Siblings Fins Success in Canine Competition

NORTH COVENTRY — The dogs in the Fisher household spend as much time in the family pool as the children do, and they're not just doggie paddling.

Andrew and Michele Fisher and their children, Andrew, 9, and Maddie, 8, have spent the past year taking trips throughout the region so their dogs, Morgan and Maya, both black labrador retrievers, can compete in DockDog competitions. The sport of dock jumping, which is a relatively new sport, is something the Fisher family got into by coincidence.

"We became involved in this sport last year when we noticed our black lab pup, Morgan, loved to jump in our pool," Michele Fisher said. "Not only did she love to jump, but she would jump 12 feet plus from the edge, into the pool to retrieve her toy."

The Fisher family found out that Morgan had the blood of a champion, as her father had been a successful DockDog competitor.

"Her dad actually was a world record holder" in DockDog jumping, 8-year-old Maddie noted.

After the discovery that Morgan loved to jump and had the pedigree and potential to compete, the family looked into DockDog events, and 9-year-old Andrew handled Morgan in seven events during his rookie year in 2007.

One of the interesting things about the sport is that the level at which a dog and its handler compete is not determined by the age of the handler, rather the ability of the dog.

The different competitive divisions are categorized by distance. The first division, for the shortest distance range is Novice, and the divisions continue in longer distance increments through the Junior, Senior, Master, Elite and Super Elite divisions.

Handlers encourage their dog to jump as far as possible by using a toy, often a Frisbee, which they toss and the dog jumps after.

Andrew and Morgan have competed at the Senior and Master divisions, and Morgan is definitely "Frisbee-crazy."

Andrew is one of the youngest handlers in the divisions he and Morgan compete in.

"It's been really neat watching him because he competes with adults," Andrew Fisher said about his son. "Because I've never jumped (Morgan), it's neat the respect (young Andrew) gets" from other adult handlers.

The world record for the Big Air competition, which is where dogs jump from the dock into the water trying to get the longest distance possible before they hit the water, is currently set at 28 feet, 9 inches. Morgan's best jump is 24 feet, 6 inches, but she's just about 21/2 years old and dogs can compete until they're 7 or 8 years old, or whenever the sport is something they no longer want to do.

There are two other events dogs and their handlers can compete in. Extreme vertical is where the dogs jumps off the dock and competes for how high vertically it can jump, and the other is a speed retrieve where the dogs retrieve for the best time.

After Andrew began handling Morgan, the family decided to get another dog, also a black labrador retriever, named Maya.

Although Maya is still every bit a puppy who has a ton of energy and sometimes wants to have fun instead of listening to commands, Maddie has been training her and has competed with her, too.

"My winning jump was 10 feet, 7 inches," Maddie said of one of the events she and Maya competed in in the Novice division. Maddie explained that doing something with her dog that not many other children do and being one of the youngest handlers out there makes her feel "unique".

Participating in DockDog events allows the family more time with one another and allows them to meet other families they would have never otherwise known. The children are also able to take their friends and cousins to events and experience the fun with them.

"The best part about this story, at least from the point of view of a mom, is that this sport has allowed our family to plan fantastic weekends around these events," Michele Fisher said, noting that her family has traveled as far as Maryland and New York for competitions, but also as close as Harrisburg, Lancaster and Berks counties. "This has become a family event for all of us.

"Our family gets to spend active, fun, outside weekends together," Michele Fisher added. "The kids get to experience the excitement of wining, the disappointment of losing, the importance of good sportsmanship and the responsibility that goes along with caring for their pets."

The children have to take the dogs out in the morning and are also responsible for feeding them in addition to working with the dogs to train them.

Just training the dogs alone has taught the children a lot about discipline.

"If they don't sit and stay, they're not going to get a real far jump," young Andrew said of the importance of teaching the dogs to obey commands. He said teaching Morgan to sit and stay is one of the most important commands she needs to know in order for her to be able to get the momentum up on the dock to jump far within the time limit she's given to get the jump off, which is usually one minute.

And although the dogs are taught to be obedient, they love competing in the sport.

"My dog Maya, she usually runs away if we let her out of the house," Maddie said. But get Maya out near the pool and you don't need to put a leash on her because she's preoccupied jumping for her Frisbee into the water and doesn't even consider running away.

Andrew Fisher said Maya, the dog his daughter handles who is still in her puppy stages, is definitely "the second child," whereas Morgan has always been very obedient and quick to learn.

"I know everybody says their dog is smart, but she is really smart," Andrew Fisher said of Morgan. "She just gets it."

The children also learn about giving to charitable organizations. An event the club the children compete with called the Keystone DockDogs recently raise over $1,000 for Chase Away Canine Cancer, which will help fight canine cancer.

Although the Fisher children combined have won dozens of ribbons for top finishes in competitions, many of them blue ribbons, the prize money is minimal. Their parents confirmed that winning competitions won't help them make a dent in the college tuition fund, but that's okay. Competing is strictly for family fun and spending time together.

The Fishers said although their dogs are pure bred, dogs who compete in dock jumping can be of any breed or even mixed breed.

However, they have enjoyed the good nature of their dogs and plan to take a break competing with Morgan through the rest of the summer so she can breed with another champion DockDog. Maya, however, will likely compete with Maddie in August.

The Fisher family said their dogs and competing in dock jumping competitions has given their family a unique opportunity to spend more time together.

For more information on the sport visit www.DockDogs.com and for more information on the club the Fisher family is a part of visit www.keystonedockdogs.com.