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Hooch Has His Own Greeting Card!

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You may remember that when Hooch was a puppy, he won a contest to have his own greeting card.  Well, the greeting card is in print, and it will be ready for purchase after December 26, 2016!

Here is the original photo I took of Hooch in September of 2014.  Hooch was 4 months old in this photo, and was still afraid to go in the lake.  This sad little puppy face was laying on the dock at our house watching his big sis, Limoncello have fun diving and swimming!

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Front of greeting card:

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Wagging Tail Portraits has their Wet Nose Greetings in over 90 stores so far, including 10 Whole Foods Markets in the Mid-Atlantic area!

Each year, Wagging Tail Portraits donates a portion of their proceeds to animal rescue groups!

Check out their website for many unique gift ideas featuring YOUR pup!

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.

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)

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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!

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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Hooch’s First Dance !

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Blogville Sadie Hawkins Dance PAWty!

Hooch was asked by the beautiful Paisley to the Blogville Sadie Hawkins Dance PAWty!  

I have to admit he was super-excited – and what dog wouldn’t be  – Hooch’s date was the prettiest gal at the dance!

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To read the full story, visit our friends over at Barking From the Bayou and read the details about the dance!

Wondering who the heck Sadie Hawkins is and why she has a dance named after her?  Today I Found Out has a great explanation:

Sadie Hawkins’ renown, which evolved into an American folk-holiday in some places, doesn’t really originate from a dance, but rather from a race, as we shall soon see. Sadie was the product of the fertile imagination of cartoonist Al Capp. She was a character in his popular cartoon Lil’ Abner, set in the hillbilly town of Dogpatch, that began its wildly successful 40 year run in 1934.

The way Al tells it, Sadie was the daughter of Hekzebiah Hawkins, one of the town’s first settlers, who had the dubious distinction of being the “homeliest gal in all them hills.” After waiting not-so-patiently for 15 years for a suitor to show up at her door, not a single prospective husband arrived to court her. With each passing year, Sadie became more and more panicky, as did her father, who did not relish the idea of supporting a spinster daughter for the rest of her days.

So, figuring he had nothing to lose, he called all the unmarried men of Dogpatch together and declared it Sadie Hawkins Day. In a reversal of Atalanta’s race in ancient Greek mythology, the race placed Sadie in hot pursuit of the town’s bachelors; the “lucky” chap she managed to catch became her lawful wedded husband. Or, as her Paw explained it, “When ah fires [my gun], all o’ yo’ kin start a-runnin! When ah fires agin—after givin’ yo’ a fair start—Sadie starts a runnin’. Th’ one she ketches’ll be her husbin.” Pure poetry.

The rest of the spinsters in Dogpatch thought the race was an excellent idea, and insisted upon making Sadie Hawkins Day a yearly and mandatory event, much to the horror of the bachelors in town, who apparently had no say in the matter. According to the strip, if a woman caught a man and dragged him, presumably kicking, screaming, and crying for mommy, over the finish line before the sun had set, by law he had to marry her. This had overtones of a caveman clubbing a woman and dragging her back to his cave, and was as close to women’s lib as you’d get at the time in popular entertainment.

This entire Sadie Hawkins Day story line was a plot device concocted by Al Capp for the romance between main characters Abner and Daisy Mae, which had a bit of a Ross and Rachel from “Friends” quality to it. Eventually, Capp put everyone out of their misery and allowed the two characters to finally marry.

The dance didn’t appear in the strip until a bit later. The Sadie Hawkins Dance took place on the evening before the race, and the spinster girls traditionally wore hob-nailed boots to “unintentionally” stomp on the feet of the single men in attendance, which unfortunately (for them) might adversely affect their ability to run the next day during the race.

Sadie Hawkins Day as a popular culture phenomenon was all the rage on college campuses by 1939. According to Lifemagazine, over 200 colleges were celebrating a Sadie Hawkins Day that year, and it was obvious that the tradition was quickly gaining in popularity with the nation’s young people.

The question is – why? One reason could be that as the nation was taking its first strides out of the Great Depression, a down-home low-cost activity like Sadie Hawkins Day was something that all could participate in, without the need to rent a tux or buy a gown as prom or homecoming would entail. There was also the naughty novelty of girls inviting boys for a social outing.

Compared to the Roaring ‘20s, the ‘30’s were considerably more sexually repressed. Gone were the flappers, bee-stung lips and bootleg whiskey. The depression brought with it a sober prissiness that made the very idea of a woman openly pursuing a man deeply offensive to many. But an approved activity such as Sadie Hawkins Day – where a lady could state her choice with impunity and not be labeled a Jezebel – while at the same time men could pretend to be horrified while secretly being titillated – that’s a situation where everyone wins!

By 1952, it was reported that Sadie Hawkins Day was celebrated at over 40,000 different locations. In that year, Capp wrote:

It’s become my responsibility [to include Sadie Hawkins Day every year in the strip.] It doesn’t happen on any set day in November; it happens on the day I say it happens. I get tens of thousands of letters from colleges, communities, and church groups, starting around July, asking me what day, so they can make plans.

Eventually, it morphed into an event of an entire day’s duration that fell on the Saturday after November ninth.

For today’s young women, Sadie Hawkins Day doesn’t seem all that relevant anymore. But for a few decades in the middle of the twentieth century, it served as a social bridge between the years when women rarely left the home and the sexual revolution.

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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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!