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Here’s what it takes to win Dock Dogs competitions in Cedar Rapids and around the world
Handlers take various paths to victory
Jul. 6, 2024 5:15 am, Updated: Jul. 8, 2024 8:02 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — If canine competitions are a dog eat dog world, some of the competitors in annual Dock Dogs match-offs are blissfully unaware.
Now in its 13th year in Cedar Rapids, the international competition brings dogs from around the country and the world to Freedom Festival each summer to compete in jumping, swimming and retrieving.
To many of the athletes, it’s all about having fun. With categories that make the sport accessible to competitors of any shape or size in the multiday competition, dogs can go as far as their drive takes them.
“If you’ve got a dog who likes to jump, swim, or likes water, they can do Dock Dogs,” said Dan Mussell, an organizer who helped bring the competition to Cedar Rapids in 2012. “I’ve seen everything from Chihuahuas and Dachshunds to Great Danes.”
But some handlers, on the other hand, are a more competitive breed.
How it works
With multiple categories to match the size and ability of each dog with fair opponents, there are three primary sports in annual Dock Dogs competitions in Cedar Rapids.
The first, Big Air, brings some of the fastest and highest-flying dogs to the Midwest.
“Big Air is the meat and potatoes of Dock Dogs,” Mussell said. “What (dogs are) seeing is a 5-foot jump, and we have to convince them that it’s something safe.”
With docks leading up to a 28,000 gallon pool, the goal is for dogs to jump as far as they can from the dock. They can get a start from anywhere they like on the dock, and the spot where the base of their tail hits the water marks their distance.
Classes range by the distance they can jump, as determined by tryouts. In Big Air, the highest class goes up to 19 feet.
The signal for dogs to start isn’t a starting pistol or a blaring sound — it’s a bumper resembling their favorite toys.
“It’s their job to build momentum and jump off the edge of the dock. We look for that momentum and the ‘pop’ at the end of the dock,” Mussell said. “That pop gives them the height and momentum to carry them through.”
Scored are tabulated by judges with six “waves” of jumps from each dog, sending them to higher levels in the competition leading up to the world championship, which is often held in Iowa.
The second sport is Extreme Vertical, a high-jump event where the bumper is held 8 feet past the end of the dock and 4.5 feet above it. Only about a quarter of dog competitors are capable of doing the sport, Mussell said.
“There’s a pretty steep learning curve and mental acuity a dog has to have to figure out that they’re starting somewhere on the dock, and they’ve got to figure out how to jump high and far enough to bring this bumper down,” he explained. “That’s one of our most exciting events.”
Using a light signal system similar to those used in drag racing, Speed Retrieve starts each dog in a two-foot area on a dock, where two front paws must remain at the starting line until they’re released. Using a laser matrix, dogs’ reaction times are measured, in addition to the time it takes them to travel 52 feet.
If a dog competes in all three events, they’re an Iron Dog, which can earn them another set of points based on their performance in each sport.
Dueling Dogs, a newer event in the same realm as Dock Dogs but run by a different organization, is “pure doggy drag racing” with dogs racing side by side.
“These dogs really get amped up. That’s why some go faster during Dueling Dogs than Speed Retrieve,” Mussell said.
But in Cedar Rapids, one element brings a level of excitement many Dock Dogs events don’t have: the Wild Card Double Header. Even if a dog doesn’t go to any other competition, getting a high enough score here can automatically place one in the world championships — a draw for competitors far and wide to Cedar Rapids.
Throughout each summer, the competition in its 25th year has upward of 200 events across the country.
What it takes to win
For competitors, “every jump is a world championship jump,” Mussell said.
Competitors say it takes a combination of good genetics, good instincts and good training to win. But handlers take various paths to victory.
Megan Townsend of DeSoto, Missouri, adopted all of her black labs with the intention of competing. With 10 years of competition experience, she’s trained canines of various persuasions.
Her first, Lucy, wouldn’t jump off the dock at first. But after trying it a second year, she loved it.
Her current competing veteran, 8-year-old Ranger, was bred for duck hunting. He already loved the water, so she trained him with all toys instead of food, harnessing an important element for success in the competition. Gradually, they worked up from swimming in a creek, to a pond, to a pool.
“Once he got it, he got it, and it’s his favorite thing to do,” Townsend said. “He just likes the drive to work. He doesn’t care what he’s doing. As long as he’s working, he’s excited.”
Draco, her 2-year-old, shows promise to compete in all three sports, which will make him an Iron Dog. She’s been training him by sending him to retrieve antlers and ducks.
The biggest challenges in training are getting them to jump far off the deck for toys, and positioning for Big Air jumps. Some dogs get antsy, compromising the discipline needed for a competition.
For many dog owners, training is a matter of casual play. But Mussell sees some serious competitors train with treadmills, weighted poles and vests attached to parachutes to develop running speed.
Lynne Zinnel, a 13-year competitor from Coralville, recognizes two categories of handlers: professionals and weekend warriors. After getting into the sport thanks to a dog who was ecstatic about water, she falls in the latter category.
“I consider a good day at the dock to be my dog getting wet. Anything else is gravy,” she said.
Now on her third dog since starting with Klink the pit bull, she said success has depended on tuning into each dog’s individual needs.
Some don’t like waving flags or loud noises. Others prefer Frisbees and balls over bumpers. One doesn’t like to get her ears wet, forcing Zinnel to throw a bumper in a way that won’t get her head under the water.
Why they do it
Zinnel got into the sport because it’s what her dog loved.
“I like to refer to him as the poster child for Freedom Festival, because his picture has been in The Gazette three times now,” she said.
But for her and many other handlers, the camaraderie isn’t just for the canines. Each year, she feels refreshed by seeing friends from multiple states in one place, in person.
Townsend said the priceless looks on her dogs’ faces is the payoff.
“To see them succeed and hit certain levels is really rewarding,” she said. “They’re not just laying around the house doing nothing. They’re doing what they love.”
For many, the sense of community is what binds all types of competitors — no matter species or breed. And with the lives of the competitors shorter than that of their handlers, it’s a tie that binds beyond the life of each dog.
“Throughout the years, we sit there and talk. We celebrate our dogs’ accomplishments, our losses. We feel each loss of a competitor very deeply,” Mussell said. “That’s why we celebrate every little win and commiserate when a team has lost a teammate.”
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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