Thirty-six competing teams of wet and tired dogs later, the 2018 DockDogs World Championship ended with a splash.
DockDogs is a premier canine aquatics competition covering four events: big air, speed retrieve, extreme vertical and iron dogs which is a combination of the other three events.
Big Air, the competition’s most popular event, is essentially a “long jump” for dogs as they run down a 40-foot dock and jump as far into the water after a throw toy.
Speed Retrieve is a timed event requiring the dog to run down the dock and swim across a 40-foot pool to retrieve a toy located at the end of the pool.
Extreme Vertical can be seen as a “high-jump for dogs,” where dogs must jump to grab a bumper toy extended 8 feet from the dock; once successful, the toy raises 2 inches per round.
This is the second time the competition has come to Knoxville and participation in the week-long event included nearly 700 teams, compared to last year’s 830 teams. Prior to 2017, the competition was held in Dubuque, Iowa, for seven years, according to DockDogs Worldwide CEO, Grant Reeves.
Last year, Knoxville’s first DockDogs Championship, left the city with a world record broken by Sydney Mackey and her whippet Spitfire. The team set the new world record for Speed Retrieve with a time of 4.347 seconds. While there were no records broken this year, the competition was equally intense.
The feature finals kicked off in a small way with the lapdog division’s Big Air event. The top six teams of the lapdog group competed for distance, with three dogs landing on the podium.
Cheryl Johnson and her whippet mix Sync, the only team to have the elite class title of the lapdog division, came in third. Narrowly ahead Cheryl Hart and her mixed breed Pivot claimed second place despite Pivot hesitating to jump during the second round. To no surprise to the event’s announcers, Melissa Peterson and her mixed breed Canyon easily snagged first place with a distance of 20 feet 11 inches. The team first started only a season or two ago, but after getting third place in last year’s competition, they came looking to win.
The Express Speed Retrieve kept the competition going with even more close calls. With a nearly perfect reaction time of .014 seconds, Tim Bowman and his golden lab Baxter slid into third place, just barely overtaken by second place winner Terri Leafstedt and her golden retriever Kilkee. Despite missing the mark in the previous event, lapdog team of Charlotte Blake and whippet Wicked zipped into first place with a speedy time of 6.466 seconds.
Another Big Air event showcased the top competitors in the Senior dog division, with all of the teams reaching, or coming extremely close, to the 20-foot mark. Proving older dogs can still be harsh competition, Christa Carter and her 8-year-old Australian shepherd Chevie came in third place. But just 3 inches ahead, Verona, Pennsylvania, team Nicole Besterman and her border collie Rogue snatched second place.
Despite the stacked competitors, Rookie of the Year Bernadette Balderston and her black lab Rudy Ruettiger jumped 20 feet 11 inches into first place with “some hot luck,” according to Balderson.
Although only 5 percent of dogs ever reach 7 feet in the Extreme Vertical high jump event, the Top Gun dogs failed to disappoint. Duo Wayne Snoderly and his black lab Jake lunged into third place, creating a fierce and close battle for first place. No. 1 qualifier Peggy Hager and her Belgian malinois Genghis Khan and former world record holder and Hall of Famer Crystal McClaran and her malinois Arrivederci ensued in a fight for height, but McClaran’s team came out on top with a final score of 7 feet 8 inches.
The Super Elite Big Air event featured dogs with distances of 25 feet or more hosted some of the biggest jumping dogs in the world. Previously reaching 30 feet, team Dane Seidlitz and his Belgian malinois Aegon stopped short this year, landing in third place. Returning to the competition after her world record, Mackey and Spitfire jumped into second place, making a strong return for the 14-year-old. Hitting the stage running McClaran, teamed with her whippet Whiplash, once again came out as the top dog with a final distance of 28 feet 5 inches.
Bringing the feature finals to a speedy finish, the Nitro division Speed Retrieve hosted six dogs running, jumping and swimming the length of the 40-foot pool in 6 seconds or faster. Sheena Van Den Bergh and her Belgian Malinois, Lyra, put on an impressive show, securing their slot in third place. Despite a false start in the first round, Linda Anderson and her whippet Journey swam into second place just .194 seconds behind the champion. First place winner Bret Geller and his Belgian malinois Flirt sped past the competition and beat their personal best with a time of 5.868. According to Geller, becoming the new world champion was “a long shot.”
Once again stealing the show Olympia, Washington, high school freshman Mackey and Spitfire took home two cups for Iron Dog World Record and Speed Retrieve. Spitfire’s previous Iron Dog record was smashed this year with an overall score of 3180.68.
“It was kind of stressful leaving school for a week,” Mackey said. “But it’s also cool to come here and beat all of the adults.”
From left to right, Crystal McClaran and Whiplash, Sydney Mackey and Spitfire, and Dane Seidlitz and Aegon won first through third respectively in the Super Elite Big Air competition of the Dock Dogs 2018 World Championships.
