Meet 'Cara' and Steph from the Carolina DockDogs Club

Club Name: Carolina DockDogs

Owner/Handler’s Name: Stephanie Jones

City, State, Country: Wilmington, NC USA

Dog’s Name: Carolina 'Cara'

Dog’s Date of Birth or Gotcha Date: 12/17/06

Breed(s): Black Labrador Retriever

Dog’s Nickname: 'Cara'




Accomplishments:
- Big Air: Novice
- Big Air Personal Best: Unofficial 11’0” Official 10’ 9”
- EV:
- Speed retrieve: 14.965

Favorite Event to compete in: All of them! We are out there to have fun!

Favorite DockDogs Event (Event Name/Location/etc.): I can’t say I have a favorite. Each new event brings new people & dogs to meet!







Carolina 'Cara', participating in DockDogs Big Air (BA).









Farthest you’ve traveled for an event:
To compete: 7 hours.

To attend: across the country & back. Steph flew to Las Vegas in 2009 to drive to Stillwater, Minnesota with LVDD club members Lisa Weber and Becky Wight. Lisa and 'Tractor' were competitors (and WINNERS) in the Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships. Steph and Becky went along for the ride and to cheer Las Vegas DockDogs club members on.

Some MUST HAVE gear items to pack: Aside from the obvious (crate, chairs, etc), camera & laptop or phone for updates. Steph knows how important updates are for those not at an event.

Average number of DD events you participate in each year: 5-7







'Cara' participating in DockDogs Speed Retrieve (SR).








What is your favorite dog friendly hotel or camp to stay at: Holiday Inn Express

Any other dogs in the family: Ali, Bella, and current foster boy Kaiden

What other dog sport activities do you participate in: Agility & Obedience

Quick bio of your dog(s): What to say about Cara? We obviously are not doing this because she is a HUGE jumper, but she has fun & that is what matters. She is known as the Novice Queen and maybe, if she ever stops coming to a dead stand still at the end of the dock before jumping, we can lose that title. She leaves nothing on the dock but her momentum.

'Cara's' notorious stop at the end of the dock. Such diving form she has!!



Odd fact: 'Cara' had a toe amputation (weight bearing) at the age of one and a half, so her back right foot leaves a very unique paw print.

Las Vegas DockDogs is proud to know and feature DockDog members of clubs from all over on our blog. Our members travel all over to compete and have met many wonderful people and dogs at different events. Stay tuned for next month's featured DockDogs club members. Who knows...it could be you!

DOGGIE PADDLE AND PLAY DAY - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

DOGGIE PADDLE AND PLAY DAY - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2010
Canine-Only Swim and Exciting Dock Diving Demonstrations

Bring your favorite four-legged friend to join Sit Means Sit, the largest U.S.-based dog training company, and Las Vegas DockDogs for a canine-only swim during a special "Doggie Paddle & Play Day" on September 19, 2010 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Black Mountain Aquatic Complex in Henderson. Dogs can play and enjoy leisurely dips in the pool while their human friends socialize and watch some exciting dock diving demonstrations.

All dogs must be dog and people-friendly. Dogs are not allowed to play on the slides or on the play features. All dogs must be checked in and proof of vaccination is required before entering. Human friends attend for free and may not enter the water. Cost is $5 per dog, payable at the gate, to the City of Henderson. Dogs weighing 50 pounds or less can swim from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Dogs weighing more than 50 pounds can swim from 10:45 a.m. to noon. The Black Mountain Aquatic Complex is located at 599 Greenway Rd. at Horizon Drive. For more information, call 267-5836.

JOIN THIS EVENT ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES!

Established in 2006, Sit Means Sit is the largest U.S.-based dog training company. With its first location and corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sit Means Sit has truly revolutionized dog training. The company started franchising in 2009, and there are now 62 locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia, 47 of which are franchises. Sit Means Sit has been featured on several media outlets including Animal Planet, the Outdoor Channel and ESPN. For more information, call (702) 877-4581, toll free at (866) Sit-M-Sit (748-6748) or visit www.sitmeanssit.com. For more information about franchising, visit http://franchise.sitmeanssit.com.

DOGGIE PADDLE AND PLAY DAY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 18

DOGGIE PADDLE AND PLAY DAY SEPTEMBER 18
Canine-Only Swim and Exciting Dock Diving Demonstrations

Bring your favorite four-legged friend to join Sit Means Sit, the largest U.S.-based dog training company, and Las Vegas DockDogs for a canine-only swim during a special "Doggie Paddle & Play Day" on Saturday September 18, 2010 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Black Mountain Aquatic Complex in Henderson. Dogs can play and enjoy leisurely dips in the pool while their human friends socialize and watch some exciting dock diving demonstrations.

All dogs must be dog and people-friendly. Dogs are not allowed to play on the slides or on the play features. All dogs must be checked in and proof of vaccination is required before entering. Human friends attend for free and may not enter the water. Cost is $5 per dog, payable at the gate, to the City of Henderson. Dogs weighing 50 pounds or less can swim from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Dogs weighing more than 50 pounds can swim from 10:45 a.m. to noon. The Black Mountain Aquatic Complex is located at 599 Greenway Rd. at Horizon Drive. For more information, call 267-5836.

Established in 2006, Sit Means Sit is the largest U.S.-based dog training company. With its first location and corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sit Means Sit has truly revolutionized dog training. The company started franchising in 2009, and there are now 62 locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia, 47 of which are franchises. Sit Means Sit has been featured on several media outlets including Animal Planet, the Outdoor Channel and ESPN. For more information, call (702) 877-4581, toll free at (866) Sit-M-Sit (748-6748) or visit www.sitmeanssit.com. For more information about franchising, visit http://franchise.sitmeanssit.com.

Rexy's going to Worlds!!!

Lianne Hassen & 'Rex' share what its like to be going to the 2010 Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships...

How do you feel about being invited to the 2010 Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships?
Very excited. I have heard so many great things about the Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships in the past, I’m so thrilled to not only be attending, but to actually be competing this year.

What disciplines are you invited to for this years World Championships?
Iron Dog, Extreme Vertical, Speed Retrieve

Which invitations will you be accepting?
All of them. I’m sure it will be non-stop all weekend, but Rex is like the energizer bunny and will love all of the jumping.

How did you earn your invitations this year?
We competed in the series of ISE events (Sacramento, CA. Phoenix, AZ. Salt Lake City, UT.) This was a series of events where you needed to compete in a minimum of two events in the series and the teams with the highest average of their 2 best results were invited to compete in the World Championships 2010.

Do you have a sponsor for the World Championships?
Yes – Sit Means Sit Dog Training http://www.SitMeansSit.com.

Are you happy with the location for Worlds this year?
Yes, absolutely. I’ve never been up to Oregon and love the experience of being a part of an organization where we get to see much of the World.

Have you been to a World Championship event before?
No, this is my first time….but Rex was there competing with my husband Fred last year.


What titles do you and Rex have?
Master Big Air, Top Gun Extreme Vertical, Sonic Speed Retrieve, Iron Dog.

What are your dogs current rankings in each discipline?
Extreme Vertical – 3rd in the world with an average of 7’
Iron Dog – 4th in the world with an average of 3029 points
Speed Retrieve – 3rd in the world with an average of 5.38 seconds
Big Air – 90th in the world with an average of 21’ 7”

What kind of music do you and Rex prefer on the dock?
Heavy Rock & Roll

What do you tell your Rex when he’s on the dock?
Make Mama Proud!

POWER PUMA invited to the 2010 Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships

Alfredo Rivera and Power 'Puma' share what its like to be going to the 2010 Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships...


How do you feel about being invited to the 2010 Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships?
It’s an incredible honor – there are so many talented dogs across the country. To be included in an elite class of athletes is a tremendous feeling.

What disciplines are you invited to for this years Stihl Dogs & Logs World Championships?
'Puma' and I have invitations for; Iron Dog, Extreme Vertical and Big Air.

Which DockDogs World Championships invitations will you be accepting?
All of them.
'Puma' has a very good chance at winning Iron Dog. He can also do very well in Extreme Vertical and Big Air. You never know – anyone can win it.

How did you earn your invitations this year?
'Puma' is the 2009 DockDogs Iron Dog National Champion which earned him the Iron Dog invitation. He placed second in Extreme Vertical at the DockDogs National Championships – that gave him the Extreme Vertical invitation. His Big Air rankings earned him his Big Air invitation. Not to mention that he also earned his Iron Dog and Extreme Vertical invitations – a second time – by winning Iron Dog and Extreme Vertical at the Puyallup Washington, World Qualifier.

Do you have a sponsor for the World Championships?
Yes – Sit Means Sit Dog Training http://www.Sit Means Sit.com

Are you happy with the location for Stihl DockDogs World Championships this year?
Absolutely YES! Not as far as traveling back east. Also, the weather will probably be nicer.

Have you been to a World Championship event before?
Yes, last year – 2009. 'Puma' placed 3rd in Extreme Vertical, 4th in Iron Dog and 5th in Big Air – his rookie year!

What were you invited for in the past and what did you accept?
I was invited for Iron Dog, Extreme Vertical, Big Air and Speed Retrieve in 2009. I competed in Iron Dog, Extreme Vertical and Big Air.

How did you do in the past?
'Puma' placed 3rd in Extreme Vertical, 4th in Iron Dog and 5th in Big Air in 2009.

What are some of your favorite things about the Stihl DockDogsWorld Championships last year?
You get to be on National TV!!! It’s an amazing feeling when they interview you and your dog on TV when you do well in any event. The spectators/crowd is awesome!!!

What DockDogs titles does Puma have?
BA – Super Elite, EV – Top Gun, Speed Retrieve – Turbo. Iron Dog – National Champion 2009.

What are Puma's current rankings in each discipline?
Extreme Vertical – 1st, Iron Dog – 2nd, Speed Retrieve – 11th, Big Air – 16th.

What kind of music do you and Puma prefer on the dock?
Raegeton (Spanish – Salsa/Raegae)

What do you tell Puma when he’s on the dock?
Let’s win this. Go Puma!!!

Las Vegas DockDogs Trading Cards

Trading cards (or collectible cards) are traditionally associated with sports; baseball cards are especially well-known...so Las Vegas DockDogs (LVDD), being a sporting club for dogs has designed its own trading card for our competitors!

LVDD trading cards will usually feature one or more of a competitors dogs. The front of the card typically displays an image of the dog, their name as well as the official LVDD logo. The reverse of the LVDD trading cards display statistics and/or biographical information.

We are currently taking orders for this brand new item!

If you’d like an LVDD trading card created to utilize on your Blog, Facebook, other social media sites we can create a JPG file of a professionally designed card for you. The sale price is only $10 right now (regular $15) for a JPG file of YOUR DOGS trading card.

For those who would also like their trading cards printed so you can hand out to friends, kids and at events, we can get packs of 100 cards for you for only $30 plus the cost of shipping.

These will be very popular if you do any kind of therapy dog work or work with kids.

All we need is a high res photo of your dog, either a vertical or horizontal photo along with the text you’d prefer on the back (dogs breed, statistics etc).

We are very excited about this new addition to the club gear and look forward to collecting all of the dogs trading cards!

As each of our amazing LVDD dogs get their trading cards, we will be sharing them here on our blog, so please keep checking back to see the fun cards. This will also give you a heads up as to which members have trading cards so you can start collecting.

Show off your dog with his/her own trading card today!

PRICING:
JPG File/Set-up $10.00 (regular $15)
100 Printed Cards $30.00 plus the cost of shipping

VISIT our Las Vegas DockDogs Store to order your LVDD trading cards today!

DOG TOY REVIEW - Martha Stewart Rope Bone Toy

Two Labs and a Malinois! We are 3 very active fellows who review dog toys & gear in Las Vegas to help you choose fun and suitable toys for your pooch!

This month we got to play with the new Martha Stewart Rope Bone Toy which are exclusively sold at PetSmart.

The Martha Stewart Rope Bone Toys comes in two different sizes, a 6" and an 8" as well as four different colors, blue, brown, ivory, red. We chose red because we love anything that includes the colors of the Las Vegas DockDogs logo!

Pricing: $5.99 for the 6" rope and $6.99 for the 8" rope

We began with a quick photo shoot with 'Dooley' and the new Martha Stewart Rope Bone Toy. This went great and he enjoyed tugging and showing off in front of the camera with his new toy.

Things went south when Mom turned her back to put the camera lense on....'Rex' had only seconds with their new dog toy and that was all it took. He is known as 'Sir-Rex-A-Lot' because he enjoys tearing things apart and this is exactly what happened before Mom had a chance to grab the toy from him. He only had a chance to fray the edges, but we have no doubt, with the amount of fun he was having, that he would have easily shredded the entire thing if given more than a moment.

Needless to say, we keep this toy just for the two labradors, 'Dooley' and 'Tank'. 'Dooley' carries it around the house and it is not uncommon to find him sleeping with it.

A Quick Re-cap:

Malinois Proof - No
Labrador Proof - Yes
Water Toy - No
Best Way to Play - Tugging
Good for all sizes - Yes

August Team of the Month - TEAM MAVERICK

Dogs Name:
Maverick

Owner/Handlers Name:
Ray & Randie Crump

Dogs Date of Birth or Gotcha Date:
11/13/2007

City:
Las Vegas

Breed:
Chocolate Labrador Retriever

Nickname:
As a puppy he was "Shredder" because he tore every piece of paper he got his paws on into millions of little pieces.  His Dad calls him "Skippy" but I can't tell you why.  I call him "Sweet boy" and is shouldn't be very hard to figure that out.  He is the sweetest most loving dog in the world.
But I think that the name his Dad picked when we first saw him is the best...Maverick...it so fits him.

Accomplishments:
- Big Air Senior Title
- Big Air Personal Best: 19' 7"
- He has not learned EV yet but we are still working on it.
- Speed retrieve best is 8 seconds


Other Dog Sport Titles:
He is also a certified Therapy dog and visits the kids at Sunrise hospital every Friday and plays ball with the patients in rehab at Sunrise every Friday.


Quick Bio:
He is a purebred Chocolate Lab from Millers Labs in Pahrump.

Likes:
Favorite snack...cashews nuts, but he eats anything people eat.  If all else fails he eats his dog food.

Pet Peeves:
The fireplace tools...when he was a baby he knocked them down and they made a lot of noise behind him and sacred him.. He still won't go near them.  If a toy gets too close he will do anything he can to move it away before he picks it up.  If he can't move it far enough away he will leave it there until mom or dad get it.

Favorite Throw Toy:
We use a white bumper thing we call a floatie but he will jump in the water after anything at all, or sometimes nothing and will look for the toy later.

Favorite Food:
ANYTHING people eat...cashew nuts are the snack of choice but he waits every night for mom to finish dinner so he can have whatever is left over.

Favorite Walk:
Every morning we walk around the neighborhood and down to a local park to play ball.  He pees on the same bushes every day but he picks different places to "poop"

Favorite Song on the Dock:
I don't think he actually hears the music.  All he wants is to jump into the water and get the toy.


Best Tricks:
If you hold a cashew nut in front of him and say nothing he will sit, lay down and than sit up and give you his paw over and over until he gets the nut.  After the third time he will sit and look at you with the head tilt and a look that says..."that's all there is...please give me the nut now".  Also if you put the cashew nut on your leg he will sit and stare at it and drool but he won't take it until you say OK.

Arrival Story:
We went to Pahrump to pick him out two weeks before Christmas.  I didn't know that we would not be able to take him home that day.  There were four puppies out of a litter of 8 that had not been taken yet.  So we stood there and looked into the kitchen where they were all on the floor to pick on out.  He was sitting in the middle of the floor looking at his brothers and sisters scampering all over the place and just sort of saying..."no one will want me".  Ray said "We will take him"  When Mrs Miller put him in my hands I of course fell in love at first sight.  He just snuggled up to me and fell asleep.  Than she said we had to come back in two weeks to pick him up.  I almost cried.  I would have stayed there for two weeks if she had let me.  So we put a red collar on him and drove home.  Ray would call there every couple of days to check on him and told Mrs Miller his name was Maverick.

On Dec 23 Mrs Miller called to say we could pick him up the next day so we could have him home for Christmas.  We drove there at 7 in the morning hoping that they didn't sleep late with 8 puppies in the house.  We put our own red collar on him and took him outside.  I held him in my lap all the way home and he just curled up and slept.  It was a great ride!!.  When we got home and I put him down on the floor to explore his home the first thing he did was run under the couch and go to sleep.  That quickly became his favorite spot to sleep until about a month later when he was too big to fit.  That was a sad day when he found out he couldn't fit under the couch anymore.  Now he sleeps on top of the couch, or just about anywhere he wants.  His favorite spot now is to sleep on our bed.