Dogs on Waves

Karen B. London

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Dogs on Waves

Canine surfing event in California

Karen B. London, PhD |

September 29, 2011

The list of activities we do with our dogs continues to expand. Over the weekend in Huntington Beach, Calif., the Surf City Surf Dog competition took place. If you know anyone who thinks of surfing as a sport in which only humans participate, these pictures of dogs catching waves [3] will prove them wrong.

Dogs competed in heats lasting 30-40 minutes. Judges awarded points to the dogs for each ride, with standing on the board worth more than lying down, and riding backwards richly rewarded. Even recovering from nearly falling was a way to score extra points.

These dogs are clearly channeling their inner Gidget—to the delight of all the spectators.

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Editor’s note: One dog made history on Sunday. We heard from Michael Uy, whose surfing co-pilot Abbie Girl, a rescued Australian Kelpie, rode the waves for 65 yards.

“Last Sunday at the Surf City Surf Dog competition in Huntington Beach, Calif., we made history with a Guinness World Record [4]. ‘One small wave for dog, one giant ride for dogkind’ (grin),” Uy wrote to us. “We are majorly stoked. I’ve always wanted people to see that dogs can do amazing things when they bond with their owner through sports, and focus on trust, not training. Every dog has something in them—whether it’s surfing or something else. I hope this record inspires everyone to get out and do more with their dog!”

Amen, Michael!

Check out this video of Abbie’s other sports: Paragliding, herding, snowboarding, sledding, tree-climbing and more [5].

iStock photo