Dogs take centre stage at weekend competition

Just outside of Renfrew this weekend, dogs will be competing for a chance to qualify for a national dock jumping competition event for Canine Watersports Canada. Avalon Dog Ranch in Horton Township is welcoming a wide variety of water loving pooches. Owner and Head Trainer, Mary Spurrell, says Labs, Border Collies and German Shepherds all do well in the competition, but the current world record holder for dock jumping is a Whippet breed. She says since they don’t live on the water they decided to install a 40-foot pool for the dogs. Spurrell says the “Jump into Summer” competition gets started on Saturday with dock jumping and Sunday it’s a race across the pool.

 

Spurrell says they have another similar event coming up on August 17th and 18th. Spurrell says she has been training dogs for most of her life and is one of the only trainers around that offers swimming lessons and dock jumping for pets. She adds people travel from as far away as Petawawa and Montreal for the services they offer. Spurrell says they start with private lessons to see how the dog does, you will be given some homework and as soon as your dog is off the docks, they can register for competitions. For dogs that aren’t water lovers, she says Avalon Ranch also offers a wide variety of sports and different activities.

Picture credit: Avalon Ranch on Facebook