‘Dock Daze’ on the Nanticoke River

Posted in Bailey, Trips by Annie T

We’ve had a busy two weeks and I feel like I’ve been neglecting my blog a bit. I hope to change that in the next few days because I have lots of fun topics to post about including our Memorial Day weekend trip to Quechee, VT, the sure-to-be-delicious chicken cutlet sandwiches with roasted red peppers and mozzarella that we’re going to make tonight for dinner, and all of the exciting developments in my little garden. To kick things off, I’ll recap our second Dockdogs event of the season, “Dock Daze” on the Nanticoke River.

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16May2012

Bailey turns five!

Posted in Bailey by Annie T

Last Friday was Bailey’s fifth birthday so I thought that a post about my energetic four-legged friend might be in order.

Matt and I first met Bailey when she was four weeks old. She had nine litter mates but choosing her was easy because, unlike her brothers and sisters who were only interested in eating and sleeping, Bailey was constantly bouncing around exploring her surroundings. Bailey still continues to be an, ahem, “independent” dog (which is a nice way of saying that she’ll completely ignore us if she’s doing something that she deems more interesting) and that bounce in her four-week-old step has translated into a spring-loaded “pop” off the dock when she jumps at Dockdogs competitions.

Bailey at 7 weeks on her first day home with us.

How can you resist that puppy face? Click here to read more!

2May2012

First Dockdogs Event of 2012!

Posted in Bailey, Trips by Annie T

When I started this blog, one of my original goals was to document and share the results from Bailey’s Dockdogs events. Of course, I started the blog in January (definitely the Dockdogs off-season since Bailey has no interest in jumping into cold water!) so up until now I haven’t had anything Dockdogs-related to share. That’s all going to change now because the Dockdogs season has officially begun!

Last weekend we drove down to Virginia Beach for the 5^th Annual Care-A-Lot Pet Supply National Sportsman’s Series Event. Despite chilly temperatures, a steady wind, and a nice rain storm on Saturday, Bailey managed to jump into the pool twelve times. Sometimes when it’s cold she’ll come to a screeching halt at the end of the dock so this was a big accomplishment all by itself!

Rocket had several jumps over 28 feet.

For me, the highlight of the event was getting to watch two top-ranked Belgian Malinois throw down some enormous scores as they each came within inches of breaking the world record (29’3”). Rocket, a handsome reddish male from York, PA, had several jumps over 28 feet. The other malinois, a slim, muscular male named Baxter, traveled all the way from St. Louis, MO for this event! Baxter is the current world record holder and he too came within inches of setting a new record with several jumps in the 27-28 foot range.

World-record-holder Baxter won the Pro Finals with this 27+ foot jump

Bailey’s best jump of the weekend was 22’2” and she ended up in 4^th place in the semi-pro finals. Not her best showing but I’m hoping that this event was more of a warm up since it was her first competition since November. Regardless of Bailey’s performance on the dock, we had a blast at the event visiting with our Dockdogs friends and showering Bailey with treats and swag from the Care-A-Lot vendors. That makes the event a success in my book because having fun is really what it’s all about! 🙂

21Feb2012

Addicted to DOCKDOGS!

Posted in Bailey by Annie T

Back in 2009 Matt and I were watching the “Diving Dogs” in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge on ESPN. In this competition each dog sprinted down a 40 foot long dock and catapulted itself as far as it could go into a big pool of water. The dog with the longest jump, a GSP named “Seven,” in that particular competition, won the event.

Bailey catches her wubba on a practice “Big Air” jump

This looked like great fun and our GSP, Bailey, had just learned how to swim and already was great at jumping over a two-rail fence in and out of my mom’s garden. We decided to put the two skills together and try out the sport of dock diving. We entered our first “Dockdogs” event in central PA in June 2009 and from that point on we were officially addicted to Dockdogs!

Since that first event we have traveled all over the East Coast with Bailey to compete with our Dockdogs friends and our club members from Delmarva Dockdogs. Bailey has jumped at county fairs in New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut and Waterfowl Festivals in Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware. The farthest we’ve traveled so far was to a Bark in the Park event in Lawrence, Ohio (about a 10 hour drive!).

Bailey shows off for a big crowd at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland

Bailey has earned an “Elite” Dockdogs title for Big Air (the long jump event that first got us hooked). She’s also earned a “Top Gun” title in the sport of Extreme Vertical, which is a high jump competition where the dogs must knock down a bumper that’s extended up and over the pool. Some of the high points of Bailey’s Dockdogs “career” so far are listed below.

Bailey competes in Big Air (left) and Extreme Vertical (right)

If you think Dockdogs sounds like a sport that you and your dog might enjoy, I highly recommend that you give it a try! There are local clubs all over the country that have practices and events during the summer. Check out www.dockdogs.com to learn more!

Bailey catapults herself off of the dock in an attempt to catch her duck

Bailey’s Top Performances:

#1 Ranked German Shorthaired Pointer in the Country for 2010 and 2011
1^st Place Elite/SuperElite Finals, 2012 Ocean County Decoy and Gunning Show (Tuckerton, NJ)
1^st Place Elite/SuperElite Finals, 2012 Delmarva Summer Splash (Dover, DE)
2^nd Place Top Gun Extreme Vertical, 2012 Delmarva Summer Splash (Dover, DE)
1^st Place Pro Finals, Monmouth County Fair (East Freehold, NJ)
2012 World Championship Invitation, Elite Big Air
4^th Place Elite, 2012 Eastern Regional Championships (McHenry, MD)
2^nd Place Top Gun Extreme Vertical, 2012 Delmarva DockDaze (Bivalve, MD)
1^st Place Top Gun Extreme Vertical, 2011 Ocean County Decoy Show (Tuckerton, NJ)
1^st Place Top Gun Extreme Vertical, 2011 Chesapeake Pondfest (Adamstown, MD)
1^st Place Top Gun Extreme Vertical, 2011 Delmarva Summer Splash (Dover, DE)
1^st Place Pro Finals, 2011 Harford County Farm Fair (Bel Air, MD)
1^st Place Elite/SuperElite Finals, 2010 Delmarva Summer Splash (Dover, DE)
2^nd Place Elite Finals, 2010 Keystone Stoltzfus Summer Splash (Gap, PA)
2^nd Place Pro Finals, 2010 Harford County Farm Fair (Bel Air, MD)
1^st Place Elite Finals, 2010 Keystone That Pet Place Event (Lancaster, PA)
1^st Place Top Gun Extreme Vertical, 2010 Delmarva Doggone Fun Event (Dover, DE)
3^rd Place Pro Finals, 2010 Clay’s Bark in the Park Event (Lawrence, OH)
1^st Place Elite Finals, 2010 Tidewater Paws for a Cause Event (Newport News, VA)
2^nd Place Pro Finals, 2009 Harford County Farm Fair (Bel Air, MD)

Bailey’s Personal Bests:

Big Air – 25’6”
Extreme Vertical – 7’0”
Speed Retrieve – 6.550 seconds

Bailey at the Big Butler Fair in Butler County, PA

For more photos, visit TheLittleGSP on Flickr!

6Feb2012

Did you know…?

Posted in Bailey by Annie T

Bailey sleeps in a sleeping bag in the winter! Here’s a photo of her “camping” sleeping bag that rolls up for easy transport. She also has a “dog den” bed that has a fleece flap that she burrows under.

6Feb2012

It’s Bailey!

Posted in Bailey by Annie T

Three of my favorite non-action photos of Bailey

This is our German Shorthaired Pointer, Bailey. Bailey was born in May 2007 in Lambertville, NJ and we brought her home when she was 7 weeks old. Bailey is full of energy and has an extra short tail “nub.” She earned her nickname, “The Little GSP,” at the Dockdogs events that we compete in because she is very petite for a German Shorthair and she is usually much smaller than her Labrador, Chessie, and Malinois competitors on the dock. Her favorite toys are her floppy disc frisbee, her red wubba, and her plush “migrator” ducks (she has a whole flock of them). Bailey has very soft ears and loves to snuggle in the winter when it’s cold out.