Dates of Events: May 3 – May 5, 2016
Location: Dave’s Soda And Pet City, 151 Springfield St, Agawam, MA
Cost: Free
Parking: Parking was abundant, even with the large crowd
Dog Friendly: Dogs are encouraged to go!
Highlights: jumping dogs!
The dogs of New England made a big splash recently in Agawam, Massachusetts. Actually, they made a lot of splashes at the Dock Dogs competition.
Dock Dogs, in its 16th year, is an aquatic dog competition that tests dogs jumping and swimming abilities. Although it has been around for quite some time, it was the first time it was held in Agawam, Massachusetts. This event was held in the parking lot of a local pet store, Dave’s Soda And Pet City.
The events are broken up into two main events: Big Air in which the dogs attempt to leap as far as they can and Extreme Vertical which tests the dogs’ ability to jump straight up. The records for the two events that day were 22 feet for the Big Air event and 6 ft, 6 inches for the Extreme Vertical jump. That’s better than what I could do!
The best part of the events is how much the dogs love the activities, well most of them do. They can’t seem to wait to jump or leap and some don’t seem to want to get out of the water!
Here are some of the longest jumpers!
Some of the dogs were less eager to get into the water
The highlight of the event was, for me at least, the Extreme Vertical competition. The dogs really got some height!
It really was hard to see some of the dogs miss the target on the pole. But, they still looked beautiful whether they reached the top or not.
I was able to catch up with some of the dogs there, like Baxter, when they weren’t wet.
Baxter, a fan favorite in the Big Air competition, is a 5 year old Yellow Labrador.
There were plenty of dogs who weren’t participating but came to watch. Here are a few of the dog spectators.
Jemma is 14 month old Landseer Newfoundland.
Lyla is a 2 and a half year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
This happy looking guy is Chase, a 2 year old Golden Retriever.
Benson is a 6 year old Chocolate English Labrador
Lillie is an 11 week old Australian Sheepdog. Maybe some day she can give the Extreme Vertical competition a shot!
Monty, an 11 year old pug, looked cool in his stroller.
There were also tents set up for kids to get their face painted (or adults if you’re into that) and tents that were giving away samples of pet treats. There were also kiddie pols and bowls of water placed around the lot liberally for all the hot dogs, or presumably people, you know if that’s your thing. They really did think of everything to ensure everyone had a good time.
There was also a tent set up to raise donations for Greyhound rescues. Massachusetts has closed almost all of the race tracks and since Greyhounds are bred mainly to race, that breed of dog may be going away, at least in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So, take a good look while you can.
These boxers took a minute from drinking their water to strike a pose for me.
One of the tents at the event had a canine dog and his handler.
Frankie is a 5 year old German Shepherd. He passed the 14 week course to become a K9 cop. Although he does look hot, it was a hot day, I have learned that the officers who work with these pets care for them as though they were their own. They do have a strong bond with their dogs.
Attached below are some videos of the dogs competing. To see even more videos I have compiled (ad-free), stop by my YouTube page: New England Nomad YouTube
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