FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Medina, OH – April 29, 2010 – If the beautiful blue skies and bright sun didn’t foreshadow what a great weekend we were in store for, than perhaps the more than seventy teams we had pre-registered for the weekend would! It was DockDogs® fourth year returning to the Puyallup Spring Fair and once again, it was an event to remember.

The event started off with some very exciting Big Air rounds of competition. Taking the lead early in the event were locals Kristi Baird and Adam Ellis with their labs Buddy and Hunter. The battle ended on Thursday with each team throwing down massive jumps of 24;, looks like this battle would have to continue into the weekend to find out the winner.

Friday was a full day of Big Air waves and we saw NINE more dogs join Buddy and Hunter in the “Pro” division; all with huge jumps going out past that 22′ mark! It was Bridger, the black Labrador Retriever out of Port Angeles, WA with his handler, Ryan Hainstock who now held the top spot of the weekend after Friday’s rounds of competition with an amazing jump of 25’6”!

Saturday began with a line of competitors waiting to register their dogs and give this sport a try! We started off the daily competition with a round of Speed Retrieve and after a very close match up; it was the little yellow Labrador, Riley, and her handler John Haas who had the fastest time of the day with a score of 6.194 seconds. Right on their tail was the hard to beat duo of Britten Jay and Caddis with a time of 6.198 seconds! Not to be forgotten was the ever competitive Express division of this class, where we saw Fern and her owner Kat Barnes come in at 8.127 seconds and take away the first place ribbon!

The rest of Saturday was busy as could be, with all of our waves completely full and equally competitive. Just when we thought our Pro Finals couldn’t get any more competitive, we saw two more dogs come out and jump their way into them! One of them being Pepper, a Catahoula Leopard Dog out of Mt. Home, ID, who leapt all the way out to 25’2”! The lone Malinois, Power Puma out of Las Vegas, NV showed he could hold his own with all these Labradors by securing not one, but two jumps that day at 25′!

Saturday ended with an extremely busy Extreme Vertical competition. With nearly twenty dogs lined up wanting to practice and warm up, we knew we were in for a treat. We started the boom at 4’6”, and watched it climb and climb, as dogs battled it out, giving each jump 110%.

Falling out just in time to take the top spot in the Cadet division was Riley, the yellow Labrador with a last successful grab of 5’4”! We didn’t see another dog fall out until a foot later! The Top Gun division of EV continued rising as we once again watched these Labradors battle it out with the superstar Malinois, Puma and the Catahoula Leopard Dog, Pepper. After some amazing jumping, it was the Sit Means Sit sponsored team of Alfredo Rivera and Power Puma who took the top spot away with a win at 7′ and a final grab at 7’3”! Right behind him was the very athletic Chessie, Caddis and owner Britten Jay with a grab of 6’10”! In a three way tie for third at 6’8”, it was Elsie May, Buddy and Pepper!
After such an exciting Saturday, the crowds and competitors were anxious to see what Sunday would bring. With two more qualifying rounds of Big Air and one more for Speed Retrieve, anything could and DID happen as our finals “bubble” changed drastically with each wave!

Just as it was a battle of the Pro dogs, it was turning out to be a showdown with our youth handlers as well! We had eleven competing all weekend, as fans watched these kids and dogs bond and show off their skills on the dock. After the weekend was all said and done, it was Kendra Lee and Rikki who took that top spot for youth handlers with a huge jump of 19’9″, also securing a mid air catch in the process!

Our Finals began Sunday afternoon with the closest “bubble” in each division that we had seen in a long time. In order to make our Pro Finals, you had to have a jump of at LEAST 24′!

First up was our Speed Retrieve Finals, where we watched John Haas and Riley sweep the entire weekend of Speed Retrieve competition and take away first place once again, with a time of 6.171 seconds! Coming in second was newbie to this discipline, Pepper, with a time of 6.299! Rounding out the top three was Julie Jay and Tractor with a time of 6.381.

All three rounds of Big Air Finals were exciting, but it was our Pro division that had people on the edge of their seats waiting to see the outcome. After a very competitive, yet friendly competition, it was once again the beautiful black Lab, Bridger who not only saved his biggest jump of the weekend for Finals, but secured himself the top spot with an amazing jump of 26′! Matthew McCluskey and Pepper held their own and took second with a respectable jump of 25’6”! Completing our top three was Buddy, the 2008 National Super Elite Big Air Champion and handler Kristi Baird with a jump of 25’1”!

Next up were our Semi-Pro dogs who battled it out in their division as well! Showing how versatile she is, the little yellow Labrador Riley, with John Haas took away the blue ribbon with a huge jump of 21’8”! Right behind her was Andy Epperly and Buddy with a jump of 21’4”. Coming in third was Jeff Gratzer and Mack with a solid jump of 20’7”!

Last, but certainly not least, were our Amateur dogs who put on quite a show! These last 16 jumps were just as crowd pleasing as the Pro’s, as we saw Carl Lewis and his black Labrador, Gunner jump 19’5” and walk away with first! Challey Becker and her fun loving chocolate Labrador, Dunkel were right on their heels with a jump of 19’1”! Coming in third was the adorable Pit Bull Terrier, Lola with Cheryl Caragan with a jump of 17’5”!

Our Iron Dog competition was extremely competitive, but once again it was Power Puma who came in first with an impressive score of 3041.35. Not far behind was the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Caddis with a score of 3033.48, and the black Labrador, Bridger took third with 3017.87!

DockDogs® would like to thank our title sponsor Royal Canin for helping make it possible for us to be at the Puyallup Spring Fair along with the fair staff for having us back for another year of fun. DockDogs® looks forward to an even more exciting competition in 2011!

See Spot win
Owner trains dog to be elite competitor
By MAGGIE LILLIS
VIEW STAFF WRITER

He’s a world-class athlete whose talents continue to surprise those around him, yet he’s devoid of ego.

He’s just having dog-gone fun.

Power Puma, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, is the reigning DockDogs 2009 national champion, a prestigious title in canine jumping-performance sports.

He recently clinched the title of Iron Dog Champion at a DockDogs world qualifying event.

“You’ll see, he goes straight to work,” said professional trainer and Las Vegas DockDogs president Lianne Hassen.

At a training facility near the Las Vegas Beltway and Robindale Road, Puma revs up and waits for a command from owner and handler Alfredo Rivera before launching himself into the pool.

He competes in three events: Big Air, a distance leap into a regulation pool; Extreme Vertical, a height-jumping event; and Speed Retrieve, a swimming event involving tasks.

Puma’s best scores include jumping 7 feet, 8 inches into the air during Extreme Vertical, jumping more than 26 feet during Big Air and shooting through a Speed Retrieval event at 5.8 seconds.

“There are world record-holders in all categories, but there are very few that can do all three,” Rivera said. “Puma is one of them.”

Puma trains daily and moonlights as a police demonstration and obedience work dog.

“He’s bred to bite, but he’ll only bite on command,” Rivera said. “He needs to have manners. I need to trust him.”

Rivera and Hassen have years of experience in training but just recently began competing in jumping performance sports with dogs.

The trainers use positive reinforcement. After a quick training exercise, Rivera lets Puma sniff around the property and enjoy a toy.

DockDog competitions are open to all sizes and breeds of dogs, and there are several categories of competition. The events draw large crowds and are scheduled around the world.

“I think when all dogs come out, they think they can jump 25 feet,” Hassen said. “They all think they’re a Puma.”

When Rivera got Puma, the then-14-month-old puppy was antisocial. Now he’s friendly with dogs and humans of all ages.

Rivera tested Puma’s skills on a dock one day in March 2009 and watched the pooch beat competitors’ jumps by more than 10 feet.

Puma’s success wasn’t a total fluke, Rivera said.

“It’s a combination of obedience and athleticism,” he said.

Puma is constantly moving and alert. Among Rivera’s five dogs, Puma eats double the amount of dog food to fuel his active body. “He’s a maniac,” Rivera said. “He has so much energy.”

Rivera hopes Puma can make history as the only dog to be a national champ twice. He said Puma’s competition is ruff, er, rough.

“It’s all about the day of the event and how you’ll perform,” he said.

One of Hassen’s dogs, Rex, is one of Puma’s main competitors.

“It could be any one of them,” she said.

Rivera said he can tell Puma enjoys performing, and he feeds off the pooch’s energy.

“Ninety-nine percent of people who do DockDogs do it because they love their dog,” Rivera said.

For more information about dog athletic sports, visit dockdogs.com.

Contact Centennial and Southeast View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeremy Lutgen
Telephone: 314.453.7705
Steadfast Canine Dogs Go the Distance at DockDogs Nationals

St. Louis, MO, November 9, 2009 – Competitors came from across the nation to participate in the 10 year anniversary of the DockDogs National Championships. The event held October 16-18 was hosted at King’s Island Resort in Mason, OH and commemorated a decade of canine sports like big air (dock jumping), extreme vertical (high jump) and speed retrieve.

Special activities acknowledged the anniversary, including a competitor’s luau on Friday evening in which members dressed in island attire and danced the night away. Members also attended a semi-formal member’s banquet on Saturday evening which was emceed by DockDogs CEO, Grant Reeves. The event highlighted the association’s history of tradition and innovation while looking forward to the next ten years.

The competition brought out Arenus corporate partners Sit Means Sit dog training from Las Vegas, NV. Sit Means Sit had several trainers competing in the finals, including DockDogs World Qualifiers Fred Hassen, with his dog Rex, and Alfredo Rivera, with his dog Power Puma. Rivera and Puma placed first in the IronDog Extreme Vertical event with a height of 7’6”, and captured the 2009 IronDog title. “Being at the 2009 DockDogs National Championships was an incredible experience,” said Alfredo Rivera. “The dogs participating were simply amazing, especially performing at such high levels in extreme cold weather. It was an honor for Sit Means Sit to come out on top with so much talent present.”

Hassen and Rex placed first in the IronDog Speed Retrieve event. “We were thrilled to be there; it was one of the most exciting events we’ve competed at,” said Fred Hassen. “We were happy that Sit Means Sit and Las Vegas DockDogs performed so well and came out on top!”

The event was made possible by sponsors like STEADFAST® CANINE joint health supplement. STEADFAST® CANINE is a joint health alternative to the traditional glucosamine and chondroitin supplements. The product plays an important role not just in joint health maintenance, but also supports the integrity of bones, tendons and ligaments. This is crucial for these special canine athletes and also important for growing puppies and senior dogs prone to joint issues.

“It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it to the level of competition that DockDogs Nationals hosts,” said Simone Pophal, Business Manager for Arenus. “We are very excited for our friends at Sit Means Sit and are pleased to be able to provide a product for dogs that delivers superior results.”

About Arenus:
Arenus is a premier provider of innovative health and nutrition products for pets and horses. Arenus is a growing division within Novus International, Inc., a global company dedicated to health and nutrition through science. To learn more about our products, or find an Arenus event near you, call (866) 791-3344 or visit www.arenus.com.

About DockDogs:
DockDogs® is the independent governing and sanctioning body for regional, national and international dock jumping performance sports. DockDogs® establishes the rules and standards of the sport, tracks results and records, and supports and promotes the growth of its athletes, events, spectators, and sponsors. To learn more visit www.dockdogs.com.