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Dock Diving Techniques

There are two basic techniques to dock diving, the place & send and the chase methods. The best choice for your athletic dog depends on your dog’s temperament, speed, and responsiveness to obedience commands.

Place & Send

The simplest dock diving technique to master is the place and send. Here, the dog walks with the handler to the end of the dock and is held back while the handler tosses the toy. The dog is then returned to the start point and released or sent to retrieve the toy. Dogs that use the place and send method are generally just not trained to wait or stay on the dock themselves. It is most effective for dogs with a lot of speed that compensate for a lack of height on the launch. This method inherently encourages flat jumps, thus good speed is necessary to get the distance to compete.

Chase Method

Dogs well-trained in basic obedience do better in dock diving competitions using the chase method. Here, the dog is placed in a stay or wait position at the starting point on the dock. The handler proceeds to the end of the dock, then releases the dog. The chase object is thrown at just the right moment to keep the toy in front of the dog’s nose all the way into the water. Thus, the dog is chasing the object! The advantage of this method is that the handler can control and optimize the launch angle to increase distance – it avoids the flat jump that is likely with the place and send method. Of course, mastering the chase method requires more time and training, and it helps if the dog is highly toy driven.

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Dock Diving at AthleticDogs.com