Leaping labradors
DockDogs returns to Brown County Fair
A dog flies through the air toward the water during Saturday's DockDogs competition at the Brown County Free Fairgrounds.(Photo by Amy Zents)
DockDogs Northern Stars Vice President Brianna Samuelson of Courtland gets a wet kiss from her Labrador, Lemon, at the DockDogs staging area during the Brown County Free Fair on Saturday. Looking on from their crate in the background are her retired competition dogs, Raven and Mocha. (Photo by Amy Zents)
A dog flies through the air toward the water during Saturday's DockDogs competition at the Brown County Free Fairgrounds.(Photo by Amy Zents)
DockDogs Northern Stars Vice President Brianna Samuelson of Courtland gets a wet kiss from her Labrador, Lemon, at the DockDogs staging area during the Brown County Free Fair on Saturday. Looking on from their crate in the background are her retired competition dogs, Raven and Mocha. (Photo by Amy Zents)
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NEW ULM -- DockDogs returned to the Brown County Free Fair for a third consecutive year with nearly 40 dogs from Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota competing in distance, speed and height.
”This is my dock and my pool. I brought it here,” said Don McCracken, who operated the mobile setup for Dock Dogs Inc., based in Medina, Ohio. “It’s actually just a pickup truck that has a trailer underneath those banners. I roll the pool out from underneath, set it up, and we fill it up.”
McCracken traveled from Missouri. He has worked for DockDogs for 11 years after his brother-in-law connected him with the job. On Saturday he was skimming dog hair from the pool between waves to keep the filtration system running.
McCracken said he owned dogs, but they did not compete.
”Oh yeah, my dogs won’t even pee in the rain, let alone jump in a pool,” McCracken said.
DockDogs was founded in 2000 after an appearance at ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games.
The organization was formed to create a nationally recognized sport based on track-and-field standards. It now sanctions clubs and events in Australia, Great Britain, Italy, Canada and the United States.
The New Ulm stop was hosted by DockDogs Northern Stars, in its 23rd year.
Brent Dolly of Sleepy Eye serves on the board. The club coordinates events in Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska.
”Our club pays Worldwide to bring the equipment and stage here,” Dolly said. “We cover the organizational fees and his hotel room to bring the full national setup directly to our regional fair.”
Dolly said about 30 dogs entered the club’s event the previous weekend. The New Ulm entry was close to 40.
Competition ran Thursday through Sunday at the Brown County fairgrounds.
Handlers got 60 seconds on the dock. Judges marked distance where the base of the tail met the water.
Kailey Smith of Maplewood was on the mic for Saturday’s 4 p.m. DockDogs competition, sharing PA duties for the weekend with Miranda McClaine of Hastings.
Saturday’s running order included Paisley Run and her 9-year-old yellow Labrador, Gunner, from Redwood Falls. Gunner competed in the veteran class for dogs age 8 and 9. He posted 10 feet, 6 inches, then 11 feet, 4 inches, a personal best for the team.
Maddie Bangs and Sirius, a 5-year-old mixed breed from Byron, posted 20 feet, 3 inches in Big Air after competing in Extreme Vertical.
Big Air was the long jump.
Divisions were based on distance: Novice was 0 to 9 feet, 11 inches; Junior was 10 feet to 14 feet, 11 inches; Senior was 15 feet to 19 feet, 11 inches; Master was 20 feet to 22 feet, 11 inches; Elite was 23 feet to 24 feet, 11 inches; and Super Elite was 25 feet and over. The Big Air world record currently stands at 33 feet, 3 inches, held by a purpose-bred mixed breed named Viper.
”The division name has nothing to do with the age or size of the dog,” said Brianna Samuelson, vice president of Northern Stars. “It is strictly based on the distance the dog jumps on that specific run.”
Samuelson, 28, lives in Courtland and competed with her Labrador, Lemon. She also brought along her retired competition labs, Mocha and Raven.
Her mother, Karla Samuelson of St. Peter, brought her two young puppies, Crimson and Ginger. Crimson and Ginger were 12 days short of the 6-month minimum age required to compete and watched from crates.
Under DockDogs rules, any breed or mixed breed could enter if the dog was at least 6 months old and retrieved a floating toy that had never been alive and was not food.
The schedule also included Speed Retrieve and Extreme Vertical. Speed Retrieve was a timed event: 20 feet of dock and 38 feet of pool, ending when the dog pulled a bumper from a magnetic apparatus. The world record in Speed Retrieve was 4.347 seconds, set by a whippet at the World Championships.
Extreme Vertical hung a bumper 8 feet from the end of the dock, starting at 4 feet, 6 inches and raising in 2-inch increments. The winner Saturday cleared 7 feet. The world record in Extreme Vertical is 9 feet, 2 inches, held by a greyhound named Mayhem.
The youth handler division was for ages 7 to 15. Youth handlers competed with adults during qualifying and were ranked separately for youth championships. Aubrey Macziewski and Dash, a 4-year-old German shorthaired pointer, posted 21 feet, 11 inches Saturday.
”I hope we keep coming back here for a long time,” Brianna Samuelson said.