ASHLAND — Every dog had its day Saturday as the Dawson swimming pool in Ashland catered to canines with a dock-dog competition and all-in swim for man’s best friends.

Organizer Tammie Niemer, along with her husband Rod, got hooked on dock diving a few years ago in Nelsonville, Ohio. “We did not have any dogs that day. We’d had labs before,” she said, smiling as she recalled the diving dogs went from a diversion to a lifestyle with nationwide events and an extended family network of like-minded people.

The couple from Franklin Furnace now travel regularly to pursue the sport. One of their original dogs, Ranger, still competes along with one of Ranger’s pups, named Marco in honor of the Marshall University mascot. Ranger began his career with a four-foot leap at an event in Louisville a few years back and now holds a personal record of 23 feet and five inches “official ... 25 feet and eight inches unofficial.” Pointing out her husband while working with Marco, Niemer said “He wears green on the dock.” With destinations from Iowa to Florida, Niemer said it is a fulfilling hobby.

“We have a good time,” she said with a smile. “We have a large lake behind our house. They really only train once a week, and to them it’s not training it’s just fun.”

Labradors probably make up 80 percent of the nation’s competitive dock dogs, Niemer estimated, adding many types of other bird dogs and pointers are also outstanding at the sport. In some meets, both Niemers said they’ve been quite impressed with the jumps made by beagles and smaller breeds, before they practically lit up at the memory of a recent Great Dane they watched in a dock dogs event.

“The Great Dane was awesome,” she said, shaking her head at the memory.

Local interest in dock dog events seems to be growing, Niemer said, with 40 participants during last year’s event in Ashland and 60 at nearby Lake Vesuvius. Saturday’s event at Dawson Pool was divided into categories measuring the height and distance of each contestant’s jumps into the pool. For more information about dock dog events, visit dockdogs.com and regional groups including Buckeye Dock Dogs and Green Rivers Dock Dogs, Niemer advised.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com.