Meet Frank, the 9-and-a-Half-Year-Old Dock-Diving Star

It’s wonderful to have a hobby you’re passionate about—whether you’re young or old, person or dog. Frank’s passion is launching himself off a dock, flying 20 to 25 feet through the air, and snatching a Frisbee before splashing into a pool below. The 9-and-a-half-year-old Australian shepherd still bests dogs half his age in competitive dock diving. And he isn’t slowing down—mostly because he’s healthy and absolutely loves what he does.  

“This dog would do it every single day,” said Sharon Chronister—who, along with her husband Greg, is Frank’s owner and partner in all things dock-diving. “He can’t get enough of it.”

From the backyard to ESPN

Frank’s journey to dock-diving stardom started when his owners noticed his devotion to his Frisbee, which his people were not used to. Sharon and Greg had always had English bulldogs, but that changed when they took home two Aussie puppies from the same litter.

“That’s how we ended up in dog sports, because the bulldogs just sat on the couch and slept,” Sharon said. “Then, all of a sudden, we had these crazy, hyper puppies, and they were always wanting to chase and run and we were like, ‘Okay, well, we’ve got to get them busy.’”

Frank had always enjoyed catching his Frisbee—but, when his family moved to their lake house in Missouri several years ago, Frank suddenly had access… to a lake. He would launch himself off their swim platform to catch his toy before joyously landing in the water. 

On July 4th weekend in 2021, they decided to see if he could do it competitively.

The woman running Frank’s first dock-diving trial, in Bentonville, Arkansas, expected him to be timid like many dogs new to the sport. She got into the pool, “thinking she would have to coax him in,” Sharon said. “We took him back a little ways, and got him a running start, and I threw the Frisbee, and he went right in after it.” Frank jumped 12 feet, six inches—blowing right past the Novice Division, which ends at 9 feet, 11 inches. The woman running the event knew she was watching a natural. “She’s like, ‘Well, you don’t need me. He’s a rock star,’” Sharon said.

Frank was already five years old at the time.

“Had we known about this sport and how he would take to it, we would have started him a lot earlier,” Greg said.

Since then, Frank has earned his Dock Master 5 (DMX5) title with 155 jumps in the Master Division, which covers distances of 20 feet to 23 feet, 11 inches. His personal best is 25 feet. He’s zig-zagged via RV all over the country—ten states and counting, from Texas to Florida, Ohio to Arizona. He’s appeared on ESPN twice for AKC Premier Cup events. At Mississippi State, he leapt 21 feet, 8 inches in front of cameras and cheering fans—which can make even confident dogs nervous.

“If anybody had told us that we would start in the swimming pool and end up on ESPN twice, we would have been like, ‘No way,’” Greg said.

Where nutrition fits into Frank’s training regimen 

So how does a 9-and-a-half-year-old senior dog continue to outperform younger competitors?

Sharon credited a combination of quality nutrition, targeted exercise, and Frank’s nature. She switched to The Farmer’s Dog after seeing our 2023 Super Bowl commercial, “Forever.”

He and his brother Jesse—and the family’s other Aussie, Murphy—all love it. “They go for each other’s bowls when they are completely empty,” Greg said. “They all go around and lick each other’s bowls, in case there’s a little more left.”

For Frank, staying in shape is crucial. “Frank has to stay lean,” Sharon explains. “He can’t get up there and be 10 pounds overweight and still launch off that dock.”

She added, “If [canine athletes] carry too much weight, it’s terrible on their joints. They’re doing a lot of running, especially in agility when they’re landing off jumps. You don’t want them to have all that extra weight on their joints.”

In fact, one 2022 study estimated that 59% of all dogs in the US are overweight, and the consequences can be serious even for those who are not athletes. One of the benefits of The Farmer’s Dog is that it’s pre-portioned for dogs’ individual calorie needs, which simplifies weight management.  

Love of the leap

Beyond nutrition, Frank’s training regimen is simple. Sharon and Greg have a hillside near their lake house; during dock-diving season, Sharon throws the Frisbee uphill to build Frank’s leg muscles. “It’s basically building up his back [and] his leg muscles to get him strong enough to launch off the dock,” she says.

Frank also stays active every day. “Normally around three o’clock in the afternoon, they all start getting antsy,” Greg said. “That’s time to go outside.” It doesn’t seem to matter what the weather is. Frank wants to go for it—always. 

Perhaps as important as physical health is Frank’s enthusiasm for what he does, an enthusiasm expressed by his desire to dive all the time. (When asked what Frank does to relax, Susan and Greg looked at each other and laughed.) 

He also does things a little differently. While most dock-diving dogs chase weighted bumpers, which are like tugs that are weighted so they’re easier to throw, Frank will only go for his Frisbee—even though it makes competition harder on windy days. 

“Almost all dock diving is outside,” Greg said. “So if you get a windy day, you’re at the mercy of where that wind is going to take that Frisbee. Sometimes Frank doesn’t have a prayer of catching it.”

But Frank’s commitment to the Frisbee is often what makes him spectacular to watch. “We have a lot of people that will gather by the pool to watch him because there’s nothing like him flying through the air and snatching that Frisbee before he lands,” Greg added.

The person throwing the Frisbee is as important to Frank as the disc itself. Once Sharon traveled to a regional event in Iowa without Greg, who usually mans the Frisbee. Frank simply wouldn’t jump. 

“He literally trotted to the end of the dock and laid down, like, ‘Where’s Greg?’” Sharon said, laughing. People in the stands, not knowing Frank’s record, started cheering him on, thinking he was a beginner and needed a little encouragement. “The judge is looking at me like, ‘What’s going on here?” When they finally managed to coax Frank into jumping, he only made it eight feet.

Greg hasn’t missed one of Frank’s competitions since.

Ready to get your dog into dock diving?

For anyone considering getting into dog sports, Sharon and Greg’s advice is simple: try it. There are literally events called “Try Its,” where you and your dog can test their dock-diving prowess. 

“Give it a go,” Greg said. “You never know.”

“It’s not expensive to go,” Sharon added. It’s $15 to join a trial “to see if your dog is going to do it or not. If they love chasing a toy in the yard and they don’t have an aversion to water, they’re probably going to do it to some degree.”

She emphasizes that dogs don’t need to be young to start; older dogs can get started in the Veteran Division, which welcomes seniors. To learn more about the sport, check out the AKC’s guide or the North America Diving Dogs website.  

Beyond the competition itself, Sharon treasures the memories and community. “We’ve met the nicest people,” she says. “We’ll be sitting here probably when we’re 80 years old going, ‘Do you remember that day at Mississippi State?’ You can’t put a price on that.”

As for Frank, he’ll keep doing what he loves: chasing his Frisbee, soaring through the air—and proving that, with the right care, senior dogs can stay at the top of their game.

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