Air waves
Lab shows promise of making splash as top dock-jumping dog
By Megan Parker
Outdoors Editor (www.thecountrytoday.com)
August 10, 2005
| PRIOR LAKE, MINN. - Tom
Dropik cadences like an auctioneer to his dog Rocky. "Do you wanna get your
bird, Rock? Do you wanna get your bird, Rock? Do you wanna get your bird, Rock?" A rapt Rocky sits on a dock. Mr. Dropik whips a tennis ball out to the water and yells, "Go get it!" Rocky races to the dock's end and takes a flying leap à la Superman, splashing into the water more than 20 feet out. |
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It's a normal practice day for Mr. Dropik of New Prague, Minn., and his black Labrador retrievers, Rocky and Tucker, who compete in Big Air events.
Tucker, a 9-year-old, won a bronze medal at the 2001 ESPN Great Outdoor Games - the Olympics for Big Air, which is essentially a dog long-jump competition.
If Mr. Dropik has his way, Rocky's the way of the future for the sport. Rocky, a 16-month-old, was sired by Little Morgan, the world-record-holding Big Air dog.
Mr. Dropik said he wants Rocky to be the "biggest-jumping dog in the country" and to break the world record.
Rocky's already made a promising showing. He's the youngest dog to earn master status in the competition, which means he has a jump range between 20 feet and 22 feet, 11 inches, according to regulations and titles set for the sport by DockDogs.
While most dogs can jump 15 to 20 feet off a dock, it takes training to get the minimum 23 feet needed these days to win a competition, Mr. Dropik said. Rocky's days are structured with morning runs, afternoon drills and conditioning and two dock days a week.
Mr. Dropik always trained his dogs for hunting. But his interest in Big Air sparked after he saw the sport on the 2000 ESPN Great Outdoor Games.
Then he noticed the bare apple tree in his backyard. He caught his dog Tucker jumping eight feet for the fruit and realized he might have a good Big Air dog.
"I really took a passion to it, and Tucker was my guinea pig," he said.
Along the way he learned what works best in training dogs for the sport.
"It's not rocket science, but there are some tricks," Mr. Dropik said.
Those tricks are for sale in the form of equipment, nutritional supplements, training videos and his own expertise through his business, SportMutt.
Mr. Dropik and other top Big Air competitors push for branding the sport. Crowds are getting bigger, Mr. Dropik said.
"When we leave, we're the talk of the town and they want us back," he said.
He stressed that the sport isn't only for the top teams.
"We encourage people to come out and participate," he said, noting that $20 earns two jumps at a competition.
But not everyone is so enthusiastic about the sport. Some sport retriever enthusiasts, such as hunting dog trainers, say the sport is a cute pet trick, Mr. Dropik said.
But he said that when those critics take a shot at competing, Big Air handlers blow them out of the water.
Megan Parker may be reached at (800) 236-4004, ext. 3867 or megan.parker@ecpc.com.
