Jägermeister: 3 Years Seizure-Free

Dear Epilepsy,

You may be a part of our boy, but you surely don’t define him. This boy kicked you to the curb, earning titles and excelling in obedience, trick training and dock diving.

Jäger is proving to the world that dogs with Epilepsy not only can can have a good quality life, but can also beat you at your game and 𝔽𝕃𝕆𝕌ℝ𝕀𝕊ℍ. You are 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 for our boy’s resilience.

Our efforts: Relentless.

Our faith and hope: Endless.

We won’t give up. We won’t give in…𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑹.

We are beyond grateful to be able to celebrate this important day with our boy, and fully understand that there are dogs and families who are less fortunate. We will continue to fight each and every day for the warriors of the past and present in hopes that one day all dogs can live seizure-free.

Rocky; GSP Rescue of NJ

Windy Spot Cabin had a temporary guest from September 15 to September 17, 2022… Rocky, an owner surrender. Rocky was given up by his family because they could not provide him with the proper amount of exercise to keep him happy. He is also a very large boy and was too strong for the owner.

Rocky is a small pony… lol… very tall and almost 70 lbs at just 10 months old!

Traditional foster weigh-in:

During his stay with us he enjoyed swimming in the lake and jumping off the dock!

Best of luck to you in your new life Rocky!

Jägermeister: 2 Years Seizure-Free



Jägermeister is TWO years seizure-free as of 8/25/2022! August 25, 2020 was the last grand Mal seizure Jägermeister endured. After a small tweak in his meds, the seizures have not returned! We are so very lucky to have such a wonderful medical team to guide our epilepsy warrior through his journey!

Dog Days of Summer Wild Card Double Header: North Ridgeville, Ohio

Such an emotional weekend with so SO much to be thankful for. Although many tears were shed as we spent the weekend at the same facility that we competed at when we lost our Sweet Reet, we shared just as many if not more laughs and celebrations with our dock dogs family. This community is truly amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with everyone. Congratulations and great job to all competitors who participated throughout this weekend… and a HUGE thank you to Christine at Canine Superheroes as well as dockdogs staff Linda, Sean, and Joe for a safe, fun, and well-run event …we very much appreciate all of your hard work!

Limoncello

Cello looked pretty as usual as she paddled through the air and jumped exceptionally well despite limited dock time (doctor’s orders due to her decline in heart health and some arthritis).

  • Big Air:
    • 14’7″
    • 15’4″

Hooch

Hooch has steadily been jumping in the 21-22 feet range for quite some time now, but busted out a 23’8” jump this weekend, and earned several 1st place medals for his Big Air jumps.

  • Big Air:
    • 23’8″ 2nd Place Master Division
    • 22’11” 1st Place Master Division
    • 22’3″ 1st Place Master Division
    • 22’2″ 2nd Place Master Division
    • 22’7″ 1st Place Master Division
  • Speet Retrieve:
    • 7.795 seconds
    • 6.997 seconds

Lager

Lager did well in Big Air and took first place in Speed Retrieve Round 1 (Turbo Division). He also thoroughly enjoyed competing in Dueling Dogs.

  • Big Air:
    • 18’1″
    • 18’10”
    • 18’5″
  • Speed Retrieve:
    • 7.054 seconds 1st Place Turbo Division
Lager competing in Dueling Dogs (Lager is on the right)

Whiskey

Wish the Fish took 59.999 seconds out of the allotted 60 seconds…but jumped 4 out of the 6 times she was on the dock, and of course entertained the crowd with her dock antics (multiple times she decided zoomies on the dock was much more fun than jumping in the pool)!

  • Big Air:
    • 7’6″
    • 6’7″ 1st Place Novice Division
    • 6’9″ 2nd Place Novice Division
    • 7’5″ 1st Place Novice Division

Porter

PoPo was thrilled to play with a puppy and 2 adorable children two days in a row and did a great job of glomming attention and pets from everyone he could. He even took a nap with Justin from team Malinois Mania DockDiving! As a token of his gratitude, he left each visitor with enough Po hair on clothing to make their own take-home mini Porter souvenir.

Jägermeister

Jäger did well in competition, and took first place in Speed Retrieve Round 2 (Turbo Division). He quickly made himself well-known with the crowd as he decided that he enjoyed staying IN the pool was way more fun than getting out.

  • Big Air:
    • 18’9″ 3rd Place Senior Division
    • 20’7″
    • 19’5″ 2nd Place Senior Division
  • Speed Retrieve:
    • 7.823 seconds
    • 7.002 1st Place Turbo Division
  • Extreme Vertical:
    • 4’6″
  • Iron Dog:
    • 2739.21 points 5th Place Warrior Division

Martini

Tini did WONDERFULLY- she was confident in her crate under our team canopy, welcomed visitors sitting outside of her crate, and also accepted treats from new people. Special thanks to the kind, amazing (and very patient) people who sat on the ground next to her crate and helped our Tini Beanie tremendously.

Liver Killer Bling

Remembering Reet

The number of people Margarita touched in her short time with us continues to amaze us. Rita’s passing was a devastating loss and the tributes to her as well as the support we continue to receive is beyond appreciated and will never be forgotten. Thank you to all of you at Canine Superheroes this weekend.

Team Malinois Mania had a special collar made for their pup, Scout to wear in honor of Sweet Reet!

All competitors at the event tossed a lei in the competition pool in honor of Margarita as the song “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John played over the event speakers.

Lucky Dog 5K

This year for St. Patrick’s Day , Jägermeister and I got into the Irish spirit and hit the pavement! We participated in the Lucky Dog Virtual 5K, which supported some amazing animal shelters! We chose our donation to go to Pets with Disabilities Rescue, based out of Prince Frederick, MD. 

It was nice to get outside and out of the house after a much needed break from the cold/rain/snow…but it was quite an eye-opener that Jäger and I have much work to do together as a team.  Spring is definitely in the air… Loose-leash walking and commands such as “heal” escaped Jäger’s mind once we got started and the sights/sounds/smells became way more exciting to him! Although we didn’t have the smoothest team effort, or the fastest time, it was great to be back in 5K mode! We walked the miles for this one around our home town. 

Jack’s Firehouse, Philadelphia, PA

Located in the Fairmount Neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA, and set in a 19th century firehouse, Jack’s Firehouse is definitely worth a visit!  Jack’s Firehouse is located directly across from Eastern State Penitentiary on Fairmount Avenue.

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Margarita

Even though we sat at the dog-friendly outdoor seating area, Brian and I each took a moment to explore the inside of this unique establishment. Most of the original mahogany interior, wooden plank flooring, and yes, even the brass fire pole are still intact!  There is also a racing shell suspended over top the bar.

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What great history this place has! The fire company that originally occupied Jack’s was Truck A, now referred to as Ladder Company 1 and located on Parish Street in Philadelphia. Truck A was the first paid Philadelphia Fire Department in 1871.

We enjoyed a glass of wine and ordered the Calamari with Hot Pepper Chips, Carrots, and Hot Lava – and it was absolutely amazing! We enjoyed being able to take in the historic, yet sometimes eerie views of Eastern State Penitentiary.

Cello visited here on April 27, 2014.

Margarita visited here on August 19, 2019.

Urban Saloon, Philadelphia, PA

Located in the Fairmount Neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA on Fairmount Avenue, Urban Saloon has outdoor seating, is dog-friendly (they even bring our a bowl of water for your pup!) and is situated directly across from Eastern State Penitentiary.

Margarita visited here in 2019

Margarita

Cello was here on April 27, 2014!

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Limoncello
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Limoncello

“Not a worry in the world, a PBR on the way – Life is good today. Life is good today.” ~ Zac Brown Band

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It was exciting, yet eerie to enjoy a glass of wine at their outdoor seating area while gazing at the historic Eastern State Penitentiary.

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Scooby

Scooby is a 9-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer.

His owner contacted GSP Rescue of NJ because he wanted to surrender him.  Scooby’s owner no longer could dedicate the proper time to him after he and his wife had a child.

Brian visited Scooby at his home and did the initial evaluation for the rescue.  Brian also drove back to the home to pick up Scooby to take him to the vet so that Scooby could get neutered and receive necessary shots and veterinary care before he could join the rescue.

Brian and I then went to the vet to pick Scooby up after he was ready to be discharged.  Here he is leaving the vet office.

Scooby is as sweet as can be! We got to spend some time with him at the vet while we were waiting for his discharge papers.

Brian drove the first let of Scooby’s transport.  I couldn’t go since the drive-time would be longer than we are comfortable leaving our dogs without a potty break.  I was glad I got to meet Scooby and wish him well in his new adventures!

Brian left to drive Scooby up to North Jersey, where another GSP Rescue of NJ volunteer would do the second leg of his transport.

Brian said Scooby was a great passenger!

Scooby was handed off to our fellow rescue friend, Michele, who drove him into NYC so he could meet his Foster Mom!

Here is Scooby meeting his foster mom in The Big Apple!

Welcome to the start of your new life, Scooby!

Maxeen: GSP Rescue of NJ Foster

On Friday night, October 26, 2018, Brian and I were on our way out the door to go to dinner when we got a call about someone in our area who wanted to surrender their German Shorthaired Pointer, and wanted the dog out of the home as soon as possible.  GSP Rescue of NJ had a foster family who quickly stepped up to foster, so all we needed to do was pick up the dog and have her as our guest for the weekend until the foster family could pick her up.

We contacted the owner, and postponed our dinner plans.

We met Maxeen in the owners home.  Her owner told us that Maxeen is 15 months old, and was purchased as a hunting dog.  Maxeen did not have any interest in hunting, and spent a lot of time in her crate.  Since her owner was avid hunter, and knew he could not give Maxeen the time she needed, he thought it was best to re-home her.  After proper paperwork was filled out, we brought Maxeen back home with us.

 We weighed her in on the antique scale, as we do with all of our fosters…

Maxeen was amazing.  Super affectionate, crate trained, house trained, and very eager to please!

Maxeen went with her foster family on Sunday.  In a few days, that family decided they were interested in adopting her.  Before the adoption was official, however, Maxeen and the foster family’s resident dog had a few issues with getting along.  It was determined that Maxeen was not a good fit for the foster family to adopt – and in everyone’s best interest, it was determined that the ideal situation was to find Maxeen another foster. Rather than have Maxeen go through another adjustment getting used to another family, we decided to take Maxeen back to our house until she found a forever home.

On November 27th, we picked Maxeen up again to take her in as our longer-term foster.

Maxeen is smart, full of energy, and willing to please!

GSP Rescue of NJ had many approved applicants waiting to add a fur-kid to their family.  However, that list was greatly narrowed down knowing that Maxeen was best fit to be an only-dog.

When we spoke to the family we thought was the best match for Maxeen, we knew immediately that they’d love her like we would!  They drove 3 hours to come meet her on December 8, 2018 , and as soon as they came through the door, Maxeen greeted them both with lots of kisses.

We all knew immediately that Maxeen’s forever family had been found, and Maxeen’s Christmas wish had come true!  Her family took her home with them that day.

Merry Christmas, Maxeen and family!

 

Keystone DockDogs at SteelStacks: Bethlehem, PA

SteelStacks is one of our favorite venues for dock diving – and Keystone DockDogs is one of the best hosts!

We were able to camp right in the parking lot at SteelStacks too!

Limoncello:

This was a very “off” event for Cello.  She was definitely not herself, and it showed through in her performance.  We wound up scratching her from some of her jumps until we could get her seen by a vet to be sure she was OK.

Picture Credit: Pics By Kim

Big Air:

20’9″

19’7″

19’1″

 

Extreme Vertical:

4’10”

Speed Retrieve:

9.208 seconds

 

Hooch:

Photo Credit: Becca Conner

Big Air:

23’3″            1st Place Elite

23’6″            1st Place Elite

23’2″            2nd Place Elite

Photo Credit: Pics By Kim

Lager:

Big Air (with Jenny)

19’2″

18’0″

Photo credit: Pics By Kim

Big Air (with Brian)

18’0″           3rd Place Senior

20’0″

Photo credit: Pics By Kim

Extreme Vertical (with Jenny)

5’8″            1st Place Cadet

Pic Credit: Becca Conner

 

Margarita:

Margarita enjoyed her time chewing on treats, playing with toys, getting attention from fellow competitors, and hanging out with an adorable Bernese Mountain Dog puppy!

Liver Killer Bling: Gift bag full of goodies, medals, and ribbons!

If you are in the area and can stop at SteelStacks, it’s worth the trip – the stacks are amazing to see in person, and they host some pretty cool events and great concerts!

Delmarva DockDogs Unleashed at Pooch Palooza; Berlin, MD

During the weekend of April 22-23, The Liver Killers attended one of our favorite competitions held annually at Frontier Town Campground.

We absolutely love this campground – and the dogs LOVE the waterfront campsite !

Here are the dock diving results from this event:

Limoncello

Big Air:  

19’6″

19’9″

19’9″

Extreme Vertical:    4’10”

Speed Retrieve:    8.418 seconds

Iron Dog:     2678.44 points (3rd Place Warrior Division)

Hooch

Big Air:

24’4″

Finals:   23’2″ (First Place)

 

Extreme Vertical:   6’0″

Lager

Big Air:

19’0″

19’4″

 

Extreme Vertical:    5’8″  (2nd Place)

Margarita:

Margarita enjoyed competing in a Pie Eating Contest, where she earned herself a 6th Place ribbon!

Rita also enjoyed Lure Coursing… but perhaps enjoyed the horses around the Lure Coursing field more so than the Lure Coursing itself, as she ignored the lure, and bolted off to the fence-line to see the horses!  🙁

 

Barn Hunt at Tail Wagging Events

Rita and Limoncello have both earned their Rat I title (Instinct level), and both have one qualifying run for their Rat N title (Novice level).

We attended a barn hunt at Tail Wagging Events to see if we could both secure at least another qualifying run in the Novice level.

Unfortunately, neither team was able to do so, but we once again had a great time with our pups!

Lager Honored on The Calais School’s Wall of Stars

The students at The Calais School have created a “Wall of Stars,” honoring Veterans and current Military members. One of the students made a star very special to our hearts… Lager (War Zone name, Nayt).

A fellow GSP Rescue of NJ volunteer and friend, and GSP Rescue of NJ alumni, Sage the GSP, told one of the school’s students about Lager. Thank you to this student who chose to honor Lager, and created this star so perfectly!

We are grateful to have Lager be a part of the Wall of Stars at The Calais School, and we will forever cherish this!

Margarita and Mr. Spock Get Engaged at the Old Oar House, Millville, NJ

Each Thursday during June through October, The Old Oar House Irish Pub hosts a “Doggie Date Night, ” where dogs are welcomed to join you as you dine in their outdoor seating area.  A portion of the proceeds from your food bill goes to the Cumberland County SPCA. This particular Doggie Date Night was a very special (and rainy!) one… Margarita and her heart-throb and fellow English Pointer, Mr. Spock, helped out the Cumberland County SPCA, and got engaged!

Margarita got Mr. Spock some special engagement gifts!

 

And Mr. Spock had a good friend make Margarita the most perfect and beautiful engagement necklace!

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There were lots of party decorations and favors!

 All our 4-legged friends go dressed up for the PAWty!

file-jan-02-1-47-23-pmAnd lots of people and pups came to the PAWty even though it was raining – I bet you they came for this yummy homemade cake!

 

We’re Engaged!

Margarita showing off her new necklace:

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The happy couple enjoying some of their engagement cake together:

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What a fun night with good food, friends and pups! Best of all, we were able to help out the Cumberland County SPCA!

 

Barn Hunt Trial: Pawsable K-9 Events, Millstone Township, NJ

Our second Barn Hunt Association trial was held at Pawsable K-9 Events.

Both Limoncello and Margarita did very well this weekend!  Both gals ran 2 Novice runs, and both secured one qualifying Novice score toward their Novice title. The Novice level requires the dogs to find the tube containing the rat, complete a tunnel, and have all-fours up on a hay bale (in no particular order) within two minutes.  Cello and Rita will need two more qualifying scores to earn their Novice title.

Margarita

Instinct Run: Qualified! 13.53 seconds (new Personal Best!)

*For those of you wondering why we participated at the Instinct level when Rita is already titled at this level, you are allowed to still do an Instinct run to get your pup warmed up as long as the dog has not titled in Novice.

Novice Run 1: Qualified!  1:44.71 seconds

Novice Run 2:  Rita completed the tunnel, and before she could attempt the hay bale climb, Jenny jumped-the-gun and called the wrong

                               location of the rat.

Rita’s First Qualifying Novice Score Ribbon!

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Limoncello

Instinct Run: Brian called the wrong location of the rat.

*For those of you wondering why we participated at the Instinct level when Cello is already titled at this level, you are allowed to still do an Instinct run to get your pup warmed up as long as the dog has not titled in Novice.

Novice Run 1: Qualified!  1:50.82 seconds 

Novice Run 2:  Cello executed the tunnel and the hay bale climb, but Brian called the wrong location of the rat.

Brian and Cello in Novice Run 2:

Cello’s First Qualifying Novice Score Ribbon!

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Overall, we had a fun day, and enjoyed Barn Hunt with our two little gals!

 

Barn Hunt Trial: Tail Waggin’ Events, Robbinsville, NJ

We attended our first official Barn Hunt trial at Tail Waggin’ Events !  If you are unsure of what Barn Hunt is, click HERE to read all about it!

Saturday:

Margarita had shown great interest in this sport up until the extreme heat wave set in.  She does not do well in the heat, and we are unsure if the extreme temperature is the cause, but she seems to have lost interest in Barn Hunt.  We had been practicing for a couple of weeks – both at barn facilities, and at home. Rita had been actively finding the rat and enthusiastically signaling the location, and had learned “up!” as the command to jump up on to a hay bale, and “tunnel!” as the command to go through the hay bale tunnel.  She was executing all those elements over the past couple of weeks, but appeared uninterested at the trial. We will continue to bring her to practices, as well as sign her up for trials through the Fall and next Spring to see if the cooler weather helps spark her interest again.  Despite her nonchalant attitude, and her Mama’s lack of skills in reading when Rita picked up the rat scent, Rita did pretty well, earning her Instinct Title!

Instinct Test: PASS! Time: 49 seconds

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Rita’s Instinct qualifying ribbon

Novice Class: Timed out

Rita pretty much shut down in the heat of the day, and wasn’t very cooperative in the barn ring.  She did give indication that she found the rat (which I missed completely…something I definitely have to improve upon if we continue to participate in this sport!)  and would not complete the hay bale climb or tunnel.

Rita is now Instinct titled in Barn Hunt!

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Sunday:

We decided to make Sunday a “Girls’ Day,” and bring Limoncello along to participate in Barn Hunt!

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Margarita

Margarita showed NO interest again today!

Novice Class: Disqualified!

Margarita again would not execute the hay bale climb or the tunnel in her Sunday Novice run.  She did find the rat (and Jenny was able to identify Rita’s barely-there-signal!), however, Rita then immediately peed in the barn (oops!), which according to Barn Hunt rules is a disqualification.

Limoncello

Cello had never even practiced before today, yet passed her Instinct test in just a few seconds, and did really well in her Novice run!

Instinct Test: PASS! Time: 17 seconds

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Limoncello’s Instinct qualifying ribbon

Novice Class: Fail: Brian called incorrect location of rat

Limoncello completing the hay bale climb and tunnel requirements:

Limoncello hunting for the rat:

Overall, it was a very fun day learning more about Barn Hunt, and how to read Rita and Cello’s instinctive hunting behaviors!

2nd Annual Bark in the Park at Bay Creek, Cape Charles, VA

This is our 2nd year attending this event, (Click HERE to see last year’s event!) and we plan to be back again next year.

What an awesome event in a beautiful setting!

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LIMONCELLO

BIG AIR:    

21’3″     2nd Place Master Division

21’6″     1st Place Master Division

Big AIR SEMI PRO FINALS:      20’10”     2nd Place Semi Pro Division

EXTREME VERTICAL:     5’6″     2nd Place Cadet Division

SPEED RETRIEVE:     8.903 seconds

IRON DOG:     2727.38 points     1st Place Warrior Division

HOOCH

BIG AIR:

22’9″

23’0″     1st Place Elite Division

21’4″

BIG AIR PRO DIVISION FINALS:     23’7″     2nd Place Pro Division

EXTREME VERTICAL:     6’0″

LAGER

After competing for the weekend, Lager took his first walk on the beach,  and swam in salt water for the first time in the Chesapeake Bay!

BIG AIR:

18’0″

18’11”     3rd Place Senior Division

17’11”     3rd Place Senior Division

16’9″     2nd Place Senior Division

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EXTREME VERTICAL:     6’0″

MARGARITA

In between cheering for her brothers and sister, Rita enjoyed her first walk on the beach, and her first swim in salt water (The Chesapeake Bay).  She also enjoyed a doggie ice cream treat to help beat the extreme heat!

 Liver Killer Bling from Bay Creek:

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PV Pet Palooza, Pennsville, NJ

PV Pets hosted Pet Palooza this year. For this event we did not have to camp, as it was only about an hour away from our home!

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Limoncello:

Big Air:      20’10”     2nd Place Master Division

Big Air Semi-Pro Division Finals:  20’9″     1st Place

Extreme Vertical:     5’0″     2nd Place Cadet

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Photo Credit: Becca Connor

Speed Retrieve:     7.788 seconds

Iron Dog:       2764.16 points     1st Place Iron Dog Warrior

Hooch:

Big Air:

21’9″

22’5″

Big Air Pro Division Finals:     23’2″     1st Place

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Photo Credit: Becca Connor

Lager:

Big Air:

18’6″

17’4″

18’1″     2nd Place Senior Division

17’10”     1st Place Senior Division

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Photo Credit: KJ Photography

Margarita:

Margarita helped us sell these Patriotic bandanas made by our fellow rescue friends, Jen and Grace.  All proceeds go to the United States War Dogs Association!

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Pets in the Park at Glasgow Park, Glasgow, DE

This event was full of great vendors, and held in beautiful Glasgow Park.

This event was a Friday/Saturday event, so we only were able to compete on Saturday.

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Limoncello:

50_KPT0310-Edit_©Ken Tidy 2016

Speed Retrieve:     7.371 seconds

Hooch:

Big Air:

22’10”

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Big Air Pro Division Finals:      22’0″     2nd Place

 

Lager:

Big Air:

16’1″

15’9″

Big Air Contender Division Finals:     16’7″     4th Place

50_KPT9598-Edit_©Ken Tidy 2016

Margarita:

Margarita’s English Pointer boyfriend, Mr. Spock came to visit and spend the day with her!  Rita was super excited – she loves Spock!

Rita also helped collect (TONS) of donations for the Voorhees Animal Orphanage and the United States War Dogs Association.

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SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA: Hosted by Keystone DockDogs

One word for this event ~ WOW!

This event on the first weekend of June was one of the coolest settings and backdrops we have had for a competition!  We even got to camp right at the event!

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Click HERE to read about SteelStacks !

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Limoncello:

Big Air:

22’2″

21’5″

Big Air Elite Division Finals:          22’10”   3rd Place

Extreme Vertical:         5’6″  1st Place Cadet Division

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Speed Retrieve:  8.920 seconds

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Hooch:

Hooch had fractured his paw a few weeks back, and he had JUST been cleared to try one jump per day at this event.  Apparently we need to restrict his activity before all events, as he earned himself a new personal best Big Air score this weekend!

Big Air:

24’11”       First Place Elite Division and **New Personal Best!

Video of Hooch jumping 24’11’:

Big Air Elite Division Finals:      24’8″     First Place

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Lager:

Big Air:

19’6″     1st Place Senior Division

18’6″     3rd Place Senior Division

16’5″

Big Air Senior Division Finals:  19’2″     3rd Place

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Extreme Vertical:  6’2″

Margarita:

Rita enjoyed the crowd and as always, received lots of attention and love from everyone!

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Liver Killer bling:

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K-9 Magazine Features the Liver Killers!

See the online feature by clicking HERE!

Meet Three Dogs Sitting on the Dock of a Lake (& They Want You to Join Them!)

By  on May 13, 2016

‘Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.’ This quote by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. most accurately describes how our pack, bred to carry out specific tasks, found a path to a quite different kind of ‘job’, says dog owner Jenny Beadling, as she explains how alongside her husband Brian, their new home led them to find an unexpected path to follow into the dog world.

I wish I could say that Brian and I are credited with finding such a rewarding, bond-building sport, for our dock diving dogs, but all the acknowledgement belongs to Cello.

Let me start at the beginning.

When my husband, Brian, and I bought our dream home in Medford Lakes, New Jersey, we had no idea how much it would change our lives. Our dream home is a log cabin on a lake…only it didn’t quite ‘look’ like a log cabin – and, it wasn’t quite in ‘dream-home’ state when we bought it.

Our goal was to restore this historic log cabin to its original state and to fill it with decorations and mementos of the great town we live in, as well as items that would be relevant to the cabin and its history. Brian works in the mortgage industry, and was able to research back to the original deed of our home. He found out that the log home was built in 1927, and also discovered the name of the original owner. Out of curiosity, Brian Google-searched the man’s name. Low and behold, he came up in the search!

The search result that came up was linked to the English Setters Club, a local and nationally known club that conducts field trials that are open to all pointing breeds.  The original owner of our home owned a German Shorthaired Pointer, named ‘Windy Spot’, who won many awards at the club for field trials. I called the club to see if I could get more information on this dog and his owner, or a picture of them that we could hang in our cabin.

When the man from the club called me back, and I explained my story, the other end of the phone fell silent. When I asked if he was ‘still there,’ he asked me to repeat where I lived – what street, house, and so on. It turned out that the man I was speaking to was a direct family member of the man who built our log cabin back in 1927, needless to say, it was quite an interesting conversation!

Brian and I knew immediately that we needed to research German Shorthaired Pointers and we fell in love with the breed and all of their characteristics. We knew a GSP would be the perfect addition to our lifestyle, our family, and our lake home and we named our log cabin ‘Windy Spot,’ after the first dog that ever lived in our home.

In 2011 on Memorial Day, we met Limoncello, our now 5 year old GSP. Why ‘Cello’? Cello’s full name is ‘Tommy D’s Limoncello.’

Tommy D was my Italian grandfather, who was quite the character, to say the least and was famous among his family and friends for his homemade Limoncello, with his secret recipe. Before he passed, ‘Pop Pop Tommy,’ revealed his secret recipe to the family and Brian, as well as other family members, have been carried on the tradition of making homemade Limoncello ever since. When we saw Cello had yellow ‘bird dog’ eyes, we couldn’t think of a better name.

We found out rather quickly that Cello was gun-shy, not a usual characteristic of the breed. We knew GSPs need a ‘job’ to be content, but we were at a loss as to what job that would be since we knew that GSPs were bred to hunt birds. Brian found that Cello had a very strong toy drive, and began to incorporate games of fetch by throwing a tennis ball into our lake. Before we knew it, without any ball being launched, Cello began ‘flying’ off our dock over and over again, on her own. Neighbours began to notice and comment on how far she was jumping.

We happened to see an ad for a local dog festival that included dock diving. Knowing nothing about this sport, we were hesitant but decided to sign up anyway. We entered Cello in the contest, and she came in 2nd Place! Brian was hooked, and Cello found her ‘job’!

As we signed Cello up for more contests, she quickly became a crowd favourite, and continued to soar her way into Finals, placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in every event. Cello was the number one ranked GSP in Warrior Iron Dog table in the world, and earned herself an invitation to the World Championship in each of the 5 possible disciplines!

I very much enjoyed traveling to events, taking pictures and video of Brian and Cello, and cheering them on.

However, I wanted to get more involved, which led us to add a second GSP, ‘Hooch,’ to our family in July of 2014. We came to find out that like his big sister, Hooch, too, was gun shy and at first, water-shy!

Hooch participated in his first official DockDogs competition in January 2015. Despite the fact that our goal was to get Hooch to run and jump his longest into the pool, he won the crowd over with his hesitation on the dock. He quickly became a crowd favourite as he hung over the edge of the dock ‘teetering’ back and forth, deciding if he should jump… or not! The crowd loved the anticipation!

 

Hooch began to decide to jump more times than not, but would come to the edge of the dock, look around at the crowd cheering ‘HOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH!’ and at the last minute, pop into the pool, as if he had springs attached to his back paws. The crowds went wild, as his ‘pop’ had amazing height! Even though this pop only got him to about 6-8 feet into the pool, he quickly became well-known for his ‘Hoochie Hop.’

With each competition, Hooch increased his distance, earning a spot in finals, and placing in the top 3 of his division, all while keeping the crowd entertained. In just a short 6 months, he stopped his hesitation on the dock, and soared to an amazing 24’2′ in Big Air, stunning the spectators who once knew him as the dog who branded the ‘Hoochie Hop.’

Hooch now holds a prestigious National Elite Big Air title and has begun participating in Extreme Vertical competition, and has a personal best grab of 6’2.’ Hooch remains a fan-favourite, and receives some of the biggest cheers from the crowd with his signature springboard ‘pop,’ and his ability to ‘fly’ through the air.

Hooch earned himself an invitation to the World Championships in both Extreme Vertical and Big Air. He made finals in both and placed within the top 6 dogs in the world in his division. Hooch and I even won the 2015 DockDogs ‘Most Improved Team’ award! Hooch also was ranked the number one GSP in the United States for Big Air.

Hooch has become the talk of ‘Dog Town,’ as spectators and fellow competitors alike have said he is the dog to watch in 2016.

With Cello and Hooch in tow, we were not planning on having more than two dogs, however, in late August of 2015, we received a call about a retired Explosives Detection Canine who needed a home.

The reason we were sought out as a possible candidate for Lager (known then by his war zone name, Nayt) was because Lager decided that after serving his country for 18 months in Iraq, that he would much rather jump in the water. Upon his arrival back in the United States, Lager began to show distraction during training and would often dive into water, refusing to come out.

A search began to find a home that would have access to water, have knowledge of the GSP breed, and get Lager involved in dock diving…and we were the perfect match!

Lager began his dock diving career in August, just a week after joining our family, and was immediately a crowd favourite, receiving a standing ovation while he is on the dock, due to his service for our country.

Lager has also been involved in leading the spectators through the National Anthem at events. Within two months and just 2 National events, Lager soared to 20’3′ in Big Air, and a grabbed the bumper at a whopping 6’4′ in Extreme Vertical earning his invitation to the World Championship for Big Air, and placing within the top 6 dogs of the world within his division! We cannot wait to see what 2016 brings for him.

We enjoyed this sport and the joy it has brought our dogs so much, that we wanted to find a way to make dock diving a part of helping other less fortunate dogs and so to give something back, we donate all cash prizes won at their competitions to the German Shorthair Rescue of New Jersey, and all food, treats and toy prizes are donated to a local no-kill shelter.

We are fortunate to live on a lake, where all three pups swim daily and practice for competitions where our lakeside yard has officially ‘gone to the dogs’.

We have installed a 40-foot turf runway and an Extreme Vertical rig so that all of our dogs can practice their Big Air jumps, and Extreme Vertical grabs. Our trio’s exercise regimen also includes strength and stability training, cardio, agility, hiking, swimming, treadmill, and running hills.

We never imagined being involved in a sport with our dogs but now we can’t imagine life without dock diving and its rewards.
Dock diving has brought much joy to all members of our pack.

This sport not only became the ‘job’ our dogs needed, it has also helped make a strong bond between two and four-legged family members even stronger. It has prompted us to increase our dogs’ exercise and training even outside the sport.

We have travelled to and competed in over 10 states, and have encountered some of the coolest dogs, and nicest people we ever met.

Through our travels, and the dogs social media accounts, they have been recognised and approached in public by their followers up and down the East Coast. Their social media accounts have also promoted enquiries about the sport of dock diving and have motivated over 30 people and their dogs last year to join in on this fun activity.

Dock Diving may not be what our German Shorthaired Pointers were ‘meant’ to do, but they didn’t let that stop them from following their hearts, and beating the odds…all while helping less fortunate dogs, and inspiring others to try this amazing sport.

About the Author

Thinking about trying Dock Diving with your pup, but have more questions and want more information?

Visit our website at celloscorner.com where you will find more details and information on the sport.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us through our social media accounts on Facebook @CellosCorner – Twitter @CellosCorner – Instagram@celloscorner or Flicker.com.

Hope to see you on the dock!

In the News… Lager!

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!

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

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.

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New Jersey Vietnam War Dog Memorial; K9 Veterans Day

March 13 is K9 Veterans’ Day. Today, on National K9 Veterans’ Day , we remember and honor all military and working dogs, both past and present. We would like to thank all the courageous K9 soldiers for their service, and the sacrifices they have made for our nation. We are honored to have a K9 veteran as a family member, and thank SOC for blessing us with Lager (war zone name, Nayt) as a family member. Lager served 18 months in Iraq as an Explosives Detection Canine. In honor of Lager’s service, and all K9 veteran heroes, we took him to visit and pay our respects to the War Dog Memorial, located in Holmdel, NJ, guarding the gateway of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial . If you know a K9 veteran, be sure to shake their paw and thank them today!

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Bear Claws Are Yummy

…Well at least to Lager they are…

We aren’t talking these kind of Bear Claws:

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Or these kind of bear paws:

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Nope…we are talking about THIS kind of bear’s claws:

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When friends moved and gave us their bear skin rug, I made my Mommy’s day off quite an adventure. My curiosity of the second floor of our cabin lead me to stumble upon the bear skin rug hanging over the balcony railing.

Why have I not noticed this big toy before? Did they hang it there just for me!? They must have! When I took a closer look, I discovered that the bear’s claws looked tasty  – and boy, was I right! They were very yummy snacks!! I ingested 2 before my mom caught me, and boy was she upset. The claws are as long as her finger!!

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Mommy was in a panic and called my doctor.  We had to drive through the snow storm to the vet so they could X-ray me in case I swallowed the claws whole.

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Dr. Campbell and her nice staff fed me hotdogs and cheese (more yummy nibbles!) while they did my X-rays. They couldn’t really see any bear claws in my belly on the X-ray, so I got to eat even more yummy treats of high-fiber bread while Mommy got to watch me really closely the rest of the night…and each time I did potty, my dad got to search through it. They didn’t look excited about this …so I told them not to worry, because I searched a lot of things when I was in Iraq, and it’s really fun and exciting… And if you find what you were told to look for you get rewarded! Boy, I hope my mom and dad got a good reward after their searches out in our yard!

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Dad was the best searcher, and found one of the bear claws.  We never found the other, so I’m assuming the humans “overlooked” it.

My humans made me promise not to eat bear claws ever again. (They’re no fun).

 ~❤Lager

Tidewater DockDogs End-of-Season Banquet

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.

Lager Begins Nose Work Class

We thought it may be a good idea to continue to give Lager’s nose a work out.  We signed him up for K9 Nose Work Class at Wonder Dogs, which is where we had taken both Cello and Hooch for their puppy training.  Lager LOVED it, and although he was being taught to identify a completely new scent, he picked right up on this game, and is having a blast!

Blizzard of 2016: Lager’s First Snow!

The humans in our pack are not fans of snow, but the fur-kids LOVE it!  We knew Cello and Hooch loved snow from last year’s winter, but we were not sure how Lager would react. Without much surprise, Lager was excited as ever, and thoroughly enjoyed playing in the snow, and catching snowballs!

Here are some pictures and video of the Liver Killers enjoying the Blizzard of 2016 :

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Brian having a snow ball catch with the pups:

Cello showing the boys how it’s done:

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Hooch making the catch:

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Lager eyeing up the catch:Fullscreen capture 322016 80945 PM.bmp

Lager over shooting the throw!Fullscreen capture 322016 80646 PM.bmp

The pups had a blast in the snow, and although shoveling wasn’t so fun, Brian and I enjoyed watching Cello, Hooch, and Lager enjoy themselves!

Is it summer YET!?!??! 🙂

New Year’s Eve 2015: Lager’s First NYE!

Brian and I got engaged  the day before New Years Eve, so we used to always make a big party out of the holiday, whether it was hosing a big bash at our home, or attending a big gala or celebration… until we got Limoncello.  Cello is gun shy… and shy of ANY loud noises – fire place crackling, fireworks, etc.  So ever since we discovered that she was fearful of fireworks, we decided to make New Years Eve a family night at home, so that we could be there to comfort her.  Once neighbors start to set off fireworks, Cello pretty much spends her night huddled in with her Papa.

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We do try to make it a fun night before the “scary noises” begin, and of course, always have some NYE bling to dress the pups in!

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Happy New Year from our pack to yours!

Christmas 2015: Lager’s First!

Lager’s first Christmas was an exciting one!

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Santa even visited Lager at our cabin!

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The pack had a blast! This year, to celebrate our pups making it to the World Championship, we decorated our Christmas tree with the dogs’ ribbons and medals from special events throughout the 2015 season.  

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…And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care..

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The Liver Killers must have been really good this year, because Santa Paws left lots of toys!unnamed (4)

Oh what fun the dogs had on Christmas morning!!

Merry Christmas from The Liver Killers!

Chesapeake DockDogs End of Season Banquet

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!

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

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

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)

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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!

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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.

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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

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)

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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!

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