Frequently Asked Questions

We have facilities all across the US with great training programs to get your dog off to the right start.  You can view a full list of all NADD-sanctioned facilities on our website here.

Yes, you will need to register your dog with NADD before you can participate in an event.  The registration fee is $35 (per dog) and only needs to be paid once, after which point you will only need to pay for each individual splash your dog jumps in.   Exception: dogs do not need to register with NADD to partake in Try-It splashes

When you register your first dog, you will also be creating a NADD user account.  Each dog you register on your NADD user account will receive a unique NADD ID that will be used to track their information, progress, and scores in the NADD database, which you can access by logging in to the NADD Member Portal.  

To receive your NADD ID, you can register your dog online on the NADD website here.  You can also pay the NADD registration fee when you attend your first event, but we recommend registering for a NADD ID online prior to attending in order to simplify the check-in process when you arrive.  Once you have an account, you can also pre-register for events online to reserve a spot in the splashes you'd like to attend.

Try-Its are available at all our portable dock events. Some facilities offer the try-it during their trial.  Please contact the facility beforehand to see if they are available.   No, you do not have to have a NADD number for the try-it.  Each morning you must sign up at the registration booth at the event for the times that Try-It is available.

NADD Glossary

Air Retrieve: A competition where the Air Retrieve toy is suspended 2’ above the surface of the dock, and gradually moves away from the dock with each successful grab. Handers pick their dog’s starting distance, with Lap Dogs able to start at 4’ from the dock, and Open dogs can start at 6’. With each successful grab, the toy is moved out in 1’ increments, until the dog misses twice at the same distance, or 3 times overall.

Advanced Title: After earning an initial title, 25 additional Qualifying Jumps in one division, totaling 30 jumps.

Base of Tail: Where the dog’s tail meets their body. (a.k.a. tail set)

Bumper: A common throw toy used in dock jumping. Usually made of harder plastic or rubber, and shaped like a large pill. Some handlers decorate them with ribbons on the ends, or decorative tape, to make them more individual, or for their dog to see them against the environment easier.

Closed Splash: Are held at facility events as well as ‘stand-alone’ mobile events. There are set times, and the number of competitors limited. Each team is required to check in with registration a minimum of 30 minutes prior to their splash. A running order is created, in which the dogs will jump according to that order.

Day of Show Entries: Entering a competition on the day you are competing.

Distance Jump: Competition round where dogs are scored on how far they jump, measured to the point where the base of the dog’s tail enters the water.

Division: Novice, Junior, Senior, Master, Elite and Premier (distance only). Open, Lap and Veteran (open only)

Dock: Flat, level surface approximately 24” above the water’s surface. Dock is a 40’ long by minimum of 7.5’ wide. Covered in an “astro turf” like surface to limit dogs slipping when wet.

Double Handling: A person who throws the toy or calls the dog from outside of the pool/dock, or splashes the water to entice the dog to jump. This can result in the dog earning an NQ for the splash.

Excellent Title: After earning an Advanced title, 25 additional Qualifying Jumps in one division, totaling 55 jumps.

Exhibitor: Also, known as a competitor.

Handler: Person who is throwing the toy for the dog, while competing. A person can be the handler for more than one dog, per splash. There can also be an additional handler on the dock, to help restrain the dog for the lead handler. There is a maximum of 2 handlers allowed on the dock at a time. The minimum age for a handler is 5 years old, with an adult as the additional handler. At age 7 years old, they can compete alone on the dock.

Jump Card: A card you receive when you check in at mobile events, for each splash the dog is entered in. Each card has the dog’s name, NADD number, Handler name, and splash number, in addition to a place for the judge to write the two jump distances. This is given to the person who is running the board, as a sign that the handler would like to jump their dog. The score written on the jump card, is the official score for the splash.

Lap Dog: Any dog who measures under 16” at the withers. Dogs are considered “unverified” as a Lap dog, until they have been measured after the age of 2 years old by a Certified Measurement Judge or by presenting a permanent Height Card from AKC or CKC.

NADD Number: North America Diving Dogs registration number that is unique to each dog, and is good for that dog only, forever. It is a one-time registration number that enables NADD to track titles and invites for each dog. Can apply for an NADD Number on our website or at an event.

No Jump: Or “NJ” is earned when a splash is purchased but the dog does not show up to take their turn on the dock.

No Show: When a handler is pre-registered for an event, but does not remove themselves before the event preregistration closes (14 days before the first day of the event), does not pay for their preregistered splashes AND does not show up to jump. After three No Shows, the handler will be blocked from pre-registering for any future events, and any future events they were already pre-registered for, will be unregistered.

On Site Registration: Also, called Day of Registration. Signing up for splashes at an event, the day a handler would like to compete. At Facility events, the cost is $30 per splash.

Open Class: All dogs who measure 16” or taller at the withers compete in this class, regardless of breed, gender or age.

Pre-Register: Signing up for an event online, thereby agreeing to pay/jump all splashes that are pre-registered.

Qualifier: An event where dogs can earn an invite to the National Championships. They must have a minimum of 3 completed splashes during the event to be ranked, and then the average of all their jumps is taken. For all 3 disciplines, the top 3 dogs in each division (Open, Veteran and Lap), automatically earn invites. If the top 3 dogs already have an invite, then the invite will roll down to the next dog. 

Qualifying Jump: Anytime a dog jumps into the water, from the dock, on their own accord in the allotted time. The greater of the two Qualifying Jumps is the Official Qualifying Score, and that is recorded on the Splash card or judges running order.

Ramp: Exit ramp used to help dogs get out of pool after they jump.

Ribbon Box: A self-serve box located near registration, that holds competitor’s ribbons. Each handler is responsible for picking up their ribbons by the end of the event, as ribbons will not be mailed out.

Sanctioned Facility: Facility approved to hold NADD events. Only NADD Sanctioned facilities can hold NADD events. For more information on becoming an NADD Sanctioned Facility, please see the “Sanctioned Facility Requirements”, under the Rules and Regulations tab, on our website.

Sandbagging: The intentional jumping a dog under its potential, to gain a competitive edge on others, or by earning a ranking lower than their dogs’ ability. This is not allowed, and can result in the dog earning an NQ while sandbagging.

Splash: Jumping round of competition. Handlers can enter as many or as few splashes that are offered, per day, that they desire. A Handler can enter a splash more than once with different dogs, but each dog may compete in that numbered splash only once. (i.e. you can only enter Splash #1 once, but you can do all splashes offered at an event)

Open Splash: A format used by Mobile docks, to accommodate the many other events and time conflicts happening at a dog show venue. The entire day’s splashes are run at the same time, whenever a competitor turns in their splash cards. They are put on the board, in the order they are received, and when a dog’s name is called, it is their turn on the dock, regardless of which splash they are jumping in. They can do their jumps anytime from the time the dock opens each day, to the close of Open dock time.

Team: A dog and handler make up a team. A handler or dog can be part of multiple teams, i.e.: Dog A jumps with Handler 1, Dog A also jumps with Handler 2. Handler 2 also jumps dog B.

The Board: The dry erase board that lists the order the dogs will jump for each splash, or for mobile events, for the entire day. The board-person is who handlers give their jump cards to, when they are ready to get their dog in the running order to jump.

Timed Out: When a dog does not jump from the dock into the water in the time allowed, this is scored as a 0.

Title: 5 Qualifying Jumps in the same division. Dogs can work on earning multiple titles, at the same time.

Toy: Any item thrown into the pool, used to entice a dog to jump. Must float, be throw able, be non-edible, is not alive or has never been alive, and will not dissolve in water. Dog does not have to retrieve item for jump score to count. Only two toys are allowed on the dock during competitions.

Trial: Also, known as a competition. Can be a one day event, or multiple days.

Try Its: Practice sessions during an event, for newcomers to try the sport, or dogs to get acclimated to the dock/pool. All mobile events allow for Try It sessions, as time allows, and Facilities post on the “Events” page on our website if they will offer Try Its at their events.

Voluntary Withdrawal: "VW" refers to an Air Retrieve splash where the participant chose not to continue their turn by attempting the next highest jump, and voluntarily withdrew their dog before the maximum number of allowed misses was reached.  This is a form of "sandbagging" and VW splashes will be excluded from the ranking at qualifying events.

Wrangler: The person directing teams when to jump, and making sure the pool is cleared for the next dog to compete. They are the dock jumping traffic controller.

If you can't remember your NADD number and are unable to log in, please contact us here for assistance in retrieving your information.

The Watchlist system was designed to help you keep track of events you're interested in, regardless of whether or not you've registered for that event.  If an event is not yet open for registration, you can add it to your watchlist and you'll receive an email notification as soon as online pre-registration is available. 

For each event on your watchlist, you'll also receive an email notification ten days prior to the start of the event reminding you to make any last-minute registration changes or remove splashes prior to the deadline.  This will give you time to cancel your registration if you no longer plan to attend, which will free up space for other participants and ensure you won't accidentally be marked as a no-show for that event.  If an event is on your watchlist but you haven't registered, you'll still receive an email reminder ten days prior to the event if there is still space available to register.

In addition, you can also add a facility to your watchlist by marking it as a Favorite Facility.  This simply means you will receive an email notification any time a new event at that facility opens for online pre-registration, regardless of whether the event itself on your watchlist.  This is a great way to make sure you don't miss any events in your area, without having to add each event to your watchlist individually.  (You can still choose whether to receive a reminder email for individual events when you register.)

If you are the primary owner of the dog, you can transfer ownership of the dog to another member's account at any time.  To do so, you will first need to add the intended new owner as a co-owner or handler using their NADD account email address (you can do this on the same page you edit your dog's information in the Member Portal).  You will then have the option to change the primary owner of the dog by clicking the "Change Primary Owner" button and selecting the account you wish to transfer ownership to.  The original owner will still have access to the dog on their account unless the new owner removes them.

Note: Only the primary owner is allowed to manage these settings.  Once you transfer ownership, you will no longer be the primary owner and cannot "undo" this change.

If you need help or the primary owner is unable to make this change, please contact us for assistance.

The NADD Member Portal is where you can find basic information, stats, titles, jump history, and upcoming registered events for every dog you've registered with NADD.

You can find all the stats (PB, titles, rankings, jump scores) on your dog in the member portal.  Also, you will see all the past and future trials that you are entered in.  So if you did not get an email conformation, you can check the member portal.  You can also delete your dog from a trial from the member portal.  You can find the member portal tab on our website or click the link above.  Put in your email address that you registered your dog with.  Click forgot password and a temporary password will be emailed to you.

You do not have to have an AKC or CKC dog to jump with NADD. NADD is open to all dogs (breed, mixed, unaltered, altered, etc.)   AKC will only recognize titles earned through NADD.

Make sure you are logged in to the member portal.  Your active dogs will be listed under the "My Dogs" dropdown in the menu at the top of the screen.  Simply click the name of the dog you'd like to view, or click "Manage Dogs" to view a list of all dogs currently associated with your account.

If you already have a NADD account, log in to the NADD Member Portal with your existing username and password.  Under the "My Dogs" link in the navigation menu at the top of the portal, click "Register New Dog" to add another dog to your account.  You can also click the "Register New Dog" button while viewing the Manage Dogs page of your account.  There is a one-time registration fee of $35 for each additional dog you add to your account.

If you paid but haven't gotten an email with your NADD number, please contact us here and we will assist you.

You should receive an email confirmation within 24 hrs of registering  for an event, so if you registered but haven't received an email yet, you should first check that it hasn't gone into your spam folder.  You can also add ops@northamericadivingdogs.com to your contacts or safe senders list to help make sure emails from NADD don't get flagged as junk mail by mistake. 

If you can't find or have lost the email, you can always view any upcoming events you're registered for by logging in to the Member Portal and clicking "Registered Events" under the "Events" dropdown in the top menu.  You can also make changes to your registration or remove your dog from a splash on this page.

A "splash" is your competitive attempt(s) for each discipline. In distance you get 1 optional practice and 2 judged jumps for each distance splash. In AR you get 1 optional practice and continues attempts to grab the toy until your dog misses 2 consecutive or 3 times total. In HD you get 2 attempts at your fastest time to dislodge the bumper.

Voluntary Withdrawal refers to an Air Retrieve splash where the participant chose not to continue their turn by attempting the next highest jump, and voluntarily withdrew their dog before the maximum number of allowed misses was reached.  This distinction is necessary to prevent participants from taking advantage of the ranking system by prematurely withdrawing in order to avoid accumulating misses or placing into a higher division (i.e. "I'll quit while I'm ahead")---and instead favors dogs who keep going and "try harder," even though they might miss on their next attempt.

Dogs still receive full credit for a VW score, which will count toward titles and will be included in their season average---however, VW scores are excluded from the ranking for earning a qualifying invite at qualifying events.  In this circumstance, the dog's highest non-VW score will be used instead.

If a dog must withdraw due to injury or other unforeseen circumstances, it is up to the discretion of a NADD official whether an exception will be made.

Once you've earned an invite to The National Championship you can register for the event the same as all other events through the events page. 

A Qualifying Event is an event where dogs who participate have the opportunity to earn an invite to the current season's National Championship.  Invites are specific to the type of jump in which the dog earned it.  For example, a dog who earned an invite for Distance Jump would compete at nationals for Distance Jump only.  To compete in Air Retrieve, that dog would need to earn a qualifying invite in Air Retrieve.   It is possible for a dog to earn multiple invites at the same event---one for each jump type---but a dog can only earn one invite for each jump type per season.  (A dog would not earn two invites for Distance Jump in the same season.)

Invites will be awarded to the highest-ranked dog in each division.  The five main divisions are Elite, Master, Senior, Junior, and Novice.  The Open and Lap class each have their own division standards, so for the purposes of ranking, divisions for each class are ranked separately (a total of 10 divisions).  This means there may be up to 10 invites issued for each jump type (5 open, 5 lap).  If the highest-ranked dog in a division has already earned an invite prior to that event, the invite can roll down to the first dog in that same division who does not have an invite yet.  If a particular division has no eligible dogs, no invite will be issued.

In terms of rules, standards, and scoring, a qualifying event is the same as a regular event, with one notable exception: Air Retrieve ranking is slightly stricter when determining high scores and breaking ties.  Voluntary Withdrawal scores (meaning the participant chose not to finish their turn to avoid accumulating misses or moving into a higher division) will be excluded from the ranking.  In this circumstance, the dog's highest non-VW score will be used for Qualifier rankings.  This rule applies only to Air Retrieve ranking at qualifying events.

Note: The division the dog was in at the time the invite was issued does NOT determine the dog's division when the dog attends nationals.  The dog's championship division will instead be determined at the end of the season using the most recent scoring data.  If a dog was in the Junior division at the time they earned an invite, but their season average now falls into the Senior division, the dog would attend nationals as a Senior.

You can find your dog's personal best, as well as seasonal averages, breed and division rankings, and many other statistics by clicking on that dog anywhere inside the member portal.  You will also be able to view your dog's jump history, titles earned, upcoming registered events, and track their progress toward any other titles.

Your dog will get two jumps for every splash they enter, and the higher of the two scores is your qualifying jump score.  The jump distance will determine which division the score falls into.   You must get five qualifying jumps or "legs" within the same division to earn your first title.

Dogs may not always land in the same division every time they jump, and will not necessarily earn a title after their first five jumps if all five jumps were not in the same division.  Each score counts as a leg toward the corresponding division, so your dog may be making progress toward multiple titles as he or she continues to jump.

Note: Hydro Dash splashes that take place in the 2019 season (any events prior to October 16th, 2019) are "just for fun" and will not count toward any official NADD titles.

You can view your dog's existing titles and track their progress toward any other titles by selecting that dog inside the member portal and clicking the "Titles" tab at the top of your dog's information page.

Distance Jump

The recent average is calculated by taking the average of the 10 most recent scores, including scores from previous seasons. If the dog has less than 10 scores overall, the average of all the scores will be taken.  The recent average is primarily used to give judges a general idea of where to position themselves, and will not be used for any official rankings.

Hydro Dash

The recent average is calculated by taking the average of the 3 most recent scores, including scores from previous seasons. If the dog has less than 3 scores overall, the average of all the scores will be taken. 

Air Retrieve

The recent average is calculated by taking the average of the 3 most recent scores from the current season (excluding Voluntary Withdrawal scores). If the dog does not have 3 scores, the average of any existing scores will be taken, or the dog will have a recent average of 0 until the first jump is completed. 

For the purposes of this calculation only, scores of 0 (an attempted splash where the dog had no successful grabs) will be included in the average.  This allows the dog to start lower if necessary, and will prevent a situation where the dog gets stuck starting at a height where they can't consistently make a successful grab.  (This may be the case if the dog is out of practice or had a streak of exceptionally high scores at the last event.)  Scores of 0 are not used for calculating averages or ranking in any other circumstance.

The recent average is used to determine the dog's minimum starting distance for Air Retrieve splashes.  Dogs can start two feet below their recent average, so a dog with a recent average of 10 feet will be able to start their next splash as low as 8 feet.    Averages are rounded down to the nearest whole foot, so if the dog's recent average is 14 feet 10 inches, it will be rounded down to 14 feet, and the dog will still be able to start at 12 feet.  

Season averages are calculated by taking the average of the dog's top 15 scores (for Distance Jump) or top 5 scores (for Air Retrieve and Hydro Dash) in the current season.  If the dog does not have that many jumps yet this season, the season average will still be calculated based on the season's existing scores, but scores from previous seasons will not count toward the current season's average.  All averages are rounded to the nearest whole inch.  Hydro dash scores are rounded to the nearest thousandth (0.001) of a second.

The season average is used for ranking dogs on the  Division Rankings and Breed Rankings reports.  If multiple dogs are tied with the same average score, those dogs will share the same rank, regardless of the order they are listed on the report.

Distance Jump 

The dog's current division is based directly on the dog's current season average, which is calculated by taking the average of the dog's top 10 distance jump scores for the current season (rounded to the nearest inch).   Whichever division the season average falls into will be the division that dog belongs to.  If the dog has fewer than 10 scores in the current season, all the scores from that season will be used to calculate the average, but scores from previous seasons will not be included.

Air Retrieve 

The dog's current division is determined using the dog's top 5 scores for the season.   Because the calculated average of those scores may often fall outside of a division or between the range of two adjacent divisions, air retrieve divisions are not based directly off of the dog's average like they are for distance jump.  Instead, dogs who have jumped in more than one division will belong to the division containing the greatest number of those top 5 scores.  For example, a dog that has 3 of its high scores in Junior and 2 high scores in Senior will belong to the Junior division because it has more high scores in that division than it did in Senior.  If there is a tie between two divisions---2 Junior, 2 Senior, and 1 jump in any other division, for example---the dog will default to the higher of the divisions that tied, which in this case would be Senior. 

Hydro Dash

The dog's current division is based directly on the dog's current season average, which is calculated by taking the average of the dog's top 5 hydro dash scores for the current season.  Hydro dash scores are rounded to the nearest thousandth (0.001) of a second.   Whichever division the season average falls into will be the division that dog belongs to.  If the dog has fewer than 5 scores in the current season, all the scores from that season will be used to calculate the average, but scores from previous seasons will not be included.

Note: Hydro Dash scores are ranked lowest to highest, with the lowest score (a.k.a. the "fastest" score) considered to be the best score.  To avoid confusion, we will be updating terms such as "high score" or "top score" in areas pertaining to Hydro Dash.  If you find text or descriptions to be confusing, please contact us and let us know so the page can be reviewed.  Be sure to include the URL of the page so we can find the text you're referring to!

Distance Jump 

NADD Division Rankings for distance jump are determined according to the dog's season average, which is calculated by taking the average of the dog's top 15 distance jump scores for the current season (rounded to the nearest inch).  In order to be officially ranked, a dog must also have at least 15 total distance jump scores in the current season.  If multiple dogs are tied with the same average score, those dogs will share the same rank, regardless of the order they are listed on the report.

Air Retrieve

NADD Division Rankings for air retrieve are determined using the dog's top 5 scores for the season.   

Once division placement has been determined, dogs within that division will then be ranked according to the average of those same 5 high scores (also referred to as their season average).  Season averages are calculated the same way for dogs with less than 5 scores, but a dog must have at least 5 total air retrieve scores to be officially ranked.  As with distance jump, dogs who are tied will share the same rank, regardless of the order they are listed on the report.

Hydro Dash

NADD Division Rankings for hydro dash are determined according to the dog's season average, which is calculated by taking the average of the dog's top 5 hydro dash scores for the current season.  In order to be officially ranked, a dog must also have at least 5 total hydro dash scores in the current season.  If multiple dogs are tied with the same average score, those dogs will share the same rank, regardless of the order they are listed on the report.

Note: Hydro Dash scores are ranked lowest to highest, with the lowest score (a.k.a. the "fastest" score) considered to be the best score.  To avoid confusion, we will be updating terms such as "high score" or "top score" in areas pertaining to Hydro Dash.  If you find text or descriptions to be confusing, please contact us and let us know so the page can be reviewed.  Be sure to include the URL of the page so we can find the text you're referring to!

Dogs that jump with NADD are ranked by breed. Your breed must be verified by being registered with AKC as a purebred, AKC Canine Partner, AKC PAL  or by another other pure breed registry (UKC, CKC, ASCA, BRN#, etc.)   If your dog is NOT registered with a pure breed registry, then your dog will be recognized as non-verified, and you will be ranked with all the other non-verified breeds.  If your dog is a mixed breed, than your dog will be recognized as Other-mixed breed with NADD.

For dogs with multiple registrations, the AKC registered breed with be used for breed verification.  

Each year, the highest-ranked dog in each breed will be recognized as the Best of Breed.   In order to qualify, the dog must be verified as a purebred member of that breed by registering with AKC, Canine Partner, PAL or by another other pure breed registry (UKC, CKC, ASCA, BRN#, etc).  (for dual registered dogs, AKC registration will be used as the verified breed)  

For NADD to consider your dog "verified," you must provide at least one registration number to keep on file with your dog.   You can easily add your dog's registration number in the member portal by clicking the "Add Registration" button on the dog's basic info and stats page.

Once a dog's breed has been verified, it will be indicated with a (V) next to the dog's breed.  

You can print a title certificate directly from your dogs title page. To have your title added to your AKC pedigree please go to the AKC website and fill out the form "Title Recognition for Dock Diving".  You must send a copy of the NADD title certificate and payment to AKC. In return AKC will put the title on your dogs registration and will send you an AKC title certificate.