# Extreme Vertical



## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Fawkes LOVES water retrieve, so we gave dock diving a try outside of Kansas City today and he loved it, of course. There's an event in Kansas City everyone is trying to talk me into entering just for fun next week. They said Mals typically do really well at extreme vertical. I have a pond behind my house. I don't have an approved Flappy toy, but I don't think it will be a problem as bumpers and tugs are all fair game for him.  Any tips on training for this with less than a week's worth of official training? :lol:


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## Mo Earle (Mar 1, 2008)

Have fun!!...maybe try to bring him to the site where the event is going to occur first- I had two of my Mals that would jump so far out into our pond, looked like they were flying before they splashed into the water for the ball...but bring them into a pool type structure-wouldn't do it-didn't want any part of it....my others didn't care where, or when,how deep, how far, just let them go get the ball......so hopefully the place won't be an issue for your dog...again Have fun!!


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Fawkes LOVES water retrieve, so we gave dock diving a try outside of Kansas City today and he loved it, of course. There's an event in Kansas City everyone is trying to talk me into entering just for fun next week. They said Mals typically do really well at extreme vertical. I have a pond behind my house. I don't have an approved Flappy toy, but I don't think it will be a problem as bumpers and tugs are all fair game for him.  Any tips on training for this with less than a week's worth of official training? :lol:


EV trainers put a hurdle at the end of the dock. You can practice "baited" hurdle training at home. Stand on a chair and hold a toy above (and behind) the jump.

And keep him safe. My last high jump dog was clearing 58" - not sure how high the toy was held - and that is what counts for EV. Anyways, landings can be rough on the dogs and I have heard of take-off injuries in EV dogs.

I got a water-crazy, ball-crazy lab over winter and I can't wait to try him out on a dock in a couple months!


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## Fred Hassen (Mar 23, 2010)

EV is great fun! My dog 'Rex' took 2nd at the World Championships last year with a jump of 7 feet 6 inches.

Alot of it has to do with them getting their timing right and the handler making some necessary adjustments as to where that particular dog should start. 

I got into Dock Dogs because their are thousands of competitors, the stands are literally packed at every event, we got to be on The Outdoor Channel 10 times also and ESPN.
Great fun and great exposure.


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

I would guess that the first consideration is the overall shape of the dog. A dog that is not muscled and toned could probably get severly injured. I would think the best place to strt is running them 10 to 20 miles about 3 days a week to avoid pulled muscles and tendons.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Fred Hassen said:


> Alot of it has to do with them getting their timing right and the handler making some necessary adjustments as to where that particular dog should start.


Training a dog to correct jump arc problems eliminates the need for start line adjustments and is more reliable. I couldn't get my first high jump reliable until I stopped jumping her and retrained her / taught her how to jump right. I started my second high jump dog right and was much more successful! 

Some dogs get it right naturally. Some need a little help. 

Maren - any chance you can get a good profile video of Fawkes over a high hurdle? I'd love to see what it looks like. Something about 48" should give you a good look at his jump.


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## Fred Hassen (Mar 23, 2010)

Here is also a video of one of my business partners doing 7 feet 8 inches at an event. I have never done over 7-6, and neither had he before this day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OilbGx5UfSs


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Anne Vaini said:


> Training a dog to correct jump arc problems eliminates the need for start line adjustments and is more reliable. I couldn't get my first high jump reliable until I stopped jumping her and retrained her / taught her how to jump right. I started my second high jump dog right and was much more successful!
> 
> Some dogs get it right naturally. Some need a little help.
> 
> Maren - any chance you can get a good profile video of Fawkes over a high hurdle? I'd love to see what it looks like. Something about 48" should give you a good look at his jump.


As this is a total spur of the moment idea, I'm not sure how he's going to be at collecting himself or even knowing where his rear end is. Never got around to as much foundation agility stuff as I should have. #-o If I've got time tomorrow, I'll see if I can get some video of him going over a jump.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> As this is a total spur of the moment idea, I'm not sure how he's going to be at collecting himself or even knowing where his rear end is. Never got around to as much foundation agility stuff as I should have. #-o If I've got time tomorrow, I'll see if I can get some video of him going over a jump.


:lol:

I was the same with my dog. I saw a call for auditions for high jump / stunt / disc dogs. I thought "hey I bet my dog can do that!" and built my jump higher. 2 - 3 days later, we're performing with a stunt dog show at an amusement park! 

I'm equally guilty. have fun!!


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Fred, thanks for the video. It looks like a neat sport to cross train in and everyone seems real friendly.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Yesterday was the Dock Dogs event in Kansas City yesterday. Was a fun time! So Fawkes has never gone off that sort of dock before into an indoor pool as the pond that is behind our house has no dock and doesn't have much of a bank off the side. And a pool is obviously more clear. So for the Big Air (the long jump), both attempts, he ran full speed to the end of the dock, put on the breaks, stopped, paused for about 2-3 seconds, and then basically did a standing broad jump into the water. #-o :lol: He still got 7 feet on both attempts even from jumping from a standstill, so I'm sure once he puts all the pieces together, we'll be fine. Many of the other first time dogs didn't even go into the water or just plopped into the water, so it was enough for 3rd place in the novice class. 

So because he hadn't figured he could take a running leap off the end, the extreme vertical was just not going to happen. We tried, of course, and he wanted the toy really badly, but there was no way he was going to grab it 8 feet out from the dock and 4.5 feet off the dock (6.5 feet off the water) from a standing jump. But he jumped twice in the water anyways and he looked straight up at the toy still hanging off the boom and paddling in place in frustration that he couldn't get to the toy. Again, once he puts all the pieces together, I think he'll be just fine. Anyways, good practice and learning experience! ;-)


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Yesterday was the Dock Dogs event in Kansas City yesterday. Was a fun time! So Fawkes has never gone off that sort of dock before into an indoor pool as the pond that is behind our house has no dock and doesn't have much of a bank off the side. And a pool is obviously more clear. So for the Big Air (the long jump), both attempts, he ran full speed to the end of the dock, put on the breaks, stopped, paused for about 2-3 seconds, and then basically did a standing broad jump into the water. #-o :lol: He still got 7 feet on both attempts even from jumping from a standstill, so I'm sure once he puts all the pieces together, we'll be fine. Many of the other first time dogs didn't even go into the water or just plopped into the water, so it was enough for 3rd place in the novice class.
> 
> So because he hadn't figured he could take a running leap off the end, the extreme vertical was just not going to happen. We tried, of course, and he wanted the toy really badly, but there was no way he was going to grab it 8 feet out from the dock and 4.5 feet off the dock (6.5 feet off the water) from a standing jump. But he jumped twice in the water anyways and he looked straight up at the toy still hanging off the boom and paddling in place in frustration that he couldn't get to the toy. Again, once he puts all the pieces together, I think he'll be just fine. Anyways, good practice and learning experience! ;-)


Fun! He'll get it


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