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Event Disciplines

All events consist of 3 disciplines:

BIG AIR  **   SPEED RETRIEVE  **  EXTREME VERTICAL

Big Air®

  • BIG AIR® is the original and still most popular DOCKDOGS® competition.

  • Each dog and their “Handler” are a competition team and each team competes head‐to‐head against  the other teams to see who can jump the farthest distance.

  • Each team is allotted 60 seconds to get the dog down the dock and into the water.

  • The Judge will evaluate all jumps electronically using digital video stop‐action technology developed by ESPN’s MIS Department.

  • The official jump distance will be measured, and when it’s all said and done, the dog that jumps the farthest takes home the crown!

Speed Retrieve™ 

  • The newest form of DockDogs® competition,  which was introduced in 2008, has nothing to do with the dogs ability to jump but rather its speed.

  • Similar to Extreme Vertical®, in SPEED RETRIEVE each team is  allowed to use a maximum of 20 feet of the dock surface and is allotted 60 seconds to get into the water. However, instead of measuring distance or height, each dog is racing against the clock.

  • Upon entering the water, each dog must swim to the end of a 40 foot pool and remove the DockDogs ® designated object from a modified  Extender Arm in order to complete their timed run.

  • The dog that removes the object the fastest wins and walks home with the prize and more importantly the bragging rights.

Extreme Vertical™

  • In the Spring of 2005, EXTREME VERTICAL was officially launched as the second form of DockDogs® competition after initially being developed as a training technique for Big Air®. Just as Big Air® is equivalent to a “Long Jump” for dogs”, EXTREME VERTICAL is the equivalent to a “High Jump” for  dogs.

  • Each team is allowed to use a maximum of 20 feet of the dock surface and is allotted 60 seconds to jump in the air while attempting to remove the “Bumper” from the Extender Arm. If the team misses on the first attempt, they will immediately return to the dock and will be given a second and final attempt to remove the bumper.

  • For the Preliminary Qualifying Competitions, a “Bumper” is hung from a specially designed Extender Arm and placed 8 feet from the edge of the dock.  The Bumper is then placed at the chosen starting height for each team.

  • Rounds will continue with the bumper being raised in 2 inch increments per round until the dog that jumps the highest takes home the Prize!

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