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In the News… Lager!

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Brian did an interview while we were at the Care-A-Lot dock diving event, and Lager’s jump was on the news!

Click HERE to see the news clip!

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All Paws on Deck for Pet Lovers’ Extravaganza featuring DockDogs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Dog lovers from all over Hampton Roads are excited about the 9th annual Pet Lovers’ Extravaganza featuring DockDogs®. Organized by Care-A-Lot Pet Supply, the event spans April 29 through May 1.

You and your dog can attend events such as a peanut butter eating contest and a best dressed dog contest, in addition to the DockDogs® canine aquatics competitions. The DockDogs® competitions will include Big Air Wave, Speed Retrieval, and Extreme Vertical. Owners can register their dogs to compete online.

There will also be a dog agility course and a food tent open all day. Dog food vendors will also be there to answer questions and hand out treats to your canine companion.

Entertainment for the kids includes a clown, face painting, and a moon bounce.

Lager in Flagship Newspaper!

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Lager will be the “featured pup” of the Care-A-Lot dock diving event ~ and was in the Flagship Newspaper!  Story below (to see the online story, click HERE)

 

Care-A-Lot’s Pet Lovers’ Extravaganza returns

VIRGINIA BEACH — Care-A-Lot Pet Supply will host the 9th Annual Pet Lovers’ Extravaganza featuring the popular DockDogs competition from April 29-May 1 outside of their headquarters at 1617 Diamond Springs Road in Virginia Beach. Admission is free to enjoy three days of high-flying dogs, contests and giveaways plus significant savings at all three Care-A-Lot retail locations.

“From live dock jumping and diving events to pet ice cream eating contests and even a chance to win $10,000, there’s something for everyone,” Care-A-Lot owner Bobby Clarke said. “More than 12,500 people from around the country came to watch the action last year, and this time we expect an even larger crowd.”

One fearless flyer running off the dock will be Lager, a veteran explosives detection canine who served 18 months in Iraq. The German Shorthaired Pointer is a natural in the water, ranking fifth overall in the World Championships in his division during his first year competing.

“We adopted Lager knowing he had an intense love for the water; and from the second he jumped off the dock, we knew he was a natural,” Lager’s owner Jenny Beadling said. “After being discharged from his military duties, DockDogs’ competitions have been a great way for Lager to use his skills and endless energy.”

As part of Care-A-Lot’s partnership with the Norfolk SPCA, every dog adopted at the event will receive a starter package of more than $200 worth of food, supplies and store coupons.

K9’s in Flight, the “homeless to high-flying” world champion Frisbee-catching dogs, will also return to perform throughout the weekend. All the dogs were rescued or adopted from shelters around the country.

Vendors from more than 40 pet supply manufacturers will be at the Extravaganza to provide training tips, product information and sampling. They include: Blue Buffalo, Nutro, Nature’s Variety, Canidae, Wellness, Merrick, KONG, Greenies, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Purina and more.

For more information, call 460-9771 or visit www.carealotpets.com.

DockDogs® is the international governing body that oversees events which test a dog’s ability to jump as far as possible into a pool, retrieve items from the pool in a timed event and jump as high as possible. Contestants are grouped based on experience and past results. For more information, visit DockDogs online at www.dockdogs.com.

Lager in The Virginian Pilot

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Dogs fly through the air at Dockdogs competitions in Virginia Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH

Whether detecting explosives in Iraq for the military or jumping into a pool to fetch a toy, Lager takes his job seriously.

The German Shorthaired Pointer, who lives in New Jersey with his owners, came to Virginia Beach on Friday to show off his skills in the annual DockDogs competition, part of the Pet Lovers’ Extravaganza outside the Care-A-Lot headquarters near Shore Drive.

Outfitted in a patriotic swimsuit, of course, Lager jumped twice in the qualifying round and will compete in the Big Air competition today and the Extreme Vertical competition today and Sunday with a few hundred other dogs from around the country.

Jenny Beadling, Lager’s owner, said they often bring him to events in Virginia. He practices his dock dives at home off the family’s 40-foot pier and also does agility drills, running exercises and strength training.

“I think that he takes everything like it’s his job,” Beadling said.

Lager was retired from the military because he would get distracted by water, so when he came back to the states, the contractor who worked with him wanted him to be in that kind of environment.

He earned an invitation to the DockDogs world championships last November in Iowa and placed fifth in the senior division. His leaps average about 19 feet, 9 inches, Beadling said.

The Beadlings call their dogs “The Liver Killers” because of their names: Lager, Limoncello, Hooch and their newest one, Margarita.

Another competitor Friday was Leia, who lives in Virginia Beach. She competed in the Iron Dog Warrior Competition in Iowa, another DockDogs contest, last November, coming in second in the world.

Her owner, Karen Cummings, named her dogs after “Star Wars” characters – Leia, Chewey and Vader. Leia, a Lab, was in the qualifying round for Big Air on Friday.

Cummings said Leia also competes in the speed retrieve and extreme vertical events. She trains locally by doing a lot of jumping, muscle training and agility competitions.

Along with the competitions, the event includes dozens of pet-supply vendors, and Care-A-Lot is having its biggest sale of the year.

The speed, height and distance events continue throughout the weekend. Other contests, for less athletically inclined canines, include best kisser, best dressed and best at, well, eating treats.

Click HERE to see the online story and video!

Delmarva DockDogs Unleashed at Pooch Palooza: Frontier Town Campground, Berlin, MD

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This was our second year attending Pooch Palooza at Frontier Town Campground.

We love this event, and the best part is – it is held right at one of our favorite campgrounds!

This was also a special trip because it was Rita’s first camping trip!

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Lager is helping Rita get acquainted with Glamping:File Jul 13, 12 28 50 PM

Brian’s dad bought us a PetCube pet camera so we can walk outside of our camper

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View from our camp site:

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This was our first dock diving event of 2016!

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Photo Credit: Precise Video Productions

Limoncello:

Big Air:                       22′ 3″

                                        20’11”

                                        22’9″

Extreme Vertical:  4′ 10″

Speed Retrieve:      8.566 seconds    2nd Place Express Division

Iron Dog:                  2697.17 points     2nd Place Warrior Division

Hooch:

This was the first time Hooch tried Iron Dog!

Big Air:                        23’6″  2nd Place Elite Division

Big Air Pro Finals:  19’11”

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Photo Credit: Precise Video Productions

 

Extreme Vertical:    5’10”                        1st Place Cadet Division

Speed Retrieve:        7.409 seconds

Iron Dog:                     2902.83 points       3rd Place Titan Division

 

Lager:

Big Air:    12’9″ 

                    19’2″   3rd Place Senior Division

                    19’3″ 1st Place Senior     

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Photo Credit: Precise Video Productions

             

Extreme Vertical:  6’0″

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Margarita:

Margarita enjoyed her first camping trip and her first dock diving event!  She got LOTS of attention from everyone!

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Hanging out under the team canopy

Tidewater DockDogs End-of-Season Banquet

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We were disappointed to have missed the Tidewater DockDogs banquet, especially because we won some great awards!

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This was the last of the banquets to wrap up an amazing 2015 dock diving season.

Chesapeake DockDogs End of Season Banquet

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At the Chesapeake DockDogs End of Season Banquet, our pack was named “Most Addicted Family,” and Cello and Brian also were named “Most addicted Team.”
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Cello and Brian won a trophy for “Most Intense Team on the Dock”

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Hooch and Jenny won “Rookie Team of  the Year”unnamed (2)

Hooch and Jenny also won “Most Exciting Team to Watch”

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It was a very exciting season for us, and we were honored to have been chosen for these awards!

2015 DockDogs World Championship

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After an exciting drive out to Iowa, the days that followed were even more exhilarating!   We are so proud to share this summary of  our 3 pups’ World Champion performances!

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The competition was held at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, located directly across the street from our hotel.

We waited in line outside the arena for  2 hours for official check-in:

Dog Town

The city of Dubuque shut down part of a street so that DockDogs could construct what’s known as “Dog Town” – where all the competitors set up.  We could see the Dog Town tent from our hotel room.

JUST after we got done setting up in the Dog Town tent, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued, then a tornado warning was issued!   Thank goodness the tornado warning was downgraded, and we did not have to evacuate.

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The Official Schedule:

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BC = Brian and Cello, JH= Jenny and Hooch, and JL= Jenny and Lager

Seeing the competition floor for the first time at our Handlers Meeting:

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We were beyond honored that our friends, Jen and Grace, also volunteers of the GSP Rescue of NJ, decorated their car window, and drove all the way from New Jersey to Iowa to route on the Liver Killers at the World Championship!  Honestly, I don’t know what we would have done without them there.  Jen and Grace gave our dogs potty breaks, took pictures and video, cheered us on, and made sure our dogs who were not competing were never left alone in their crates.

The Liver Killers

Limoncello (Handler: Brian)

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Limoncello had an outstanding season.  Not only did she compete in Iron Dog in every event, she earned herself an invite in EVERY discipline possible:

  • Big Air (Master Division)
  • Speed Retrieve (Express Division)
  • Extreme Vertical (Cadet Division)
  • Iron Dog  (Warrior Division)
  • Dueling Dogs (Class 4)File Dec 14, 4 00 24 PM

Brian really wanted to focus on Cello’s Iron Dog performance, so he declined all invites, with the exception of Iron Dog invitation.  Just 3.5 weeks after an injury that occurred at The Pittsburgh Pet Expo, Cello was cleared by our vet to compete, and our little girl competed in Iron Dog at the World Championship with all her heart!  Competing in Iron Dog means she had to participate twice in each of the three disciplines in order to accumulate Iron Dog points.

Her performance was awesome, and she also earned herself a new Personal Best in Extreme Vertical!

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Qualifier 1

  • Big Air:  20’4″
  • Extreme Vertical: 5’2″
  • Speed Retrieve: 8.500 seconds
  • TOTAL IRON DOG POINTS:  2720.81

File Nov 23, 5 55 16 AMQualifier 2

  • Big Air:  20′ 6″
  • Extreme Vertical:  5’6″  ***New Personal Best***
  • Speed Retrieve: 8.482
  • TOTAL IRON DOG POINTS:  2758.42
  • OVERALL WARRIOR DIVISION IRON DOG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING:  10th in world

Cello doing Extreme Vertical:

Cello doing Big Air:

Although Cello did not qualify for Iron Dog Finals, she impressed the crowd with her endurance and efforts.  We are beyond proud of our little princess!

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Hooch (Handler:  Jenny)

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Hooch had an AMAZING first season of dock diving… in a matter of months, he went from being afraid of the water, to leaping over 24 feet!  Hooch only participated in Big Air and Extreme Vertical competitions this year.  He earned invitations to the World Championship for both of those divisions in Elite Division Big Air and Cadet Division Extreme Vertical.  Hooch also qualified for BOTH division’s finals at the World Championship!  If that wasn’t exciting enough, at the big gala, Hooch and I won DockDogs 2015 Most Improved Team!  Hooch is a very sensitive dog, and can be very skittish.  We had several hiccups throughout the dock diving season while up on the dock due to banners that blew off the pool, wind that caused the water in the pool to swirl, and light reflections in the water.  When these things spooked Hooch, he refused to jump.  It took a great deal of support and effort to get him over his fears and continue to perform consistently for the rest of the season.  At the World Championship, he did an amazing job during his qualifiers for Big Air – he even made finals!  However, the Elite Finals were chosen to be “Spotlighted” – held under the lights at night in the Arena.  This means they shut all the lights of, and only  had spotlights on the pool and dock.  This also meant that Hooch was faced with darkness, shadows, and reflections from the spotlights.  “Stage fright” set in during finals, and in the middle of running, he put his “brakes” on … skidding down the dock, and plopping in at 7’7″.  On his second turn, he flat-out refused to jump, and we were timed-out.  Although this was heartbreaking to me because I felt like Hooch was afraid and confused as to why I’d ask him to jump in what he considered “unsafe conditions,” I couldn’t be more proud of him, his huge accomplishments throughout the season, and his earned spot in both Big Air and Extreme Vertical Finals.

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During the “spotlighted” finals when Hooch got freaked out by the lighting

Big Air

  • Qualifier 1:     21’9″       21’11”
  • Qualifier 2:    23’0″       23’3″               Qualified for finals
  • Finals:             7’7″         timed out       6th Place
  • OVERALL ELITE BIG AIR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING:  6th in the world

Hooch doing Big Air:

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File Nov 23, 5 53 40 AMExtreme Vertical

  • Qualifying Round:  6’2″               Qualified for finals
  • Finals:                        6’0″               4th Place
  • OVERALL CADET EXTREME VERTICAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING:  4th in the world

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Hooch doing Extreme Vertical:

Jenny and Hooch winning 2015 DockDogs Most Improved Team:

Words cannot express my excitement for this awesome award!

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See just how far Hooch has come from 8 weeks old, to 1 year old, and 6 months of competing:

 

Lager (Handler: Jenny)

The fact this amazing boy earned his way to the World Championship in 2 months, and just 2 National level events, with no training, and with never having been on a dock before was unbelievable.  When he made the finals, we were filled with excitement and joy!

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Our friend, Kiersten, caught us just at the moment we found out Lager made finals:

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File Nov 23, 5 53 15 AMBig Air

  • Qualifying Round 1:    17’11”     19’6″
  • Qualifying Round 2:    19′         19’7″      Qualified for finals
  • FINALS:                       17’7″     18’8″
  • OVERALL SENIOR BIG AIR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING:  5th in the world

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Lager doing Big Air:

A whole-lotta Liver Killers bling!

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Besides medals and trophies, we got some other pretty cool “bling” while at Worlds:

Out of thousands of dogs, only a few hundred are lucky enough to earn their invitation to the World Championship…out of those few hundred, only 6 dogs in each division make it to the finals…I can’t say enough how proud we are of our three fur-kids! 678

Road Trip! 2015 DockDogs World Championship

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Words cannot express how exciting this week was for our pack!  All three of our pups qualified for the World Championship, we drove further West than we’ve ever been before, we got to see some pretty cool sights along the way, all three Liver Killers finished within the top 10 in the world in their own divisions, and best of all, we had a safe trip out and back, with no injuries or illnesses.   Here is a recap of the Liver Killer’s preparation for our road trip, and some of our adventures on the drive!

Everyone was asking for us to bring Tommy D’s famous Limoncello, so Brian made a few batches to bring with us:

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We ordered lots of bling the month before our trip! We designed and ordered team gear from CustomInk.com – – and when the company saw we donate to the GSP Rescue of NJ, they made their own donation in  the Liver Killers name to the GSP Rescue of NJ – how nice was THAT?!

 

 Our trip wouldn’t be complete without truck bling!

Our talented friend, Mandy made our trading cards:

And, of course, we did lots of shopping:

Jenny has a very difficult time packing lightly, so the packing started (and never seemed to stop!)… and Brian decided it was a good idea to rent a little trailer just in case 🙂

 DockDogs had a window decorating contest for everyone making the road trip out to Iowa… so of course we dressed up the truck windows!

 

And we’re off!

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As we crossed state borders along our ride, we saw some pretty neat sights:

It was difficult to be in the car for so many hours, so we stopped often to let everyone potty and stretch their legsunnamed (41)

Along our stops, we came across the coolest place right off of I-70 in Indiana!  Not only is it the World’s largest “candle,” it was a candle company and gift store that had a cute little restaurant, THE coolest bathrooms ever, huge and safe areas to walk the dogs – and best part of all ???… they welcome dogs INside!

Warm Glow Candle Company

We are huge American Pickers fans, so we couldn’t help but stop to see their Antique Archaeology shop!

 

Crossing the Mighty Mississippi!

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We went a bit out of our way for this one, but we couldn’t miss the opportunity to stop at the movie set from Field of Dreams!

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Once we checked into the hotel, and got the pups settled, we celebrated our adventurous road trip, and our safe arrival at our destination in Iowa!

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What an exciting week of competition we have ahead!

Pittsburgh Pet Expo, Pittsburgh, PA

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The last dock diving event before the World Championship!  We chose to do this event because like the World Championship, this event was held indoors.  We knew Cello would jump in any conditions, but Hooch had not been to an indoor event since March (when he was plopping in at 5-6 feet!), and Lager had never been to an indoor event.

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This event, hosted by Three Rivers DockDogs, was their annual indoor “Quest for the Belt.” If you remember back to September, we attended their annual outdoor Quest for the Belt.  At these events, the handler of the dog with the longest jump wins the Champion Belt.  The winning team then has to return to the annual event, belt in hand, and defend the belt against a new set of divers! Hooch had the longest jump of the weekend, until Sunday rolled around and he got knocked down to 2nd longest jump by one of the biggest jumping dogs in the world! Darn! We almost got that coveted belt!

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We were quite pleased with all the dogs’ performances.  Each one performed in their “normal” range for an indoor event. I say that because in general, dogs do not usually jump as far inside as they do outside.  Maybe its the loud noise of an enclosed building full of barking dogs and cheering spectators, or perhaps it’s the pool water that is a bit colder than usual?

Unfortunately, shortly into the event, Cello slipped on the wet floor, and injured herself. With just weeks left until the World Championship, we were very nervous that this injury could hinder her ability to perform at the World Championship event.   We scratched her from the rest of this event, called our vet, and let her rest for the remainder of the weekend.  Luckily, with great care and advice from our vet, Cello healed nicely and was fully recovered to compete at Worlds.

LIMONCELLO:

BIG AIR:

21’1″     21’8″

20’5″     20’8″

19’7″      SCRATCH

As I mentioned above, Hooch had a great weekend – and had the longest jump of the event until Sunday.  We were more than pleased with his performance, and he did not show any signs of being afraid, or hesitant.  Hooch is very easily spooked, so we were thrilled that he jumped with such enthusiasm in a loud, enclosed environment.

HOOCH:

BIG AIR:

22’8″     23’3″     2nd Place Elite

22’5″     22’8″

21’6″     22’0″

Elite Finals:      22’2″     22’5″     3rd Place Elite

I was very nervous competing with Lager at this event, not knowing if he would jump indoors.  As with everything else Lager is presented with, he performed exuberantly, with no hesitation at all, and was a crowd favorite!

Our friend, Kim, who is the gal that makes all those great Super Fly Suits you see the dogs wearing, had brought our completed suit that we had ordered special for Lager for the World Championship.

The suit is AWESOME, and  in typical Lager-fashion, he displayed his excitement and “flew” out of Kim’s arms…Haha

We had no idea about Lager’s next adventure at this event.  A handler who was also competing in this event with his dog was a Veteran.  Three Rivers DockDogs asked the human Veteran and Lager to lead the crowd in The Star Spangled Banner.  This was SO cool, and such a huge honor! Look how proud Lager is!

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LAGER:

BIG AIR:

18’5″     17’11”           1st Place Senior

18’6″     19’7″            1st Place Senior

18’7″     20’1″

Senior Finals:       19’6″     20’3″     5th Place Senior

The Liver Killers: Dock Diving 2015 Season in Review

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THE LIVER KILLERS 2015 DOCK DIVING SEASON IN REVIEW!

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The dock diving season technically ends in mid-October, with the World Championships being held in November.  We have officially completed our season, and what a season we had!

  • Cello had and absolutely incredible season, earning an invite to the World Championships in every discipline possible!
  • We thought Hooch would never jump – not only did he jump – he entertained everyone with the “Hoochie Hop” – -but only for a short time as he soared to over 24 feet in just 6 months of diving at a mere 1 year old! Hooch also ranked #1 German Shorthaired Pointer for Big Air in the United States, and 2nd GSP in the WORLD – by less than an inch!
  • Lager came in to our lives unexpectedly, and without any training, and jumped like a boss, earning an invitation to the World Championships after participating in just 2 national events!
  • Limoncello was offered a sponsorship from TurboPUP.
  • Cello and Hooch made the front page of the top local newspapers
  • News teams came to our house to do features on Cello, Hooch, and Lager  – and they all made the top TV news channels with their stories.
  • Cello and Hooch had a story published in a world-wide published magazine.
  • Lager had a story published in a local magazine.

TOMMY D’s LIMONCELLO

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Brian’s main goal this season was to earn an invitation to the World Championship with Cello in Warrior Division Iron Dog (a combined averaged score of Big Air, Extreme Vertical, and Speed Retrieve).  Not only did Brian and Cello achieve this goal, they did so very early in the season at the Wild Card event at Cabela’s in West Virginia during the month of May!

WORLDS INVITE

Little did we know that was just the beginning of Cello’s road to Worlds!  Brian and Cello went on to earn an invite in Speed Retrieve (also earned at the Wild Card event at Cabela’s in West Virginia)

Cello SR

But that’s not where Cello’s invites ended!  She earned an invite for Dueling Dogs, after participating in that discipline for the first time ever at the Mid Atlantic Regionals, held at Shipps Corner Pet Spa in Virginia Beach.

Cello Dueling Dogs

At the end of the season, we found out her rankings from sanctioned facility events also earned her an invite in Extreme Vertical, as well as Big Air!

Cello EV

Cello BA

OVERALL WORLD RANKINGS:

  • BIG AIR:
    • 5th ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Master Titled
    • 23′ 3″ average
  • SPEED RETRIEVE:
    • 2nd ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Express Titled
    • 7.964 average
  • EXTREME VERTICAL:
    • 4th ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Cadet Titled
    • 5′ 2″ average
  • IRON DOG:
    • 2nd ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Warrior Titled
    • 2754.67 average

UNITED STATES OVERALL RANKINGS:

  • BIG AIR:
    • 4th ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Master Titled
    • 22’3″ average
  • SPEED RETRIEVE:
    • 2nd ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Express Titled
    • 7.964 average
  • EXTREME VERTICAL:
    • 4th ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Cadet Titled
    • 5’2″ average
  • IRON DOG:
    • #1 ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Warrior Titled
    • 2754.67 average

Cello ended the season with an injury.  While competing at the indoor event at the  Pittsburgh Pet Expo in Pittsburgh, PA, Cello slipped on the wet floor, and strained muscles in her neck and front leg.  Unfortunately this meant pain meds and lots of rest during the 2 weeks leading up to Worlds.  We are hopeful that she will be be back to 100% for the World Championship competition.

Windy Spot’s Homemade Hooch

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As a puppy, Hooch wanted NOTHING to do with water of any sort.  He slowly began to realize water wasn’t so bad, and cautiously went into our lake and into a baby pool.  The weather quickly became what was to be the coldest, snowiest winter we’ve ever had, and access to water became difficult.  We took Hooch to some indoor pools, were he felt comfortable jumping in at the water’s edge.  However, when he found himself up on a regulation dock, which sits 2 feet above the water, Hooch gave dock diving a second thought.  Hooch kicked off his dock diving career in January being very hesitant on the dock.  He would run down the dock, get to the edge and “teeter” for a long while – sometimes not jumping and timing-out, and other times projecting himself off the edge of the dock as if he had springs in his back legs, only landing a few feet into the water!  He quickly became a crowd favorite with his “Hoochie Hop,” as the crowd waited in anticipation to see if he would POP off the dock…or not!  By about April, he was “hopping” out to about 7-8 feet, still hesitating, and still choosing not to jump at times.  By May we discovered that with Jenny running down the dock with him, Hooch would hesitate less.  This technique got Hooch leaping up to 17 – 18 feet by the beginning of June. By mid June we had switched to the “Place and Send” method, bringing Hooch to the very back of the dock (Thank you Frank Moraff for forcing me to do this!!) With that change came great results.  Hooch jumped 21 feet in mid-June, and by the end of June soared 23’8″ and earned his invitation to Worlds at 13 months old ! By July, Hooch jumped his current personal best, 24’2″, and also earned a second invitation to the World Championship for Cadet Division Extreme Vertical.  In September, Hooch was nominated for “Most Improved” for the Golden Paw Awards, held at the Gala during The World Championship celebration, and was voted to be one of the finalists for the award.

Hooch BA

Hooch EV

Here is my absolute favorite video from this season:  It captures Hooch’s progression from being fearful of water, to his 23+ ft jump that earned him his Big Air Invite to the World Championship!

OVERALL WORLD RANKINGS:

  • BIG AIR:
    • 2nd ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Elite Titled
    • 23′ 7.4 ” average
  • EXTREME VERTICAL:
    • 2nd ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Cadet Titled
    • 5′ 10.7″ average

UNITED STATES OVERALL RANKINGS:

  • BIG AIR:
    • #1 ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Elite Titled
    • 23′ 7.4 ” average
  • EXTREME VERTICAL:
    • 4th ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Cadet Titled
    • 5’2″ average

Brogan’s American Lager

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Lager came home with us on August 23, apparently born to be a dock diver, not an Explosives Detection Canine!  When the training company who had Lager (known then as Nayt) saw how much he loved the water, they contacted DockDogs in hopes to find a family who were familiar with the breed, had access to water for him to swim, and would promise to get him dock diving.  Read the full story on how Lager became a part of our pack by clicking HERE! The first day Lager came home, he was exposed to water, and had no fear  of the lake, or jumping off the dock.  He had a perfect sit-stay, and seemed like he came to us with the Big Air discipline of dock diving mastered!  In less than a week’s time, Lager also picked up on Extreme Vertical, easily grabbing the bumper on our home rig.  Lager competed in just 2 national level events, and earned himself an invitation to the World Championships in Big Air!

Lager Big Air Senior

OVERALL WORLD RANKINGS:

  • BIG AIR:
    • 9th ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Senior Titled
    • 19′ 10.4″ average

UNITED STATES OVERALL RANKINGS:

  • BIG AIR:
    • 7th ranked German Shorthaired Pointer
    • Senior Titled
    • 19′ 10.4″ average

GIVING BACK:

The Liver Killers are also happy to report that through their 2015 winnings, an abundance of food, toys, and supplies were donated to the Animal Orphanage of Voorhees, NJ, and over $1,100 was donated to the GSP Rescue of NJ!

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS SEASON:

  • TV News:
    • Channel 6 ABC: 
      • Full story and news clip video:  http://6abc.com/pets/2-south-jersey-dogs-are-national-dock-diving-champs/965961/
    • Fox 29: 
      • Full story and news clip video:  http://www.fox29.com/news/29140110-story

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WORLDS BLING:

In preparation for The Liver Killers World Championship competition in Dubuque, Iowa in November, we ordered some cool team gear:

Team Shirts and and Hoodies from CustomInk

When Custom Ink found out that The Liver Killers donate all their cash prizes to the GSP Rescue of NJ , they made a donation to the rescue in honor of Cello’s Corner and The Liver Killers! How cool is that?!

Window decals for our vehicles from Vistaprint

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Car magnets from Vistaprint

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Team banner from Half Price Banners

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And of course, “pawtograph” cards – made by our friend, Mandy!

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After the season our team has had, it won’t matter to us what happens at Worlds – we are beyond proud of all three of our pups- and overjoyed that we have the opportunity to share this experience as a family!

As we begin to pack for our big adventure, we continue to reflect back on the amazing season these pups had.  We will cherish every memory – the highs and lows – the laughter and the tears – the (very) early mornings – the late nights watching EV under the lights – and the comradery shared with friends at events.  We are truly blessed to be part of such a great community (humans and animals alike).  Never have we met such a large group of the nicest people who not only strive to improve within their own team, but will at the same time stop and help other fellow competitors to enhance their game, and applaud fellow opponents just as enthusiastically as they cheer on their own dog.   The patience, advice, support, and guidance we have received from friends, family, fellow competitors, and social media followers is overwhelming, and greatly appreciated.  Thank you all for being part of this thrilling escapade with us.  We look forward to writing the next chapter of this adventure together!

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Shipps Corner’s Monster Splash: Virginia Beach, Virginia

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This event is one of our annual favorites – however, this year, it was a bit more exciting (and stressful!) as it was our very last chance to increase Lager’s overall Big Air average in hopes to get him qualified to earn an invitation to the DockDogs World Championship held this November.

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Shipps Corner does a great job of decorating the dock for Halloween!  unnamed (2)

Limoncello

Big Air:

22’0″     22’4″     2nd Place Master

16’9″     20’7″     2nd Place Master

20’4″     21’1″     2nd Place Master

Pro Finals:        17’4″     20’3″              5th Place

Extreme Vertical:

5’0″     3rd Place Cadet

Speed Rretrieve:

8.332       4th Place Express

Iron Dog:

2735.00 Points          1st Place Warrior Iron Dog

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Hooch

Big Air:

22’11”      22’5″

21’2″     23’3″       2nd Place Elite

22’2″     22’0″

Pro Finals:         23’9     23’7″       1st Place

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Lager

Big Air: (Handler: Jenny)

11’3″     13’10”

19’4″     19’5″        2nd Place Senior

20’2″     19’3″

Extreme Vertical: (Handler: Brian)

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6’0″                       5th Place Top Gun

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This event was loads of fun – and one we will never forget – as it was this event (only the SECOND National event Lager has attended) where Lager pushed his Big Air Average high enough to earn a Big Air World Championship invite in the Senior Division!  Way to go, Lager!

Lager’s Invitation to the DockDogs World Championship!

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Three months after returning from Iraq, two months after joining our family, and after competing in only 2 National events, Lager earned his invitation to the DockDogs World Championship for Senior Division Big Air!  Words cannot express how proud we are of this boy!

Lager Big Air Senior

Ocean County Decoy and Gunning Show, Hosted by Delmarva DockDogs, Tuckerton, NJ

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The Ocean County Decoy and Gunning Show is one of our favorite competitions to attend.  This event was the first DockDogs event in which Brian and Cello competed in 2013, when we met Annie, Matt, and Bailey from The Little GSP!  Not only is it very close to our home, but the GSP Rescue of NJ also sets up a table here – and they are one of just many REALLY cool vendors at this large festival.  We especially love that we can compete, and still volunteer the pups as donation dogs in between their jumps!  This was also an especially thrilling event, because Lager won First Place in Senior Division Big Air finals!  Another exciting part of this event, is that a friend and fellow GSP Rescue of NJ volunteer, Jen C. , as well as Jenny’s sister Dana, both jumped Cello… AND got medals!

LIMONCELLO:

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Big Air:

21’9″     22’3″

Finals:  22’5       22’2″        4th Place Elite

Extreme Vertical:

5’2″        3rd Place Cadet

Speed Retrieve:

7.972 seconds         5th Place Turbo

**FIRST PLACE WARRIOR IRON DOG! 

 

HOOCH:

Big Air:

23’3″     20’11”       2nd Place Elite

22’0″     21’9″

22’2″    22’5″

Finals:  22′ 7″   23’4″    Third Place Elite

 

LAGER:

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Big Air:

16′     19’0″          2nd Place Senior

18’6″     18’11”     2nd Place Senior

18’2″    18’6″       1st Place Senior

Finals:   19’8″     19’5″     1st Place Senior

Extreme Vertical:

5’10”     1st Place Cadet

We were extremely proud of all 3 of our pups! They earned several awesome ribbons and medals!

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The Liver Killers were pretty exhausted after performing so well, and slept in a Pointer Pile the whole way home! 

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Delmarva DockDogs Lets the Dogs Out: Elkton, MD

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With the hopes of getting Lager an invitation to the 2015 DockDogs World Championship held in November, we took a short day trip to Elkton, Maryland with Lager only, since Limoncello and Hooch had already earned invitations for multiple disciplines.

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Lager

Big Air (Jenny as the Handler):

18’6″     18’7″     2nd Place Senior

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Extreme Vertical (Brian as the Handler):

6’0″      5th Place Top Gun

Hebron Harvest Fair, Hebron, CT: Wild Card Event

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We chose to add this event to our list in order to try and secure a DockDogs World Championship invite for Lager.

 

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LIMONCELLO:

Big Air:

22’2″     21’5″                     1st Place Master

20’6″     21’4″                     2nd Place Master

20’9″     20’11”                  3rd Place Master

20’0″     20’4″                   1st Place Master

Finals:  18’11’     21’7″       2nd Place Pro

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Extreme Vertical:

Cello did not do Extreme Vertical at this event.

Speed Retrieve

8.190  First Place Express

 

HOOCH:

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Big Air:

20’11”     21’5″

22’5″     22’11”

20’9″     20’5″

Finals:  20’10”     20’11”     4th Place Pro

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Extreme Vertical:

6’2″                                    4th Place Top Gun

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LAGER:

Big Air:

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21’3″     20’0″

19’2″     18’9″                   Third Place Senior

17’11”     19’0″                  First Place Senior

16’0″     18’9″

13’3″     18’0″                  First Place Senior

 

Finals:  19’4″                  5th Place Semi Pro

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Extreme Vertical:

6’4″                                    3rd Place Top Gun !! Amazing!

 

Lager JUST missed getting an invite to the World Championships at this event – but we were so SO proud of him and his performance!

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Quest for the Belt, Hosted by Three Rivers DockDogs: Cabela’s, Triadelphia, WV

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Lager’s first official dock diving competition!

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In less than 2 weeks after Lager joined our pack, we were entering him in his very first official DockDogs competition! Three Rivers DockDogs hosted an event at Cabela’s in Triadelphia, West Virginia.

LIMONCELLO:

Big Air:

21’5″        21’2″

21’3″        22’2″

20’4″       20’7″

19’10”      20’9″

Extreme Vertical:

5’0″

Speed Retrieve:

8.489                          Second Place Express

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HOOCH:

Hooch was up on the dock when a gust of wind blew a banner off of the side of the pool, freaking him out completely .  It was a tough weekend, as Hooch had a difficult time gaining enough confidence on the dock to run and jump at his full speed.

Big Air:

22’7″     15’9″

21’2″     22’11”

13’0″     14’11”

23’0″     22’3″              Third Place Elite

22’5″     23’6″              First Place Elite

Extreme Vertical:

5’10’                              Second Place Cadet

LAGER:

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Big Air:

13′ 4″ and 13′ 11″       First Place Junior (with Brian)

15’7″ and 16’2″          (with Jenny)

16’9″ and 18’2″          Second Place Senior (with Jenny)

17’0″ and 17’5″          (with Jenny)

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Extreme Vertical:

This was Lager’s first attempt at EV.  Lager missed both times, but was very determined – we had no doubt that he will excel at this in the future!

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None of the pups made the finals at this event – first time all season!!  There were some HUGE jumping dogs here!  We had a great weekend camping with friends, and enjoyed watching Lager have a blast on the dock at his first official event!

Fox News Features Lager !

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Bill Rohrer from Fox News did a story on Lager!  It was nice to meet Bill – he was so nice, and made us feel very comfortable while filming the story at our home.  Brian and I had great fun doing this story, as Lager is a very special pup!

Click HERE for the link to the story, and the video of the news feature that was aired:

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The Liver Killers on 6 ABC News!

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The Liver Killers first time on the news! 

Nora Muchanic visited us at our home to do a story on the Liver Killers!

See the full story, plus a video of the news segment – click HERE!

Tuesday, September 01, 2015
MEDFORD LAKES, N.J. (WPVI) —

Most people just walk their dogs. But Jenny and Brian Beadling’s dogs go for a flying leap.

The German Short Haired Pointers (GSPs for short) are two of the top dock diving dogs in the country and also rated internationally.

Brian says, “They are fun, happy, energetic dogs who really love competing and playing. And they think of all of this as play, which is really exciting for us.”

And Jenny tells us, “They need extreme exercise and what you would think of as your exhaustion point is just their starting point.”

The dock at the Beadling’s Medford Lakes cabin has become a launching pad as these two pooches practice each day. In competition they are judged on how high, long and fast they can jump.

A room inside the Beadling’s house is filled with ribbons and medals.

Hooch is the number one ranked GSP in the country for “big air”; Cello is ranked number one for “iron dogs”, the canine equivalent of a triathlon.

Jenny says, “They can run for hours and hours and hours on end. And they will keep going, they’re working dogs. They will keep going until you shut them down.”

The newest member of the family is Lager, a former bomb sniffing dog for the U.S. government who served in Iraq.

Now Lager regular leaps into the lake with his new companions.

He is clearly adjusting to his new digs.

They are highly trained and these dogs may be world class dock divers, but if you ask me they look like they’re just having fun.

Brian explains, “The humans involved take the competition seriously. The dogs just enjoy being out with the owners, jumping in the water. To see them just have fun and love life it’s really fun for us as well.”

Jenny a special education teacher and Brian a mortgage banker, travel with the dogs to competitions several times a month. The cash prizes Hooch and Limoncello win are turned over to a GSP rescue group.

Jenny says, “The amount of work that goes into it and the enjoyment you see in the dog is the best.”

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