For the last two to three years, Jody and Tracey Hudson joked with Steve and Kristin Powell about running a mobile dock after Jody retired in May 2023. When NADD needed mobile dock operators for the newly created Mountain West Region, that idea came to fruition, and the Hudsons readily accepted their new roles in the diving community.
Dustin Krempin’s mother, Terri, suggested he try dock diving with his first dog, Sniper. However, that plan was put on hold when Sniper was diagnosed with Lyme disease and later passed away in July 2021. A month later, the Shakopee, Minnesota, resident got a 13-week-old black Labrador/Blue Heeler mix named Reaper. The idea of dock diving persisted until they signed up for their first dive in November 2021.
➢How many splashes can I register for at an event?
Great news….. Beginning in the 2024 Season, you can register for ALL the splashes that are offered at that event. We ask that you not enter more than one event on the same day, but please register for the splashes that are best for you and the fitness level of your dog.
➢I earned a ribbon at my last event but forgot to pick it up, what can I do?
Kim Sirett has been involved in the pet industry for over 20 years and is deeply passionate about developing a dog’s confidence to face any situation. She first tried dock diving with her Golden Retriever, Abby, in 2014 at the annual Comox Valley Exhibition (Courtenay, B.C.), which set up a mobile dock.
A naturally competitive, outdoorsy person, Barbara “Bo” Mashburn was hooked on the sport after just one lesson with her water-loving Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Rufus. Inspired by dock diving pictures she saw on Facebook, the retired 71-year-old first competed at the end of the 2021 season at Courteous Canine in Lutz, Fla.
Great Lakes NADD Representatives Randy Passig and Meredith Wille, LVT CCRP CCFT, will team up for their first event together this May to handle mobile dock operations. Randy is from Southwest Michigan and helped start a facility in Niles, called Michiana Diving Dogs, about six years ago.
Preparing your dog to “play on the dock” can mean different things to different individuals. However, every competitor wants to be able to have fun and do it safely. Incorporating three or four warm-up exercises to prepare your dog’s body to compete is a fantastic way to prevent some of the commonly observed setbacks discussed in earlier articles.
Make them move!
Before we start a new year, let’s thank our retired operators: Great Lakes Brian and Elise Butler; NorthWest Angel Graham and Seth Carlson; SouthWest Dwayne and Alanna Garrett. Special thanks and best wishes to our former operators in their future endeavors.
Welcome to our new operators: Great Lakes Rany Passig and Meredith Wille; former NorthWest and SouthWest now Mountain West operators Jody and Tracey Hudson; and SouthEast Renee Yessman and Kayleigh Casey.
Meet Our New SouthEast Dock Operators
Situated on over 100 acres in South Branch, Nova Scotia, Aqua Terra Kennels is a prime example of the adage, “If you build it, they will come.” At first, everyone thought owner Andy Teas was crazy for building his pool and dock in the middle of a pasture in 2015. Since then, people have visited from three local provinces and even farther away, enjoying onsite offerings for diving, retriever training and other dog sports.
A prominent athlete in several dog sports, Bonnie Gutzwiler of Yorkville, Ill., was at a cluster event with her dogs in 2018 when she came across a mobile diving dock. She earned her first titles that weekend in a Try-It with her high-drive German Shepherd, who loved toys and water, and her more hesitant Border Collie, who also seemed to have fun. Now, she has four dogs actively competing with NADD: Emoji the Cattle Dog, Risky the Malinois, and her two Border Collies, Shift and Venom.