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PITTSBURG —
Fort Scott’s annual Good Ol’ Days festival went to the dogs Friday. About 30 members of the MOKAN DockDogs club and dozens of spectators gathered in Skubitz Plaza to see whose dog could jump the farthest, leap the highest and retrieve toys the quickest.
DockDogs is a canine competition that took off in 2001 during ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games. Promoted as a filler act between events, “Big Air Dogs” drew far more viewers than organizers anticipated, and soon shows started being aired on ABC, ESPN and the Outdoor Channel, among others, the club’s national website said. MOKAN DockDogs vice president Cesily Lesko, who competes with her two “goldendoodles,” said the club has members from Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. Just about anyone who has a love for dogs and competition, she continued, can join; handlers must be at least 7 years old and dogs must be at least 6 months old.
“They can be any size, any breed, any ability,” Lesko said.
Most of the dogs are retrievers of some sort — which makes sense, because the dogs jump from a long runway into a 30,000-gallon tank of water. But recently the Belgian Malinois, which is similar to a German shepherd but smaller, quicker and more powerful for its size, is gaining in popularity.
“They’ve really taken over the sport,” Lesko said.
Dog and owner teams compete in four divisions: Big Air, in which the dogs jump for distance — the world record is 28 feet 10 inches; Speed Retrieve, in which an object is placed at the end of the pool and the dogs are timed for the speed in which they retrieve the object; Extreme Vertical, in which the dogs get two chances per round to remove a “bumper” from an extender arm — the distance is increased in two-inch increments until the dog that jumps highest wins; and the Iron Dog Challenge, in which teams compete in all three events.
To make the events more fair, dogs compete in novice, junior, senior, master, elite and super elite divisions.
“It erects and evens the playing field for everyone,” Lesko said.
DockDogs teams can compete in any of the hundreds of sanctioned events held each year in 42 states, four provinces and three countries, according to the website. There are 40 affiliate clubs, and there are more than 18,000 registered teams.
“It’s a great way to condition your dog and keep it healthy,” Lesko said. “It requires a lot of physical activity, but for us it’s a way to take a vacation with our dogs. It’s like glorified camping.”
Fort Scott’s annual Good Ol’ Days festival went to the dogs Friday. About 30 members of the MOKAN DockDogs club and dozens of spectators gathered in Skubitz Plaza to see whose dog could jump the farthest, leap the highest and retrieve toys the quickest.
DockDogs is a canine competition that took off in 2001 during ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games. Promoted as a filler act between events, “Big Air Dogs” drew far more viewers than organizers anticipated, and soon shows started being aired on ABC, ESPN and the Outdoor Channel, among others, the club’s national website said. MOKAN DockDogs vice president Cesily Lesko, who competes with her two “goldendoodles,” said the club has members from Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. Just about anyone who has a love for dogs and competition, she continued, can join; handlers must be at least 7 years old and dogs must be at least 6 months old.
“They can be any size, any breed, any ability,” Lesko said.
Most of the dogs are retrievers of some sort — which makes sense, because the dogs jump from a long runway into a 30,000-gallon tank of water. But recently the Belgian Malinois, which is similar to a German shepherd but smaller, quicker and more powerful for its size, is gaining in popularity.
“They’ve really taken over the sport,” Lesko said.
Dog and owner teams compete in four divisions: Big Air, in which the dogs jump for distance — the world record is 28 feet 10 inches; Speed Retrieve, in which an object is placed at the end of the pool and the dogs are timed for the speed in which they retrieve the object; Extreme Vertical, in which the dogs get two chances per round to remove a “bumper” from an extender arm — the distance is increased in two-inch increments until the dog that jumps highest wins; and the Iron Dog Challenge, in which teams compete in all three events.
To make the events more fair, dogs compete in novice, junior, senior, master, elite and super elite divisions.
“It erects and evens the playing field for everyone,” Lesko said.
DockDogs teams can compete in any of the hundreds of sanctioned events held each year in 42 states, four provinces and three countries, according to the website. There are 40 affiliate clubs, and there are more than 18,000 registered teams.
“It’s a great way to condition your dog and keep it healthy,” Lesko said. “It requires a lot of physical activity, but for us it’s a way to take a vacation with our dogs. It’s like glorified camping.”
Blue Springs, Mo., native Jeremy Gnefkow started competing with his yellow lab, Manny, about four years after his grandmother passed away and he blew out his knee playing football.
“After football, I didn’t have a sport, and a friend said ‘What do you say about DockDogs?’” Gnefkow said. “And when my grandma passed away I needed someone to love and take care of.”
Gnefkow said he grew up with golden retrievers, but decided on a lab after researching dog breeds.
“It’s a really cool sport and I support anyone who does it,” he said. “You get to know people from around the world. I go to as many events as I can. It’s just really like family.”
Sandy Goodson is based in Dallas and was competing in Kansas with her yellow labs, 2.5-year-old yellow lab, Lil’ Texas, and 9-year-old yellow lab, Lizzie, for the first time Friday. Goodson said she got involved in DockDogs seven years ago when she rescued Lizzie from the pound.
“She was way toy crazy, so this was the perfect thing for her, because she loves water and toys,” Goodson said. “We’ve been all over the South and up to Minnesota. We went to Florida earlier this year. They just get so excited.”
Pittsburg has a significant place in DockDogs competition, too. Ray McCarty, who is currently based in the Kansas City, Mo., area and is the MOKAN DockDogs president, raised and trained his chocolate lab, Hershey, just east of town on Quincy Street. Hershey, who is about to begin chemotherapy for lymphoma for a second time after a six-month remission, is currently the No. 1 dog in the Iron Dog Challenge senior division.
“We just found out and we decided to let him live it up,” said McCarty, who is selling wrist bands and T-shirts to help pay for Hershey’s treatment. “We didn’t once consider not doing this.”
McCarty said there will be a national DockDogs event in Joplin, Mo., in two weeks. For more information, visit www.mokandockdogs.org, or www.dockdogs.com.
