He is the #1 Golden Retriever in the world in DockDogs competition in Extreme Vertical and Iron Dog. His ability to jump more than 24 feet off a dock also ranks him as the #2 Golden Retriever in Big Air. He is #3 in Speed Retrieve.

“He’s something special. That’s for sure,” said Kayla Wolff of Burlington, who had acquired Bentley as a puppy from a Morris, Minnesota, breeder.

Bentley, 6, Bailey, 7, and their offspring, Boston, who is almost 4, all earned invites to the DockDogs World Championships in Dubuque, Iowa, Oct.12-17. Boston will compete in Big Air at the Novice level. Bailey will compete in the timed Speed Retrieve Express at the Junior level. There are three higher levels of competition, and Bentley competes at the second tier, in Elite.

There are three disciplines at each level, and Bentley qualified to compete in all three — Big Air, Extreme Vertical and Speed Retrieve. A fourth category, Iron Dog, combines the point results of the three disciplines to determine the best of the best.

Submitted Photo Boston soars over the water in a DockDogs competition.

Wolff, who runs a dog boarding business, learned about DockDogs about five years ago when she saw a Facebook notice regarding an upcoming DockDogs mobile competition event in Minot. Bentley jumped 13 feet off the dock in his first year of competition. With little to no training, he came back the next year to jump 20 feet.

“I was like, ‘I think we may have something,'” Wolff recalled.

The following year, in 2019, Wolff began seriously training her dogs with help from her husband, Brody.

Wolff said training can be challenging because there is no facility for dock diving in the Minot area. The closest facility is in Fargo. Often, she trains her dogs at the lake but also does ground training. That her dogs enjoy the sport makes training easier, she said.

“They love it,” she said of competitions. “They’re so excited. They’re very well behaved but once they see a dog in a pool, all their manners go out and they’re so excited they want to get on that dock and jump.”

Submitted Photo Bentley competes in an Extreme Vertical competition, a category in which he is #1 in the world among Golden Retrievers.

Wolff set a goal in 2019 to have her dogs earn spots in the World Championships. Bentley qualified that year and every year since.

Bentley jumped 24 feet, six inches, off the dock this summer.

“He keeps improving every single year. Just when I think he’s done with a personal best, he turns right around and he’s like, ‘Watch this, Mom. I’ve still got more in me,” she said. “I’m very proud of him. He’s making this ride a lot more fun. And my other two, they love it, too, so much. They make it worth the miles we put on.”

Wolff and her dogs travel primarily in the Dakotas and Minnesota to attend year-round competitions. In-state events were held in Minot, Fargo, Bismarck, Williston and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, this year. Wolff usually makes one longer trip each year, traveling to Ohio last year. Participation in an Oklahoma event this year had to be postponed due to a family emergency.

The World Championships draw dogs from around the country and countries such as Canada and Australia. The crowds and the four-pool setup at the World Champions were intimidating for Bentley in his first year, but he has become unfazed with increasing experience, earning a spot in the finals last year in the Extreme Vertical Top Gun and taking the fifth-place medal.

“That was pretty exciting because he just learned that discipline last year and he’s pretty good for a Golden Retriever,” Wolff said.

The competitions draw a variety of dog breeds. Whippets tend to dominate, but dogs from Labrador Retrievers to Border Collies compete. Owners of top-performing dogs receive DockDogs credits to offset costs associated with attending future events.

Wolff’s dogs are sponsored by the Minot Scheels, which also hosts the local DockDogs events.

North Dakota doesn’t have a DockDogs club yet, but interest in the sport has been growing, Wolff said. She encourages anyone whose dog loves water and retrieving toys to give the sport a try. Information and event schedules can be found at dockdogs.com.