Holly Morgan may not be the fastest runner or the longest jumper, but she's always happy to sprint down a dock and fly into the water -- paws first.
The 3-year-old black Labrador has been dock diving with Dixie Dock Dogs, a Georgia-based nonprofit, since August.
When Holly is not competing, she hunts ducks and serves as a therapy dog, says parent Judy Morgan.
The human Morgan, of Gibson, is herself of a certain breed of pet owners who want more for their dogs than just being flea-free. They want to bond with their pups, build their confidence, exercise their minds and give them something to wag about.
Dock diving does just that.
"She had a lot of energy that needed to be redirected," Morgan said. "I thought why not give her something she'll be successful at and is great exercise and she loves? Plus, you can do it as a team."
That teamwork was in full display on a recent Sunday at Lake Lucerne in Lilburn, where about a dozen people and nine canines gathered at the docks. Led by Dixie Dock Dogs founder Nancy Akin, the group was preparing for the 2010 Great American Dawg Jump competition in Watkinsville. Dixie Dock Dogs, an affiliate of DockDogs Inc., meets at least three Sundays a month at lakes near Atlanta to practice. Not everyone competes, Akin said.
Among Sunday's swimmers was rookie Charlie Bucket Collum. The 75-pound black Labrador from McDonough took up dock diving in March, said dad Alan Collum. A month later, Charlie Bucket cleaned up at a competition in Milledgeville, winning two of the three disciplines, or waves: big air, a jump for distance; and extreme vertical, a jump for height. The third wave is speed retrieve, a timed speed swim.
"My friends think it's hilarious we've got a dog that does dock diving," said Collum, who noted Charlie Bucket's furniture-chewing tendencies have decreased since diving. "Dog parks are great, but the lake is it for him. ... I hope he does it a long time because he's really good at it."
But winning isn't everything, the humans said Sunday. Dogs like 100-pound yellow Lab Maggie Kingsley, who jumps just feet off the dock, do it for fun. (And maybe to please their humans.)
Terri Casey and Wayne Vermeychuk of Alpharetta drove 50 minutes to bring their yellow labs Harley and Cooper to the lake to try dock diving. The human couple was looking for new ways to exercise and bond with their pups in the summer heat. Cooper, 15 months old, belly-flopped his way off the dock to the delight of his pet parents.
"It doesn't have to be pretty," Akin assured them. "It's a start."
Nearly all the four-legged swimmers were Labradors -- the sport's most common breed -- though Akin said she's seen everything from German shepherds to Yorkies tear down the runway. On Sunday, Akin added a most improbable pup to that list: Zeus, a 4-year-old Doberman who stood taller and fiercer than his Labrador counterparts.
Dobermans aren't much for water, nor do they care to fetch on command.
Wearing a neon yellow life jacket, the big boy cautiously walked into the water beside the dock with dad Eric Mullins of Watkinsville. The crowd exploded as he quickly addled like a pro and retrieved his toy just as eagerly as the Labs.
And who knows, his parents wondered. Maybe next time he'll dive.
More information:
For full details, visit www.dixiedockdogs.com/ or e-mail chocolatedawg@dixiedockdogs.com.
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