this particular case when the exhibition happens at a national qualifier or the championships, there is always some form of a notable almost miraculous outburst and increase performance quality which catapults the team into serious contender levels. Might it be that the dog knows about the prestige it is about to receive, such as winning? Also, in a much longer time frame, this particular handler might even end up becoming a hall of famer, completing up to some 500 jumps or better in that same division and going to nationals every year until the end of days using titles.
The title qualification modus lacks transparency. After all, it truly puts the well-being of some animals in real jeopardy and opens the door for questionable show strategies. Additionally, from an American Kennel Club (AKC) recognition standpoint, the true value of the certificate is on the very low end of selectively accrediting individual dogs for rather outstanding accomplishments. It basically states that the particular animal was able to jump tens of dozens of hundreds of times from a dock in a pool without any comparison of true performance that is based on credible, valuable standards. Just imagine getting a title for Fido jumping in your backyard pond every day retrieving his beloved stick, taking 30 short video clips and then off you go to nationals with the mindset of being an excellent water jumper. Those practices do not support a productive process trying to improve the quality of training, shows, breeding, or whatever other accompanying intention. For this reason, this topic must be seriously revisited not only to create a better concept but to also maintain superior integrity when it comes to agility performances.
US Championships, medals, ribbons, and titles are something very special, something that underscores performances of value and one should get there demonstrating masterful art and skill. As of today, a triple contender in water sports gets zero titles despite being a fully finished or well-rounded dog doing all disciplines. Throwing classical principles totally over board, creating mass consumption incentives at dramatic discounts where the true sport no longer matters cannot be the new mission statement for a nationally and internationally recognized organization like the AKC; particularly not when the profit is made through animal performances. There are much better ways of creating revenue, but they require in-depth thoughts that are distant from plain commercial interest. Class matters here: don’t forget the dogs!
We don’t have the luxury of having a diving dock facility in closer proximity – most folks actually don’t – and had to get creative designing training scenarios using whatever is or was available within our personal environment. Being an animal trainer all my life, understanding the importance of pattern recognition that connects to signals and aids (body language, sounds, voice commands) , I had to design set ups and training challenges that were fun, challenging, strengthening and most important protective towards soundness issues. Bernhardt for example has a signature move he loves to do : the football tackle, featured in one of the videos on this blog, a move replicating taking a target down. That particular move was in fact one of the big drivers leading us into the sport of dock diving to not take instincts away but creating a softer landing spot. So here are some training snippets we work on :
The Warm up featuring – “THE TACKLE“
The tackle is a by nature imprinted replica of a hunting technique taking the target down
The warm up routine can vary based on what we are working on. Before we do anything there will be a substantial walk interacting with the toy of choice, eventually some stretches, short little runs and accelerations – together – and small tiny jumps into the toy held by hand. After that we look for smaller obstacles to work with like this little log on the ground and work that or similar a few times to than step up a notch to a higher obstacle. I personally do not like my dog to land a lot on his forehand, it puts quite some weight on it and seems contrary to stretching out in the air so I keep those exercises as brief as possible. “The tackle” needs to be very closely monitored but not suppressed being a natural instinct driven move. There is a good amount of injury risk in it and seemingly self preservation had surrendered pure prey hunting conditioning. It is not always preventable or avoidable, Bernhardt however is quite skillful doing it and seems to take great pride in his action.
To be successful in all disciplines of dock Diving a strong play/prey (toy) drive is extremely important and the foundation towards any progression in difficulty. I really want my dog to pursue the target to his very best ability and not to give up easily. He has to feel good, naturally confirmed and accomplished in his activity, so whatever display and technique nature equipped him with – I take it. My responsibility as a trainer is simply to make sure the moves do not go out of control or are repeated way to often or unreasonable. Soundness is always ultimate priority.
Teaching the basic jump patterns is not very hard, using correct gestures, incentives – toys,treats, sounds – precise placing, distances and instant rewards. Jump courses are a total different ball game, it is more about putting the individual pieces together.
