Dozens of dogs make a splash at North America Diving Dog Regional Competition

Dogs go diving in Calgary competition A variety of dogs of all sizes and breeds competed in a dog diving competition Saturday. Mark Villani reports.

Dog overboard!

Dogs of all breeds and sizes sprinted down a pool deck and leapt into the water for distance and speed events just east of Calgary on Saturday at the North America Diving Dog Regional Competition.

The event held at the K9 Fun Centre in Rockyview County welcomed dozens of competitors from across Western Canada.

Lead trainer Gulnaz Zagidullina says dock diving is one of the fastest growing sports for dogs. She first got involved after moving to Canada from Russia in 2015 to compete with her German Shepherd, Volcha.

“I was looking for some sports to do with her, so we joined the dog show at the Calgary Stampede and my dog started jumping right away which made me want to travel more and compete in the sport,” she said.

“It's one of the most amazing sports, very healthy, great for muscle building, great for just socializing with other amazing happy people and great for your dog of course.”

Saturday’s event featured a hydro dash competition in which dogs were timed for how fast they could jump down a 12-metre pool to retrieve a dog toy and swim it back.

A distance competition measured how far each dog could jump and a junior handler competition allowed young kids to participate as well.

The event was especially exciting for eight-year-old Landen Goodey, who competed with a dog named Shark Bite.

“I meet so many different friends here and of course a bunch of different dogs that let me run them,” he said.

“With Shark Bite I don’t even have to throw the toy, he can just jump up and get it.”

Others like 12-year-old Sula Ferguson say a lot of training goes into the big moment leading up to the jump.

“There’s definitely a lot of years of training that go into it starting as a puppy, you have to get them used to the water and then jumping off the dock can be a bit of a scare for them,” she said.

“Everyone is absolutely amazing in this sport, it doesn’t matter if your dog can jump very far, it’s all about the fun that’s what’s most important.”

The K9 Fun Centre has been offering Dock Diving Competitions since August 2020 and the community in the Calgary and southern Alberta region is continuing to expand.