Surfing has gone to the dogs
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (FOX) - You can lead a dog to water, but you can't make them surf. Or can you?
Dozens of dogs and their owners competed in the seventh annual 'Surf City Surf Dog' competition at Huntington Beach this weekend.
The pooches split into four weight classes and were judged on a variety of skills, including the length of their ride and their confidence on the board.
Boxer 'Hanzo,' who was competing in his consecutive seventh year and has become a crowd favorite, took the top spot in the "extra large" class, as well as the tandem competition.
"That was a really fun, fun ride today. Really exciting to see the crowd get behind Hanzo. We had a really good time out there," said Hanzo's owner, Eric Felland.
The owner of 'Faith,' an American pit bull terrier who also competed, explained what it takes to teach a dog to surf.
"First, the dog has to love the water, that's one of the biggest things, and then balance," James Wall offered. "There's various ways you can train the dog on balance. What we did was we took her to the bay area where it's calm water, put her on a board, got her used to the balance and slowly progressed into waves. And here she is now."