"So you just jump dogs into a pool?"

I get a lot of questions and looks when I say that I train diving dogs."Why on earth do people want to pay money for that?" Well, let me tell you. Competitive dog sports are growing in popularity, mainly because many couples are opting for dogs instead of children. Along with the family's who own dogs, they are no longer just "dogs" that sleep in the kitchen and get table scrapes for dinner, they are now an active member of the family. Here is a small insight of what sports can offer your dog, Diving Dog edition.

I get clients that come to me from word of mouth, many state "I don't know we just wanted to try it" Which is great, send me all the dogs! What they don't know is how much they are offering their dog. The best part is the confidence. I have a lab mix who has been coming to me for almost a year, the first day I worked with her, she was terrified of me and hardly let me put the life vest on her. This past year that same dog earned an invite to regional's at a qualifying event. Treble started to walk into the facility with her tail wagging, and head held high, she was no longer tucked away behind her owner. Watching Treble grow is just one of the major success stories, and its not because shes jumping 24 feet, its because she is out of her shell and happy. Another family comes to me with a lab named Rory, and her "human sister" throws for Rory at every event. Not only is this getting children involved in caring for the dog at home, but helping them learn how to handle a dog in public and of course learn about competition. Rory's human was very shy as well until she started to compete with us at Rustic Lodge, she is up there smiling and laughing every time.

The next best thing is exercise. Pet obesity can be a highly debated topic if you belong to any dog groups now a day (I am not here to pet shame), but winter months where we live can be long and dark. I will be the first to tell you, I am the last person you will find putting on 5 layers in order to go walk 4 dogs in a blizzard. I love that I am able to drive them to a pool and offer a different style of workout for them. Not only is a mental stimulation but physical and mental stimulation can wear out even the most energized pooch. I enjoy coming home to have the dogs all curl up and take a nap, and I can assure you my clients do as well.

These are just two examples of what the benefits are for dogs who just "jump into a pool" I have more but I think Ill save that for next week. Being a dog nerd, I'm worried that these blogs will start to ramble with all the information I can cram into your brain (warning there is a lot). Have topics you want to see discussed? Reach out, along with questions.

Until next week!