Milt Wilcox once threw balls to major league catchers for the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. Today he throws balls to dogs.

Sparky Anderson, former big league manager

            He was long retired from the big leagues when he was sitting at home with his Labrador Retriever, Sparky Anderson (not to be confused with Sparky Anderson the former big league manager of the Reds and Tigers) when he was watching ESPN. “I saw a dog run off a dock into the water, a sport called dock jumping,” he says. “And I thought, ‘My dog can do that.’

Milt Wilcox

            His dog, as it turned out, didn’t do that. He took Sparky (the dog) to a dock dog event. The idea is to run along a dock, and then jump into the water. Sparky did this just for fun – as most Labradors do – at a Lake near where Wilcox lives outside Detroit. At first Sparky wouldn’t jump into a giant pool. Eventually, though, the lure of splashing into the water overcame his unfamiliarity with the small plastic lake.

            As for Milt, he was hooked. So was Sparky (the dog, not the Hall of Fame retired manager).

            After the 1986 season, Wilcox retired following a respectable – though not superstar caliber – big league career. Back then baseball players didn’t make millions, so Wilcox wound up as a rep for an automotive company until he retired again in 2000.

Milt Wilcox and Sparky Anderson the dog

            But retirement was short-lived. More than merely intrigued by dock jumping, which Wilcox began as a hobby, He soon started Ultimate Air Dogs, one of several leagues which takes dock jumping on the road to state fairs, community festivals, pet shows, etc. Today, at 58 years old, Wilcox travels around the nation, logging thousands of miles and over 20 states annually going to event after event.

            You’d figure after being on the road as ball player, then as an auto rep – he transform into a home body, curling up in bed with Sparky Anderson (the dog, not the former manager). “I love people, and I love dogs,” he says. “I’ve made more friends in this sport than I did playing the other sport for the Big Leagues for 16 years. People like me for who I am, not what I do. It wasn’t like that in baseball.”

            The sport includes three distinct games.

• Big Air or Distance Jumping: The goal is to run off the dock and land in the water as far as the dog can. Dogs are judged on distance. The Ultimate Air Dog record is 26 feet, 9 inches set by a German Shorthair Pointer named Seven (named for former New York Yankee Mickey Mantle, who wore uniform number seven).
• Catch It: The dog runs off the dock, with hopes of going as far as possible. There’s one additional factor in this game. The handler stands where the dock meets the water, and tosses a toy for the dog to catch in mid-air. The dog must catch the toy as he’s jumping with as far out as possible in the water. Scores are combined for two jumps. The Ultimate Air Dog record is held by Seven, 49 ½-feet (for two consecutive jumps).
• Vertical Jumping: A toy is suspended over the water, as the dog leaps from the dock into the pool. Along the way, in midair, the dog must snag the toy. The height which the dog grabs the toy is measured. The Ultimate Air Dog Record is 7 feet, 8 inches above the water, held by a Doberman/German Pincher-mix named Colby.

            Dogs compete in various classes, so a newcomer to the sport competes in the Novice Class, so might a dog not as adept at jumping. For example, while some little Cairn Terriers or Boston Terriers have participated, they don’t jump distances the sporting breeds do.

            Wilcox says, “Some people bring their dogs and just assume they will swim. It’s one thing to assume a Lab will swim, it’s another to assume a Lhaso Apso will.”

            He says that more than once he’s had to jump into the pool as he sees a dog sink like a stone. He points out, it’s not the dramatic as rescue as it sounds. The pool is only four feet deep, and at least so far, he’s not needed to use mouth to snout. He says among the thousand or more dogs who have jumped in his competitions, he can count the ones on one former pitching hand who have required a canine life guard.

            Overall, dogs who regularly participate do so because they love the water.  “It’s also great exercise,” adds Wilcox. “I know that so many dogs are under exercised Some people just say, ‘We’ll, feed overweight dogs less.’ Ok, that may be a part of the solution, but just as in people, so is exercise.”

            Wilcox says participating in any regular dog sport, or even an activity such as animal assisted therapy is also good for mental health, of pets and their people. That’s assuming people don’t take it too far. So far, no reports of Sparky Anderson (the dog) or any other dock sport dog getting hooked on performance enhancing drugs. But even Wilcox admits, “You never know. People can be crazy, wanting to live their lives through their dogs We’re not the Olympics.”

            Although, Wilcox does add, “I challenge Michael Phelps to jump and dive as far as Seven. And I know Sparky Anderson (the dog) can out dog paddle him.”

            Just recently, Wilcox saw Sparky Anderson (the former manager) at a charity event, and the first thing Sparky said was, “How’s my dog doing?”  

            Learn more at www.ultimateairdogs.net.

©Steve Dale, Tribune Media Services