Dogs have fun, bond with owners and make a splash at this Pierce County facility
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Brown Dog University hosted one of their dock diving contests for dogs Sept. 12-14.
- Dogs of all sizes took running jumps into a swimming pool, judged by distance and height.
- Owners say the facility builds community while training dogs for fitness and confidence.
It’s good to be a dog at Brown Dog University.
Rays of sunlight made the swimming pool at the Key Peninsula facility look even bluer as people and their dogs milled around late Friday afternoon, Sept. 12, watching the action. A dog with a dark grayish coat hopped up to the platform on the side of the pool and took off, launching forward across the water.
“15 feet even,” the announcer beamed into the microphone. “That’s a huge jump. Good boy.”
Max, a “mini Aussie” (miniature American Shepherd), is 13 inches tall. He trotted along as his owner, Tami Linnerud, walked him back to their canopy in the shade and wrapped a homemade towel over his wet fur.
Linnerud started taking Max to dock diving competitions around 2018, she told The News Tribune over his barks. A banner behind her, proudly displaying pictures of Max mid-leap, noted that his personal best for a distance jump is 16 feet 1 inch.
“He’s got a lot of grit and heart for a little tiny dog,” she said. She later joked that she tells people he’s more like a “60 pound Aussie stuffed in a tiny body” because of his sassy personality.
Max was one of dozens of dogs to show up to Brown Dog University on Sept. 12 at 11501 142nd Ave. Court NW to compete on the first day of “Chasing Gold: The Last Plunge,” a dock diving competition the facility hosted from Sept. 12 to Sept. 14. Dock diving is an organized sport where dogs chase a toy off of a platform and jump into a swimming pool, competing based on the distance or height of their jump.
Brown Dog University, at 11501 142nd Ave. Ct. NW, is one of only two facilities in the state recognized by the North America Diving Dogs organization. NADD issues titles to dogs recognized by the American Kennel Club, produces an official rulebook and oversees the sport’s competitive divisions. The other facility in Washington state is Top Dog NW in Deer Park, north of Spokane.
Brown Dog University owner Kristi Baird, who grew up in the Gig Harbor area, said that dog owners all over the Pacific Northwest and from as far away as Pennsylvania have visited her facility since it was established in 2006. They’ve joined a community of people cheering on their dogs and bonding with them over the sport.
“That is really what dog diving is about, is just this massive, very dog-friendly community,” Baird said.
The line-up of contestants on Sept. 12 showed there’s no dog too small or large to make a splash, from 12-pound Max to a Great Dane. Cheers and barks erupted particularly for Sounders, the Guiness World Record-holding whippet that leapt a whopping 36 feet, 6 inches at Brown Dog University in 2022. He finished with a 34-foot, 10-inch jump on Sept. 12.
Sounders isn’t the only dog to find greatness at Brown Dog University. Another whippet who trained at the facility, Spitfire, held the world record before Sounders and earned the title “The Michael Jordan of Dogs” in a 2020 feature by ESPN.
Brown Dog University typically hosts a little over 100 dogs for a weekend competition, Baird said. Many more practice in the facility’s pools or take lessons.
Baird said her interest in the sport began when her dad saw a dock diving event on ESPN and suggested Baird take her dog to try it out at an upcoming sportsmen’s show.
Her dog had so much fun that Baird called out sick for work and returned the next day, she recalled.
“I laughed the whole time,” she said. “It just made me smile.”
They had tried other dog sports, but this one was different because it wasn’t as stressful, requiring less training and classes to get started, Baird said.
“I just needed to get my dog off the dock and into the pool, and then we could go out and start enjoying it,” she continued. “And then the rest came over time.”
She and her staff have since developed a training program to help dogs get comfortable with the water and learn to launch themselves off of low platforms and then the full-size dock.
A few dogs, which Baird calls her “one-percenters,” take to the sport right away, like the “fanatical Labradors” that will chase the toy no matter where you put it, she said.
Others may need a little encouragement.
Destinie Buzzard has two corgis, Freya and Thor. She first brought her dogs to Brown Dog University for swim lessons, wanting them to learn how to swim safely.
“Kristi just saw us renting the pool, just getting some fun time, and she said, ‘I bet I can make Freya jump,’” Buzzard said.
Buzzard didn’t think so. Freya is 12 inches tall.
“Two lessons later, she’s flying off the dock,” Buzzard said. Friday marked their fourth competition since July, and she beat her personal best after jumping 9 feet, 9 inches, according to Buzzard.
She said Baird’s work with Thor has meant a lot to her as well. Buzzard got Thor in November of 2020 and described him as a “COVID pup” who “didn’t meet anybody until he was seven months old.” He has a tendency to bark and lunge at people and dogs, and Baird’s willingness to do a swim evaluation on a reactive dog “was huge” for her, she said.
Owners Robert and Scotque Massett said they value the community they’ve found at Brown Dog University.
“Drake’s a swimmer,” Scotque Masset said about her dock diving German shorthaired pointer, who jumped a distance of 24 feet, 8 inches on Friday. “And so for the first probably year that he started swimming, I’d get really upset because I couldn’t get him out of the pool. And I had people make comments about him not being trained, and he’s very trained.
“ ... but then I’d have people like Kristi and some others that would just encourage me to keep going and have fun with him.”
Baird said she loves seeing owners becoming friends and bonding with their dogs over dock diving. Owners often learn how to be more aware of their dog’s daily condition through training them for the sport, she said.
In a way, dock diving helps dogs become their best selves, she said. To Baird that means to be “in great shape and be able to run and chase balls and chase birdies and swim ‘til the cows come home and all those things.”
“ .... it’s all just a big up-and-up for the dog, just making happier, healthier dogs,” she said.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
