© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
Soaring through the air playing fetch has never been so much fun.
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Pictured here at the Duchess County Fair, Rhinebeck, New York these flying dogs are competing in the latest canine sport – Dock-Jumping.
Dock-jumping involves pooches enthusiastically leaping for a toy, or chase item, and then throwing themselves off the 40 foot runway, or dock.
© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
Gaining popularity in America and on this side of the Atlantic, dock jumpers have the distanced measured so they can compete for best leaper in show.
Like the long jump, each jump is measure from the end of the docks runway to the point where the dog’s tail lands in the 4-foot deep pool.
Fiendishly competitive, the sports profile has risen to the point where ESPN, the sports network now shows meetings from across the United States.
© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
Each jump is only considered legal from the point where the toy leaves the dog owners hand.
The August 30th Duchess County Fair was as fiercely fought as always, with the winning jump and best in show coming from Wilson, a black Labrador retriever, who registered a massive 26ft 3inch jump to win.
© Barry Bland / Barcroft Media
In fact this fell just short of the 28 ft 10inch world record set by Country, a greyhound from Harrisburg Pennsylvania.
“I’ve always said a greyhound would beat the record and that is now the bench mark,” says Melanie Field, the Chief Operating Officer of DockDogs, the body that organises dock jumping across the US and the UK.
“We will wait and see how this sport develops.”
Words By James Nye
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