They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but the folks behind Nanaimo, B.C.’s Pooch Pool School might quibble with that one.
It’s the island’s first officially sanctioned facility to offer “dock diving” — a growing sport for dogs that sees them sprint down a dock and leap as high or far as possible.
“We’ve been kind of waiting many, many years for somebody to do this, and I just, you know, thought, what the heck? No one has done it yet, I might as well,” owner Kim Sirett told Global News.
“Sports enthusiasts that are doing with this with their dogs will want to use this to practice and start different techniques to learn some better distances and measurements.”
The facility features as 12-metre platform and 15-metre tank, and meets the specifications of North American Diving Dogs — the sport’s governing body.
In addition to training pups on a quest to be top dog, it also offers aqua therapy for dogs recovering from injuries as well as swimming lessons.
Siertt said the new facility has drawn dog owners from across the island, and even the Lower Mainland.
The school hopes to hold its first competition event in late August.
“It’s the kind of sport where everybody kind of works together … and they’re all encouraging each other,” Siertt said.