Expect puddles of pooches after the Venture Out Festival Saturday. DockDogs is a four-legged contest sweeping the world and will be here Friday and Saturday for Winter Park Resorts opening weekend festival. The event will evoke awes, wet paws and adorable dogs competing to be the king canine of Winter Park. DockDogs will be in town June 14-15th to stage a two-day event at the base of the mountain that will showcase “the amazing and entertaining athletic prowess of dogs of any shape or size,” according to Steve Hurlbert a news release from the city of Ketchum, which is hosting the event.

DockDogs is a new sport that’s quickly growing around the world into the most popular four-legged sport out there, with clubs popping up worldwide. Each team is comprised of a canine, with all sizes welcome and all ages 6 months and up, and one handler at least 7 years old.

“This is all about getting the community and dog lovers to come to the mountain for something totally different, have some fun and witness first-hand some of the amazing things dogs can do,” Steve Hurlbert PR Director for Winter Park, said. “This is also about getting our dog-loving community engaged in a fun, new way.”

The events consist of three main disciplines—BigAir, Extreme Vertical and Speed Retrieve.

“Big Air is a ‘long jump for dogs.’ The dog, which may be placed anywhere on the 40-foot dock, runs and jumps into a 40-foot pool of water after a throw toy is tossed. The distance is judged from the end of the dock to where the tail set of the dog breaks the water’s surface,” according to the official DockDogs website.

“Speed Retrieve” is a matter of strength and speed, with dogs jumping from the dock, into the pool and reaching a bumper toy that is suspended 2 inches above the water, as fast as they can.

“Extreme Vertical” is a high-jump-style competition in which a bumper toy is suspended about 4.5 feet above the water, sticking out about 8 feet from the end of the dock. The dog must start at the 20-foot mark on the dock, run and jump to fetch the suspended toy. Each dog has 60 seconds to jump in the air while attempting to grab the bumper toy from the extended arm. Every dog has a second chance, if during the first run the dog misses the toy. With each round, the bumper toy gets raised in 2-inch increments per round, until the dog that jumps the highest takes the prize.

There is a fourth discipline, the “Iron Dog Challenge,” encompassing all three disciplines to be competed in at one event. The dog with the best overall scores in each discipline wins.

Rules include not pushing, shoving or throwing the dog in the water; they must jump willingly.

If your dog loves to run, jump and swim then DockDogs can bring a new level of fun and excitement to you, your pet and your family and friends. If you want to enter the competition check out DockDogs.com website for the details. Day of event it is $30 per team. Want to check it out and see what is going on this weekend at Winter Park, come out for the prelim trials today or tomorrow for the competition.  Dock Dogs competition starts at 11am, Saturday and the “Big Air” finals are at 3:30pm.