Holiday starts with a splash at Dock Dogs competition

CEDAR RAPIDS - Eager barking and excited cheers flooded the parking lot of Newbo Ale House on Friday as the annual Freedom Festival Dock Dogs competition got underway.

Dogs of all ages and breeds lined up to have their turn in the national canine aquatics competition.

'It keeps growing,” Freedom Festival board of directors member Dan Mussell said of the Dock Dogs event, now in its sixth year in Cedar Rapids. 'We get more and more competitors and spectators each year.”

The turnout Friday was more than Mussell ever imagined when he started working to bring the canine jumping competition to town.

'At first, I was just hoping (for it) to be a small event, part of the Freedom Festival, and it's grown to become one of the cornerstones of the entire festival,” Mussell said. 'The community loves coming and watching, and we have gotten a reputation as an event for newbies to come and try it out.”

Dock Dogs contests feature three aquatic events: big air, extreme vertical and speed retrieval. The dogs jump off an 8-foot-wide dock that is 40 feet long. The only requirement for the canine competitors is that they be 6 months or older.

Mussell and his wife Jan have been competing in Dock Dogs events with their golden retrievers - Finley, Maddie and Jaidan - since 2010.

'It's just a really fun activity to do with your dog,” Mussell said. 'It keeps them mentally sharp and in good physical shape.”

Sixty dogs are competing in this weekend's contest, which continues through Sunday at Newbo Ale House, 1201 Third St. SE. Events start at 10 a.m. and continue until 6 p.m. in the pool in the building's parking lot.

Dog owners interested in having their pets try it can do so at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Owners can register on site for $30, giving their dogs the chance to compete with two jumps.

'I love that it's a home event,” competitor Shannon Christensen said of this weekend's contest. ' ... Usually we don't have too many Iowa events, so it's nice to have one here.”

For Christensen, the Freedom Festival event unites two of her interests: Dock Dogs and women's football. She is representing her Independent Women's Football League affiliate team, the Iowa Crush, at the event.

'I have my Crush family and my Dock Dogs family and to have the two come together is pretty cool,” Christensen said. 'I like the camaraderie of the competition and the bonding with my dog. When you win, that's great too.”

With Christensen and another of her Crush teammates competing with their dogs, Mussell said this year is 'going to set a record for the most professional football players at a Dock Dogs event.”

A Freedom Festival button is required for admission to the event.

l Comments: (319) 368-8538; elianna.novitch@thegazette.com

If You Go

What: Dock Dogs competition

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Newbo Ale House parking lot, 1201 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids

Cost: $5 for Freedom Festival button; free for those age 8 and younger

Dock Dogs Schedule

Saturday

Onsite Registration/Practice - 9 a.m.

Big Air Wave No. 6 - 10 a.m.

Try DockDogs - 11:30 a.m.

Big Air Wave No. 7 - 12:30 p.m.

Big Air Wave No. 8 - 2:30 p.m.

Extreme Vertical (All in One Finals) - 4:30 p.m.

Sunday

Onsite Registration/Practice - 9 a.m.

Big Air Wave No. 9 - 10 a.m.

Big Air Wave No. 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Big Air Wave No. 11 - 1 p.m.

Speed Retrieve (All in One) - 3 p.m.

Big Air Finals - 4:30 p.m.