Dog Daze another big Farragut hit: Krempasky
“It went great,” Shop Farragut/Farragut Business Alliance’s executive director Steve Krempasky said after Sunday’s competitions. “People can’t wait to do it again.
“Every wave was full,” he added. “The crowd was steady all weekend long, and everybody enjoyed it.”
Krempasky estimated about 6,000 attended throughout the weekend that featured the DockDogs’ sanctioned event.
Emily Fox, DockDogs event administrator, said 17 dog breeds competed, with the most popular being a Belgian Malinois.
“Teams traveled to compete from all over Tennessee, as well as from North Carolina and Georgia,” she added. “We had two youth handlers competing: Robert Miller, 16, with Poseidon, an 11-month-old English Springer Spaniel, and Brock Whitt, 12, with Lily, a 2-year-old Boykin Spaniel.
“The shortest jump of the weekend was 3 feet, 4 inches, by a 12-year-old German Shepherd dog named Cinder.”
DockDogs “is the originator of the world’s premier dog aquatics competition that welcomes all breeds and sizes and their equally diverse human counterparts,” said Fox, noting the organization is “celebrating 25 years of delivering family-friendly, canine aquatic activities with a quality entertainment experience for all involved.”
Canines can compete in DockDogs in three disciplines: Big Air, Extreme Vertical and Speed Retrieve, she said, explaining Big Air is “long jumps for dogs,” where the dogs run down a 36-foot dock and to try and jump as far into the 40-foot long pool as possible.
“The distance is judged from the end of the dock to where the tail set breaks the water’s surface,” Fox added. “Extreme Vertical is the ‘high jump’ competition. Dogs have up to 20 feet of the dock to run and jump up to grab a bumper toy that is extended 8 feet from the end of the dock and starts at 4 feet, 6 inches.
“The bumper is raised by 2-inch increments as the competition progresses.”
In Speed Retrieve, dogs race to see how fast they can retrieve a bumper that is suspended at the end of the pool.
“Using a laser start line and tree light, handlers watch the lights go from red, then yellow — and at green they release their dog,” Fox said. “For teams that want to push themselves even further, they can sign up for the Iron Dog Challenge.
“Iron Dogs must compete in all three disciplines to accrue points, aiming to earn as many points as possible,” she added.
Dog Daze VIII winners:
• Pro Big Air: Charlotte Blake and Aegon, an 8-year-old male Belgian Malinois, first place at 26 feet, 6 inches; Michael McGrew and Malcolm, a 3-year-old male, second place at 25 feet, 8 inches; and Chuck Grove and MCs Inferno, a 9-month-old female, third place at 23 feet, 11 inches.
• Semi Pro Big Air: Jamie Dukovac and Zoltar, a 5-year-old male Belgian Malinois, first place at 23 feet, 5 inches; Charlotte Blake Mc’s Salty, a male 6-year-old mixed breed, second place at 23 feet, 1 inch; and Jennifer Belle and Rogue, a 3-year-old male, third place at 21 feet, 5 inches.
• Contender Big Air: Garrett Chandler and Scout, a 3-year-old male chocolate Labrador Retriever, first place at 18 feet, 4 inches; Becky Jones and Freddie, a female 5-year-old English Springer Spaniel, second place at 18 feet, 1 inch; and Amber Chapin and Banks, a 1-year-old male Poodle, third place at 17 feet, 1 inch.
• Amateur Big Air: Melanie Lake and Allura, an 8-year-old female mixed breed, first place at 12 feet, 1 inch; Cody Reneau and Amber, a 5-year-old female, second place at 12 feet, 4 inches; and Donna Long and Sabre, a male 7-month-old, third place at 12 feet, 4 inches.
• Extreme Vertical: Charlotte Blake and Aegon, an 8-year-old male Belgian Malinois, first place at 7 feet, 4 inches; Timothy Lake and Earnhardt, a 5-year-old male mixed breed, second place at 7 feet, 2 inches; and Trent Steele and Camille, a 4-year-old, third place at 6 feet, 8 inches.
• Speed Reprieve: Charlotte Blake and MC’s Salty, first place at 5.501 seconds; Lisa Williams and Qasim Koneg von Cedkaley, a 7-year-old male, second place at 5.955 seconds; and Reagan Peerman and Cato, a 5-year-old male, third (6.002 seconds).
• Iron Dog: Charlotte Blake and Aegon, first place with 3049.67 points; Michael McGrew and Malcolm, second place with 3043.18 points; and Jamie Dukovak and Zoltar, third place with 2975.4 points.
