Welcome to Oskar's site!
Oskar started into this crazy sport of dockjumping in the summer of 2005. Oskar Boogerman is our wonderful, now 5 year old German Shorthaired Pointer. He had been jumping for fun for about 2 years at the family lake cottage before we realized it was a sport. That summer we saw it on ESPN on the Great Outdoor Games, and wondered how far Oskar was flying. I started researching the sport on the internet and was led to Dockdogs. We found an event here in Michigan and went to try it out. He went right in at Woods n Water in Imlay City. It was a nasty hot day out, and we had a little Carly puppy at home, so we only competed in one wave and headed home. We didn't quite understand how it all worked and didn't even know Oskar made it to the finals!
Our next event was Dockdogs BassPro in Auburn Hills. We jumped in three waves that weekend and made it to the finals. This time we stayed. It was an amazing event, we got to see the world record jump that still stands today, 28'10" by Country. We ended up placing fourth overall for the weekend out of hundreds of dogs, to Country, Marley, and Lucy the Chessie, some of the top dogs in the sport. Not too shabby for a newbie!
After that weekend we were hooked, and I was quickly figuring out the rules. Dockdog Nationals were around the corner, and I assessed we needed a title, which is 5 legs or jumps within our division, which was senior. Well we had 4 under our belt, so we were off to Chicago the next weekend to get that 5th leg. After that we were signed up for Dockdog Nationals in Hamburg, PA!
I made the trek down to Hamburg, and stopped off in Ohio to bring my dad with me. Anyone who was at Nationals in 2005 can attest to the fact that it was an absolute monsoon, one of the worst rains Pennsylvania has seen in years. Everyone was outfitted in head to toe rain gear, but we still had a blast. I became famous for a while for my lovely hot pink kid's rainsuit I found on clearance at Cabelas. Oskar made it to the Senior finals, despite the cold temperatures and the rain which he detests. He was in the top 12 Senior jumping dogs in the country. What an awesome way to finish up our whirlwind first season!
After that, we have gone to every event possible, and over two years later, we are absolutely addicted! Oskar has continued to improve his distance, and so far his personal best has been 22'2", at the Rock Classic in Long Island. He has moved up a division to Masters, since we discovered his love for his big Loopie and the big red Jolly Ball and the place and send method. He is also still learning vertical, and the new Ultimate Air Dog sport of Catch-it. Since starting this sport, we have traveled to Pennsylvania three times, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, New York, Arizona next, and all over the state of Michigan. Now we have become heavily involved with the Ultimate Air Dogs organization, based here in Michigan. We have been to some wonderful venues, made a lot of lifelong friends, and hope to make many more!
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