Man asks a lot of his best friend: "Come here, boy. Sit. Roll over. Sit! OK, roll over. Good boy."The loving owners/trainers of the dogs competing in the Purina Dog Chow Incredible Dog Challenge ask a lot more.
The Eastern Regional competition takes place at Spa Beach, at the base of The Pier in downtown St. Petersburg, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 7-8.
It's the fourth year the competition has come to the Bay area to put on its showcase of some of the world's most athletic dogs.
On Friday, from 10 a.m. to noon, local dogs compete to qualify in two disciplines: incredible diving dog (where they sprint and long jump into a pool to retrieve a float) and the incredible freestyle flying disc Competition (Frisbee).
If you hadn't caught on yet, everything about the event is "Incredible." There's even incredible swag, Purina tennis balls.
Top pups that have already qualified show off tricks old and new in practice rounds that run until 3 p.m. And from 3 to 4 p.m., camps are open to local dogs and trainers who want to learn how to train their pup to be an Incredible Dog. Experienced trainers impart guidance in the freestyle Frisbee events, including tips on focus and voice commands. (Registration begins at 2 p.m.)
The competition opens at 10 a.m. Saturday with the incredible swim race, in which the dogs swim out from the beach and retrieve a bumper (a.k.a. floaty). At 11 a.m. it's the incredible agility competition; dogs race through a timed obstacle course, clearing jumps, weaving between poles, crawling through tunnels, etc. (from here on, insert "incredible" before every event.) The diving dog is at noon followed by Jack Russell terrier hurdle racing at 1:15 p.m., then the high jump at 1:45 p.m.
Naturally, they save the best for last. It goes way beyond fetching a newspaper.
At 2:30 p.m., the Frisbee competition: dogs and the their trainers perform 2-and-a-half-minute routines of aerial maneuvers choreographed to music. They're judged on skill, originality and presentation.
Yes, this is an utterly ridiculous competition, but it's highly entertaining. Plus it's free.
For more info, visit www.dogchow.com or call 800-229-4758, ext. 343.
Spa Beach is at 800 Second Ave. N.E., St. Petersburg.
This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2003.