Life Outside Fall 2017 - 9

The Nutcase

SIT. STAY. JUMP!
Looking for a hero to guide your way into complete passion
about your outdoor pursuit? Meet Jovie, who just can't wait
to get outside and dive off a dock. And then do it again. And
again. And again.
The 6-year-old Belgian Malinois is a dock-diving
machine.
And has the titles to prove it.
You might recognize dock diving from the Roanoke
GO Outside Festival or monthly events at White Rock
Vineyard and Brew Haus in Goodview, where dogs chase
a toy, fetch-style while jumping into water.
Handler Tim Boyd first saw dock diving at GO Fest
and signed Jovie up to try it out.
"That's how everybody gets started in this sport," says
Boyd, owner of Anubis Air Dogs, an affiliate of Ultimate
Air Dogs. "You never know ... you might have the next
record holder on your couch."
Boyd knows; he was sitting next to a national champion.
Jovie-who, you guessed it, is named after Bon Jovi-
won the 2015 AKC National Championship in Air Retrieve,
a dock diving game. He qualified for the event as a walk
on. Jovie also has a dock jumping master title, meaning
he jumped at least 22.5 feet more than five times in a
single year of competition.
Jovie and Boyd's best moment, though, didn't come
with a title. "At an event in 2015, Jovie jumped 24 feet
3 inches to get in the ultimate category, which is the
highest a dog can be in."
But for Jovie, it's not about the ribbons. It's all about
the splash!
"His motto is cuckoo for cocoa puffs," Boyd says. "Or
'I lose my mind.' He blocks everything out when we are
up there."
Dock diving works like this: The dog and handler walk
up onto a platform (or dock) that's two feet above a pool
or natural body of water. In standard dock diving, the
handler tosses a toy or bumper into the pool and the dog
jumps in to retrieve it (in fetch it, the toy is suspended
in the air and the dog tries to grab it during the jump).
Dogs are scored by the distance of the jump from the
dock until they meet the water.
Boyd says the great thing about dock diving is that it's
pure fun for handlers ... and dogs.
"This is a time to let your dog be a dog," he says.
The sport puts together a lot of things that high-drive
dogs, such as Jovie, love. And that includes his special
dock diving toy, a soft floating bumper.
"He's so high drive, it doesn't matter what I throw;
he'll go get it," Boyd says.

COURTESY TIM BOYD

JOVIE LIKES TO JUMP.

DOCK-DIVING CHAMPION
Jovie holds an Ultimate Air Dogs Dock Jumping Master Title
and is a former AKC national champion.
NAME: Jovie
BREED: Belgian Malinois
AGE: 6
JOB: Dock diving
HANDLER: Tim Boyd
TITLES: United Kennel Club Dock Jumping Master,
Ultimate Air Dogs Dock Jumping Master, American
Kennel Club Air Retrieve National Champion,
Protection Sports Association PDC (protection dog
certificate), North American Dog Federation E.L.
Protection Dog, NADF Level 1
LEARN MORE: anubisairdogs.com

Jovie, a former protection dog, shows that dock diving
is something for any dog who loves toys and water.
"We want you to come out and have fun with your
dog," Boyd says, noting that no experience is necessary
and breed does not matter. "Come out to the [White
Rock] winery. It's a good way for people to try it so they
can compete at GO Fest."
So grab a toy. And go make a splash!
The next dock diving champion might be your best
friend.

-CARRIE COUSINS

LifeOutsideMag.com // Fall 2017

9
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Life Outside Fall 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Life Outside Fall 2017
