Dog Surfing Popularity Grows With Competitions, Accessibility, And Media Coverage

The sport of dog surfing has grown considerablyThe Baltimore Sun, and The SD Union Tribune.
in popularity in the past few years due to aIn San Diego, in particular, the spike in popularity
growing number of competitions and the nationalhas also been helped by the accessibility of dog
media attention that those events have received.friendly beaches. These beaches provide a place
You read that correctly. Dog surfing. As in, dogsto teach dogs to surf, sit and watch other dogs
riding waves on surf boards. It almost alwayssurf, or a place for photographers to capture
involves a dog standing on the board and agreat dog surfing images. These beaches include
human pushing the dog surfer into wave. As farNorth Beach at Del Mar, Imperial Beach, and Dog
fetched as it sounds, the sport has grown enoughBeach in Ocean Beach.
in popularity that there are now severalA growing number of great photos and videos
competitions.can be found online. There is even a book, The
The largest of the competitions is the annualDog's Guide to Surfing: Hanging Ten with Man's
Loews Surf Dog Competition in San Diego. InBest Friend, as well as a popular calendar featuring
2009, there were hundreds of dog participantsSan Diego dogs surfing every month.
and many hundreds, if not thousands, ofIf you have a dog and surfboard, give it a shot.
spectators. Purina's Incredible Dog Challenge in SanDog surfing is a fun way to spend an afternoon
Diego included a dog surfing competition this year.at the beach, and does not require big waves.
Another competition, the Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon,Just an eager dog.
takes place in the fall. These events raise moneyPlenty of information, including locations,
for charities.instructions, photos, videos and competition
These competitions, however obscure sounding,information, can be found at San Diego Dog
have been featured on local and national mediaSurfing.
outlets, including NBC's The Today Show, ESPN,