Surfing dog could ride wave to contest victory
Skylar Blue streaked across the beach, a blur of black and white and colors in between. Her eyes, one blue and the other brown, homed in on her airborne prize — a tennis ball.
Tongue lolling out, the Australian shepherd bounded into the waves. Returning dutifully to Bob Craig, she plopped her catch at her master’s feet. After giving him a beseeching glance, she was off, kicking up sand again.
“Nonstop motion,” quipped the long-time Huntington Beach resident’s wife, Lori.
But her fetching ability belies a greater skill acquired by the dog: surfing.
On a recent balmy Wednesday, the couple took Skylar and her sire, Woody, to Huntington Dog Beach. The spot by lifeguard tower 22 is a familiar haunt for the family, since it’s where Skylar practices riding the waves.
“She’s a runner by nature,” Lori said. “But in the summertime, it gets too hot and there’s too many rattlesnakes and all kinds of things, so we needed something to keep her busy.”
Skylar’s skills will be put to the test May 30 in the Incredible Surf Dog competition at Huntington Beach State Park. The event is a West Coast feature of the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge. Local dogs will also have the opportunity to qualify for the next day’s diving, fetching and freestyle flying disc events.
The western regionals will take place May 31 at the same venue. Winners will qualify for the national finals, to be held in St. Louis in late September.
“It began as a one-time event just to try to come up with an athletic event to fill a void on TV,” Purina Pro Plan Brand manager Jim Allen said of the event, which debuted in 1998. “Up until that point, you had dogs at conformation dog shows or in TV sitcoms. We took the opportunity to bring dogs of various breeds, ages and sizes together in one place to compete.”
At the time of its inception, the Incredible Dog Challenge comprised the Incredible Agility Competition, Incredible Diving Dog Competition, Incredible Jack Russell Hurdle Racing, Incredible 30-Weave Up-and-Back Competition and Incredible Freestyle Flying Disc Competition. While these remain core events, the Purina Pro Plan team has expanded offerings to roughly 27 challenges.
Allen said dozens of dogs will participate in the Orange County event, while more than 2,000 people are expected to show up.
Two years ago, Lori was browsing Facebook when she stumbled across an ad, through the Surf City Surf Dog Competition, about teaching dogs how to surf. With her curiosity piqued, the 46-year-old ultramarathon runner scheduled an appointment, although she wasn’t at all sure Skylar would be willing to climb onto a board.
“Her very first time on the wave, she rode it all the way in,” Lori said about the dog’s performance. “And we thought, ‘OK, she’s pretty good at this.’”
The dog owner said that when the family got home, Skylar “crashed. She was completely stimulated and exercised. Surfing does that to her, and we just enjoy the afternoon.”
The Surf City Surf Dog Competition organizers encouraged the Craigs to enter Skylar into the 2012 contest. So Lori, acting as the catcher, strapped a life jacket onto the pet, placed her on the surfboard and brought her out to where the waves break. Bob, 56, serving as a launcher, took Skylar farther out and turned her around. After locating what Lori deemed the “sweet spot” of a wave, Bob let the dog ride back to shore. Skylar, who was judged on the length and height of the waves as well as her confidence and attitude, walked away with the award for Best Newbie.
“From the time she was a puppy, this guy [Woody] would tiptoe around a puddle on the sidewalk, and Skylar would jump right in,” Lori said, laughing. “She’s always just loved the water. When we bring her down here, she’ll play on the shore, whereas he has no interest whatsoever.”
Skylar earned an invitation to the upcoming Incredible Surf Dog competition based on her performance in 2013’s Surf City Surf Dog Competition. It also earned her the title Miss January in the Surf Dogs 2014 Calendar.
“The Incredible Dog Challenge is an invitation event — invitation in a sense that we like to reach out to other canine competition organizers and ask them to submit names for some of the top performers in these particular sports,” said Allen, who is constantly bombarded with calls by exultant owners describing their dogs’ achievements.
“What we want to do is try to have the best of the best come to [us.]”
The Craigs train Skylar even when they’re home by familiarizing her with the surfboard. It’s placed in the family room, Lori said, and the dog earns treats by sitting on it during meals and at other times in the day. The practice has helped during competitions — squirrels and other canines are plenty distracting — because she’s conditioned to climb onto her spot on the 8-foot board.
Lori added that dogs that do best at surfing are those that love the water but not necessarily swimming. Otherwise, they’d be eager to jump off the board. Skylar is happiest on the board and does everything she can to stay there.
“She is the underdog in this challenge,” Lori said. “She’s only been surfing for a couple of years, and these other dogs have surfboard sponsors and pet store sponsors. And she is riding her Costco special.”
According to Allen, participants appreciate the contest because often it helps them discover talents in what they’d considered a “couch dog.”
“It’s an honor to see how many competitors there are, especially when there’s no prize money involved,” he said. “They are in it only for bragging rights and a medal.”
Lori, who hopes locals will come out and cheer for Skylar, agreed.
“If she catches an epic wave on the outside, rides it all the way in and gets a great score, that’s awesome,” Skylar’s owner said. “That’s the icing on the cake. But for us, it’s not all about winning. It’s about bonding with our dog and spending time together as a family.”
If You Go
What: Incredible Surf Dog competition and qualifying rounds for Incredible Dog Challenge
Where: Huntington Beach State Park, 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach
When: 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. May 30
Cost: Free
Information: https://www.proplan.com/community/incredible-dog-challenge or https://www.carsonevents.com
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What: Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge western regional
Where: Huntington Beach State Park, 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 31
Cost: Free
Information: https://www.proplan.com/community/incredible-dog-challenge or https://www.carsonevents.com