2006 was Pico’s first full year of competition and she took me on an amazing ride! What follows is a recap of all we did this past year.

Pico’s win in the junior division of 2005 Dock Dogs National Championships with a jump of 21′9″ convinced me that she has what it takes to compete at the top in dock diving. So, that was our focus in 2006.

We made the trip to Scottsdale Arizona to start the 2006 season at the Cynosports Games, where Pico had a family reunion with mom Soja, who was competing in agility, and littermates Kesa and Emmy. Pico finished her senior AND master titles at this event, made it to finals and finished 6th behind some of the best dogs in the country. Sister Emmy also made it to finals and has shaped up to be major diving contender in her own right.

Our next events were St. Louis, Pawsibilities in Harrisburg PA and Fort Wayne. Pico was handled by Tom Dropic in FW and SL, and finished second both times. At Pawsibilities I got some last minute advice from Scott Conrad (whether he realized it or not!) and ended up winning this club event!

Our next stop was Winneconne, WI where Pico got all five legs needed for her elite title and won the event. This was our first national win and I was pretty excited! There was not much time to linger and savor victory, as we had to rush home to try for our AKC Tracking Dog title in less than two days.

Pico is an excellent tracking dog, and I was pretty confident going into the test. She gave me some minor fits when she uncharacteristically loped in circles at the start. I just held onto the line and prayed she’d regain her senses, which she did, and ran the rest of the track with accuracy to become Sprite’s Europa, EJ, TD.

Some poor throws plagued us at the next two events, the Harrisburg Pet Expo and an event on Long Island. We finished third both times. Luckily I regained my throwing form in time for the Mishicot Festival, where we finished 1st! Our second National event win!

The scores we posted in Mishicot upped our average to over 25 feet and got us into the Dock Dogs World Championships, which was our goal. There, poor throws came back to haunt me and we finished 7th, but had a fantastic time.

We took all of August off and returned for the KiKi Classic in September. We finished fourth and learned a few good lessons, one of which was not to use a wubba as the throw object! With wubba handed over to Granite for shredding, we headed to Hamburg for an event at the Cabela’s store. We had to battle it out with some of the best dogs in the area (and in the country) and ended up winning! It was the confidence boost we needed, with nationals just a few days away.

At nationals Pico finished 2nd to our friends Kevin and Country in the elite division. This was far and away the highlight of our year and I dont think I stopped smiling for weeks! 

Pico’s placement at nationals gives her an automatic invite to World Championships in July. Knowing this, I figured I’d take it easy til spring, but as soon as the events for 2007 were posted I found myself making travel plans immediately. We leave for Chicago in less than three weeks!

One of the most fortunate things that happened to us this year were the sponsors who joined us, and who are so crucial to our success.

I feel as though Bette, and the other great people at Bravo! are family and am delighted to be feeding and representing their excellent products, the blends, raw meaty bones and wonderful array of treats and chews. There are a lot of raw diets out there, but the quality of the ingredients in Bravo! is unsurpassed. Nothing is more important than feeding a good diet and Pico is eating the best there is!

Mike Williams from Canine Performance Nutrition has provided both excellent conditioning advice and the supplements that have helped take Pico to the top and keep her there over long weekends of competing. Pico and I thank him for taking time out of his busy days to answer all our questions, evaluate our training and conditioning program and steer us in the right direction.

Pico and I thank both sponsors sincerely. You do not get the coat, muscling, stamina and vibrant health that Pico enjoys with ordinary food or supplements. We are very lucky to have Bravo! and CPN in our corner!