| Hi Dave, Been a while since I last emailed you about Ryder. At the time we were having dog on dog aggression issues. Well, we seem to have that under control now. Still have to be super careful around other dogs with him, but otherwise he is perfect! I just wanted you to know that Ryder was invited to the Dock Dog World Championship Competition in Dubuque, Iowa. He will be competing in Iron Dog which includes 3 disciplines: Big Air (distance), Speed Retrieve (jumping off the dog and swimming to get the bumper) and Extreme Vertical (height). Currently, in the Warrior division, Ryder is ranked second in the country, and second in the world. He has an excellent chance of being first after the World competition. If you go to DockDogs.Com, under the heading of ranking you can look up Iron Dog and see his name. Although he is shown as number 15, he is number 2 in ranking. There are two divisions: Titans and Warriors. We are very excited about this and Ryder has worked very hard to achieve this title. I have attached a copy of his invitation. Another achievement, and probably even more important, Ryder is a Therapy Dog and visits the rehab hospital weekly. He works with patients who are trying to get back their motor skills. The patients walk with Ryder, groom him, and generally just love him. He in turn sits with them and if the mood strikes him, he'll even give them a kiss. I will keep you posted about Ryder's accomplishments. Keep your fingers crossed about the World Competition. Sincerely, Laura Lockwood |
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 Killington, Vermont Nationals 2011. Ryder came in second place. |
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| Harley (left) and Ryder in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. |
Starting the run/jump for Speed Retrieve. Ryder and Harley (our older Chocolate Lab) have raised over $3000 for Chase Away K-9 Cancer. | |
 Needles, California Raising money for shelter animals. |
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| Extreme Vertical Nationals 2010. Once again, third place. | ||
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Ryder in Speed Retrieve
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Ryder at the Dubuque Nationals 2010, with war paint. He came in third in Big Air. | |
| When Ryder came in second last year at the Nationals for Big Air, he automatically qualified for an invitation to the World Competition. World's are by invitation only. Ryder has since worked very hard and received another invitation, this time for Iron Dog. Iron Dog is comprised of all three disciplines: Big Air, Speed Retrieve, and Extreme Vertical. We are hoping to win this event. The event is televised and will probably be shown on the Animal Planet station. The competition is not until November. The broadcast is some time in December. I will let you know. Laura |
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