IN PICS | Surfing dogs take to waves at World Dog Surfing Championship in California

Charlie, a labrador who is 7.5 years old and began surfing at the age of 2, travelled with Jeffrey Niebor from San Diego by car. In the category for large to very large dogs, he came in second. Niebor said, “I’ve had other surfers tell me I’m the hardest working guy out there because Charlie likes… he won’t sit still. He gets so excited he doesn’t stay still. He’ll jump off the board, jump on the board, jump off the board. And his weight is definitely a factor for me because I’m not the youngest guy out there and he’s not the smallest dog out there but together we work well. He knows what to do. And we do pretty good most of the time and we have a good time doing it.”
 

Faith, a 10-year-old rescue dog that James Wall entered in the competition, won first place in the large-very large dog division. Wall said, “It's an awesome bonding experience. She was found in a parking garage, so she was scared of a lot of stuff as a puppy. And we just started going to the beach. She jumped on one of the surfboards and I was like, yeah let’s give it a try, we’ll see what happens, and she hasn’t looked back since.”
 

Dogs are judged on multiple factors, including the length of the ride, technique (standing on all fours vs sitting vs laying down), confidence, and size or strength of the wave.
 

The small dog group includes dogs from 1 to 20 pounds (0.45kg - 9.1kg), the medium dog group includes 21 to 40 pounds (9.5kg - 18.1kg), and the large and very large dog group includes dogs 41 pounds (18.5kg) and higher.

With the aid of a human who chooses the wave or waves for the dog to ride, dogs may surf. The top two dogs in each class then compete for the Top All-Around Surfing Championship Awards. In the non-tandem portion of the competition, first, second, and third place are given in each weight class based on the ride length, technique, and attitude as well as the wave size during a ten-minute heat.
 

Local dog owner and spectator from Santa Clara Prerana Rani was curious if her dog would take to the waves like those competing. “I think it was amazing to see so many dogs come together and just surf. This is the first time I’ve seen dogs surf so it was really good and I hope my dog will be inspired by that,” Rani said.
 

The creator of the book "The Dog's Guide to Surfing" planned and created the first-ever Surf Dog tournament in history. The first competition was held at the Loews Coronado hotel in San Diego after contacting a nearby Southern California hotel to host the event.
 

That event's success was so great that it has spawned similar dog surfing events across the world, including many in California, Florida, Australia, and the United Kingdom.