America’s best canine athletes will showcase their physical strength and agility at the 2025 American Kennel Club Diving Dogs Premier Cup hosted by Mississippi State on campus this weekend.
Presented by Cosequin® and Nutramax Laboratories Veterinary Sciences, Inc., the Diving Dogs event is noon-4 p.m., Saturday [April 5], at The Junction and includes food trucks, swag and games. Free and open to the public, it also will be televised on ESPN.
“Supporting this event allows us to celebrate the incredible bond between dogs and their owners,” said Dr. Todd Henderson, DVM, President and CEO of Nutramax Laboratories Veterinary Sciences, Inc. He added, “I am honored that the American Kennel Club’s Diving Dogs Premier Cup, presented by Cosequin®, is hosted on the campus of my alma mater, Mississippi State University.”
Henderson is a 1992 DVM graduate of MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and the college’s 2003 Alumni Fellow. He is a member of the MSU Foundation Board of Directors and serves on the CVM Dean’s Council. Nutramax Laboratories Veterinary Sciences, Inc. develops animal health products with a mission to improve the quality of life for people and their pets.
Canine competitors hailing from all over the country this weekend will be featured in three categories: Distance, Air Retrieve and Hydro Dash.
The Distance jump measures dogs’ farthest leaps, from the end of the dock to the base of the competitor’s tail when it breaks the water. In the Air Retrieve event, dogs jump forward and knock into an apparatus hanging at the middle of the dock’s width. The apparatus continues to move farther away after each successful attempt.