John Moore of Maple Valley, Washington will be making a big splash at the 2024 AKC Diving Dogs Premier Cup, held in collaboration with North America Diving Dogs (NADD), with “Oats,” his 4-year-old Whippet. Whippets might not be the first breed that comes to mind when you think about water dogs, but they’ve been made a splash in dock diving competitions because of their athleticism for years. So far, Oats has earned his NADD Dock Premier Excellent and Air Retrieve Elite Advanced titles.
Getting Oats
Moore shares his home with Oats and his Whippet littermate “Stewie,” along with the family’s Labrador Retrievers, who also compete in Diving Dogs. It was through their Labs that they became connected with Whippets.
Over the years of competing at regional and national competitions, Moore and his wife became friends with Oat’s breeder and fell in love with the breed. Moore first brought home Oats’ brother Stewie, but when Oats was 3, he ended up going back to his breeder through no fault of his own, and was in need of a new home. At first Oats’ breeder thought she might keep him, but then she asked Moore if he could watch Oats for a short period of time. Moore responded if he did she might not get Oats back. Oats breeder told him she thought that might happen and Moore brought Oats home for a trial. Within 15 minutes, there was no question he’d found his forever home.
Not only was Moore delighted by Oats, but his other Whippet was incredibly excited to live with his brother. Oats immediately fit right into the whole family.
Following In the Pawprints of Giant Splashes
Not only is Oats an accomplished dock diving dog, but he also comes from an accomplished dock diving family. Oats was bred by Laurel Behnke of Jammin’ Whippets, who has produced famous Diving Dogs, including “Sounders,” who holds eight of the nine world records for dock diving. But Moore doesn’t let Oats’ famous Whippet relatives make him anxious about competing. He knows that Oats loves to jump and will give the competition his all. For his part, Moore explains that the best advice he’s ever received from a dock diving judge is “just go out there and throw the thing as far as you can throw it,” which is exactly what he hopes to do at the Premier Cup.
Preparation and Conditioning
Unlike some sports that you can practice at home, preparing to compete in dock diving requires some scheduling. “We obviously don’t have a dock diving facility in our backyard, but as much as I can, I try to have some lessons with the trainer at a dock diving facility that’s a ways away from us but drive down there, and we practice tossing and swimming,” Moore explains.
At home, his priority is keeping Oats in the best condition possible for competing. For Oats, this involves a lot of running, which helps keep him ready for dock diving, disc, and racing. To keep Oats in shape, they play fetch in the yard and at a local park.
“I take his bumper, and I do what I call on-land ‘pop-ups’ with him. I’ll throw it out in front of me kind of high in a straight and gentle toss and just to keep him focused on the bumper and tracking,” explains Moore. Learning to track the bumper is important for Diving Dogs since they need to track it while jumping at distance. Moore says this doesn’t always come naturally to dogs, but it’s necessary for the kind of jumping distances that Oats is capable of.
Strategy for the Premier Cup
Moore believes that there is a lot more to Diving Dogs than people realize. It’s more than simply getting to the dock and letting your dog jump. Getting the right throw, distance, and height to allow your dog to jump their best can be challenging for dog-handler teams, especially at big competitions.
He describes that to get an ideal jump, the bumper has to be thrown “high but not too high, kinda low, but not too low, and very far.” This is particularly challenging for the handler because you have to time that throw with “a dog running 35–40 miles per hour down a ramp towards you.” To help with his timing for dock diving, Moore practices his throw both in and out of the water with Oats. Their throwing skills are always a work in progress.
At the Premier Cup, Moore’s primary goal is for Oats to exceed his current 24-foot Air Retrieve jump so he can get his 25-foot personal best. Then, for the distance aspect of the competition, “I just like to see when we get 30 feet or more,” Moore explains. Moore’s goal for himself is to throw far and accurately. “I’m happiest when I just throw the bumper correctly because that’s Oat’s biggest hurdle,” he confesses. For Moore, throwing correctly for Oats means to “throw high and straight, and anything that happens after that is gravy on the potatoes.”
Preparing Oats to Jump
At a competition, Moore usually takes Oats out 15 minutes before the jump to have time to do some massage, walk him around, and get him warmed up. Making sure that Oats is warmed up is especially important because they live in the Pacific Northwest, and most dock diving pools aren’t heated, so dogs will swim in cold water. Since Whippets have very little hair or body fat, they can easily experience muscle cramping if they aren’t properly warmed up. Moore has even had a custom wetsuit made for Oats to help keep him warm in chilly waters. When it’s their turn to jump, Moore makes sure that Oats is hyped up and ready. But, he explains this is easy because of how much Oats loves the game. “He just loves to do it. When it’s time to go to the dock, he’s just dragging me along and can’t wait,” he says.
The Support of the Diving Dog Community
The social connection and camaraderie that exists within the Diving Dogs community is something that keeps Moore drawn to the sport. Because dogs are mostly competing against their individual personal best jumps, not other competitors, the sport always has an encouraging community feeling, he says. “Everyone wants everybody else to do their best, and it’s very supportive of each other and we all cheer for each other.”
For inexperienced dogs who may be less confident, Moore says everyone at the competition will stop and cheer the dog on and cheer even more when the dog finally does jump, regardless of how big the jump is. This sense of community continues even at big competitions. While competitors certainly want their dogs to take home a prize, Moore explains that everyone is still cheering each other on when their dogs get up on the dock.
Oats’ Life Off the Dock
This accomplished athlete is as cuddly as he is talented. Moore regularly takes Oats to visit their neighbors at a local assisted living facility and a veteran’s community living center, where Oats is a very popular visitor. When Oats isn’t competing, Moore describes him as “an angel of a dog.” Because Moore works from home, Oats spends his days sleeping on the bed next to his desk and patrolling the backyard for squirrels. Oats also loves spending his evenings curled up on Moore’s lap while he reads, or at least when the family’s cat isn’t bossing him and the other dogs around.
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