Rogers Lab Raven Makes ?Big Air? Elite

Tim Ross’ black Labrador retriever Raven used to jump up and down until she bonked her head on the roof of her kennel. So the owner of Rogers’ White River Retrievers put that talent to use.

WRR is a breeding, training and boarding operation that can house up to 10 adult dogs. Ross primarily trains sporting dogs for hunting, or to be good pets. But Raven’s abilities launched the duo into the world of Dock Dogs Big Air Dogs competitions — the canine long-jumping event that’s become a staple of ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games, The Sporting Dog Challenge and the Super Retriever Series.

Dock Dogs is the sport’s governing body, equivalent to football’s NFL. According to The Wall Street Journal, Big Air Dogs beat the U.S. X-Games in television ratings in 2002.

Ross took Raven to a local pond and began working with her jumping off a dock. He said the 16-month-old Lab took to the sport, and after some conditioning work they loaded up and headed to a Bass Pro Shops’ competition in Bossier City, La.

Raven jumped 24-feet, one-inch and won. The next weekend, she dominated a Cabela’s competition in Kansas City, Mo., becoming the first female to jump 25-feet and the youngest dog to earn the sport’s “elite jumper” distinction.

There are only five registered “elite” jumpers in the world. Raven has qualified for the Dock Dog National Championships Oct. 7-9 in Hamburg, Penn.

So far she’s won about $500, but animal equipment supplier Sport Mutt has a $30,000 challenge out for the first dog to jump 30 feet. The world record holder is Country Time, a male hound mix who’s cleared 28-feet, seven-inches.

Ross, whose day job is territory manager of Central States Manufacturing Inc., was offered $5,000 for Raven but turned it down. He said she’d likely fetch $10,000, but her breeding potential is worth a lot more because she is pure bred.