A local dog last weekend set the world jumping record in a dock
diving competition at the Sonoma County Fair. Hollister resident
Ashley Rietsors’ dog, Pyro, a Dutch shepherd, jumped to a height of
7 feet, 10 inches to set the record, just four months after the
nearly year-old dog began competing. At last weekend’s competition,
Pyro took second in distance and first in height among 137
competitors.
A local dog last weekend set the world jumping record in a dock diving competition at the Sonoma County Fair.
Hollister resident Ashley Rietsors’ dog, Pyro, a Dutch shepherd, jumped to a height of 7 feet, 10 inches to set the record, just four months after the nearly year-old dog began competing.
Pyro is a member of the local Doggone Dirty Dock Diving team, which includes other dogs and owners from Hollister and Gilroy.
The dogs in the group compete in events around the state, jumping for distance and height after running along a 40-foot dock then jumping into a 40-foot-long pool.
Rietsors said Pyro started jumping when he was less than 8 months old and placed in the top eight in his first competition. He is now the top-ranked Dutch shepherd in the “big air” category, soaring to a distance of 24 feet, 6 inches. The dog is ranked No. 3 in the world among all dogs in that category and is No. 1 in the “super vertical” category, which measures how high dogs jump.
“Some people train their dogs for it, other don’t,” Rietsors said. “They just have to have a dog that loves to jump and swim.”
To get a dog started in dock diving, Rietsors said the typical method is to take one of the dog’s favorite toys – something that floats – and walk the dog down a ramp or dock and throw the toy a few feet into the water.
At last weekend’s competition, Pyro took second in distance and first in height among 137 competitors.
See the full story and more photos in the Pinnacle on Friday.
