Sally Goes Vertical

My brother, Spud, and I went to an event in Asheville, NC, this past Sunday. There were signs all over the place that said "Bele Chere," and there were all kinds of booths set up on the streets. Oh my, the good smells for this lab nose!

But of course, the best part of the day was the dock diving! Okay, let's be honest. I didn't have the best day. I hit a couple of 18 footers, but then many of my jumps were very flat and only 13-14 feet. My mom said she's really going to work with me to try and get me to be more "consistent," whatever that means.

Spud had a really good day, though. He won the Senior Division and set another personal best. I'm so proud of that boy!!

The day wasn't a complete bust for me. I tried Extreme Vertical for the first time. Actually, I had tried it at practice before, but never at an event. Extreme Vertical is when you jump up for a bumper hanging out over the water. They measure how high we jump instead of how far. My best EV jump was only 4'10," but I had so much fun! I could have done that EV all day long.

Here are some photos my dad took of my EV jumps. I think I look pretty cool!

My mom said that we might try this vertical thing again. She said that she's not sure if I'm built to be a good EVer, but both she and I enjoyed it...and that's all that matters!

See you on the dock...
Sally
The Fire in Team Fire and Ice

Our Boat, and Our Lake

One day last year my mom and dad put me in the truck, and we went for a ride. I was about 6 or 7 months old and loved to go anywhere with my mom and dad. We rode for a long time, and when we got out of the truck, I smelled something strange, but good. I had never smelled that before, but it definitely smelled like something I wanted to investigate. It was water.....a big, big body of water.

Mom and Dad kept calling it a "lake" and saying things about the "boat," whatever that was. Then we all walked out onto this big wooden thing that stuck out over that "lake." I heard them calling it a "dock." There were a log of big funny looking things all around this dock. We actually walked onto one of them, and I kept hearing the word "boat" over and over.

Soon, that "boat" made a loud....very loud...sound. Much louder than our truck. And then we were moving...out over that big "lake!"

Man, was that cool!! I could walk up to the front of that "boat" and stick my head right into the wind. It blew all over my fur and even made my ears flap in the breeze.

But the best part of the trip was when we stopped. Mom and Dad let me get off the boat and swim in that lake. It was beyond exhilerating....beyond awesome....it was like a piece of lab heaven right here on earth. I never wanted to leave.


We went back to the lake many times last year. I swam and retrieved, and even went swimming with my mom. Here's a video of of one of our trips to the lake last year. You can see how much fun we had together.

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We haven't been to the lake as much this year, mainly because of our dock diving schedule. As much as I love dock diving, I've really missed the lake. And poor Spud has only been once!!

Oh well, I'm sure we'll get in a couple more trips before the season is up. One thing is for sure: I love the lake, and I love our boat!!!!!

See you on the dock,
Sally
The Fire in Team Fire and Ice

Meet Spud: The Ice of Team Fire and Ice

Well, like I promised, I'd like you to meet my brother, Spud. He's a 1-year-old yellow lab and a very good-looking boy! We got Spud last January from my breeder, Sumo Labradors. My mom called my breeder, Patty, and told her they wanted another lab. But this time, they did not want a little puppy. She asked Patty if she had an older lab. Patty said, "You bet. I've got just the dog for you." And that dog turned out to be Spud!

At first I didn't like Spud very much. For about three days, I pouted and wouldn't play with him or even play with my mom and dad. I did not like that big yellow thing being in my home! But soon I realized that my mom and dad still loved me just as much and that Spud was actually fun to play with. Besides, I could boss him around!

Spud is very different from me. I'm all business, very intense about everything I do whether going for a walk or retrieving, or even just playing in the yard. Spud, on the other hand, is so mellow and laid-back. I don't even think that boy knows the meaning of the word "intense." My mom and dad are always saying how sweet and loving he is. That's true. Spud has the kind of face that just melts people's hearts. My mom is going to have him certified to be what she calls a Therapy Dog. I'm sure Spud will do quite well!!

My brother didn't like dock diving at first. As a matter of fact, he would sleep through all of my practices and even slept through one of my events one time. He had no interest at all. Here is a short video of my mom and dad trying to get him interested. You can see, he only wanted to run around and play.

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But then, all of a sudden, one day Spud began acting like he wanted to go up on the dock. Then he wanted to jump in the water. And now he dock dives....just like me! As a matter of fact, he's gotten so good that he is jumping as far as me at times.

Here's a photo of my dad and Spud at his first event. He won a medal for participation. Doesn't he look handsome!!!



And here's another video of him jumping at a practice recently. (There's a little of me also!)

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You can see how he's improved! As a matter of fact, at a recent event in Columbus, Georgia, Spud set a new personal best of 17'10" which is only 3 feet less than my personal best!! He also got his Senior Title. That's quite amazing, considering the fact that only 5 months ago, he was sleeping through all of my practices and events!

Here are some photos of Spud dock diving. This one was at the Nashville event.

These photos were from the Columbus, Georgia event. I especially like the first one. Spud has such a goofy smile on his face as he's going off the dock.

And here are a couple of photos of Spud at practice.

And here are a couple of my favorite photos of me and my brother, Spud!

So...now you know Spud, the Ice of Team Fire and Ice. He's a good boy and a great little brother. I think I'll keep him!

See you on the dock,

Sally, the FIRE of Team Fire and Ice

Sally: The Fire of Team Fire and Ice

Hi, my name is Sally, and I'm a dock diver. As a matter of fact, I'm a dock diving addict. I'd rather dock dive than anything....well, I do love belly rubs almost as much!

I'm a chocolate lab and a member of Dixie Dock Dogs, and we practice every weekend. My brother, Spud, is a yellow lab and together we make up Team Fire and Ice, a dock diving team.

I've been to several competitions and won medals, ribbons and certificates. Here are the first ribbons I ever won. It was at a competition in Jacksonville, Florida. I came in third place!!! It was so exciting for both me and my mom.

And here is a picture of me with my mom with the first medals I ever won. I won them at a competition in Columbus, Georgia. The big medal that looks like a star was for 2nd place in Speed Retrieve. Here's a link to some photos that show me doing one of my Speed Retrieve runs. Wow! Can you tell how intense I was and how much I wanted to win. So did my mom!! The other smaller medals were for a couple of second place finishes and one third place finish in the waves (qualifying rounds).

Take a look at this music video my mom made of me at practice one day. I think you can tell how much I LOVE DOCK DIVING!!

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Here are some other photos of me dock diving. I hope you like looking at them. I certainly liked jumping way out there in the air! It's called "getting big air." Right now I can jump over 20 feet...when I really, really try. But I pretty consistently hit 17 - 20 feet all the time. These first photos are of me jumping at a competion I went to in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Here are a couple of photos of my very first competition. It was in Destin, Florida.

Here are a few from my practices. I'm trying to show you how acrobatic I can be!

Thank you for looking at my photos and video and reading my blog. Next time I'll introduce you to my brother, Spud. And I'll try to keep you updated on all the fun we're having dock diving...and doing other activities.

See you on the dock...

Sally, The Fire in Team Fire and Ice