Training for the Door Leap Event at the Dachsolympics

Hercules practicing with the patio door

Unlike the other members of the pack, Hercules has never been one to meander anywhere. This is especially true when it comes to passing thresholds of the many doors and gates here at the Acre. Rather than simply ambling along, Hercules turns it into an opportunity for leaping and running at full speed, even if he’s only going a couple of feet.

My husband claims that, in the spirit of his Greek hero’s name, Hercules is actually training for an Olympic event. Or, more accurately, a group of 10 events known as the “dachscathalon” — the ultimate test of all around dachshund athleticism in the “Dachsolympic Games.”

Whether he’s really training or simply the kind of dachshund that’s in a hurry to go everywhere, Hercules does take his “door leaping” quite seriously. Of course, not all doors are the same; each comes with its own challenges, so Hercules has to practice with them all on a regular basis.

The video gives you a quick look at his favorite training doors, but a better explanation the differences in each is in order so you can get an idea how serious Hercules’ regimen is.

The Front Door

Hercules clearing the front door

This is the one Hercules begins each morning with. It’s really two doors: the actual front door, which is dark oak, and the screen door which has a convenient flap cut into it for easy entrance and egress.

The oak door tends to stick, so it makes a distinct popping sound when it’s pulled open. It doesn’t matter where Hercules is — in the kitchen eating, asleep in bed, down at the lower fence barking with the neighbor dogs — once that door makes its distinct opening “pop”, Hercules will be racing through it in a matter of seconds.

The only real problem is when it’s warm (which in San Diego is most of the time), the door is open all day. But if it’s chilly, it’s closed. In his rush to come inside, Hercules often forgets this. As a result, we’ve heard a distinctive “thunk” of his little skull against the door more than once. A definite lesson in “look before you leap” he never seems to learn.

The Patio Door

Hercules clearing the screen door

Probably the easiest door to train on in the house. There are actually two doors for him here. There’s the sliding door insert that’s available year-round, and the screen door flap that’s available when the weather is nice.

While he can always go through the dog door in the insert, Hercules tends to prefer the screen door flap. Not just because it has better visibility, but because he’s managed to rip it so it’s wider and easy to take a quick turn left or right based on whether he’s in pursuit of a cat (or bird, or leaf) that made the mistake of walking past his view, or he’s launching himself toward the lower yard to have an excited chat with the neighbor dogs down at the fence.

The Garage Door

Hercules diving out the garage door

This door is a real test of agility. To go through it, Hercules has to clear one other dog door into from the kitchen, make a hard right and accelerate on a smooth and often slippery concrete floor. Then, in just two or three dachshund gallops (around 9 feet), he has to tuck his head and making a six-inch blind leap through a heavy plastic door flap that keeps the weather out of the garage.

Once he clears, that he has to make a juke to the left to avoid crashing into the keyhole garden, then quickly correct course to avoid take a swim in the fish pond. (Hercules hates water. He’s an earth dog, not a Labrador Retriever.)

It sounds simple enough, but I’ve seen more than a few of our dogs slip and fail to navigate the course at much lower speeds than Herc is travelling. He’s definitely got moves.

The Garden Gate

Hercules flying through the garden gate

Hercules’ paws-down favorite threshold. It’s not a door, but a 4-foot-wide gate, so when it’s open, it’s wide open, which allows him to bound into the herb vegetable garden in pursuit of grounds squirrels at top speed.

There are two big challenges with this gate. First, it’s down a hill so he has to leap a number of stairs, and make a hard right at the bottom of the slope to get to it. For the big dogs and the humans this isn’t a problem. But for a wiener dog it’s like diving off a mountain in a wingsuit except that Hercules has no parachute, just his big ears, to slow him down.

Then, if he makes that without spinning into the ivy, he has to accelerate enough to get airborne two or three times in the 50 feet between the garden gate and the southwest corner of the garden where the squirrels congregate. Anything slower and the squirrels will hear him and dash off before he can crash into them.

The Side Door

Hercules leaps out the side door

Arguably the most dangerous door in Hercules’ door leap training regime. Physically speaking, it’s a mirror image of the Garage Door. Same size, same shape, same door type, just on the opposite side of the house. However, this door lost its clear plastic flap a couple of years ago (long, big dog story), so we replaced it with a flap made of oilcloth, which is opaque.

Leaping blindly through the dog door opening isn’t especially dangerous for Hercules (he rarely looks through the clear doors). It’s the cat that likes to sun himself on that patio in the morning that is.

More than once, he’s come flying through the door only to come face-to-face with a startled, angry cat with moves like Edward Scissorhands. I know when it happens because I can hear the panicked yipping retreat from the other end of the house even with my earbuds in.

Still, it’s the only way to get to the fence near the neighbor’s driveway and give the Amazon / UPS / Pool Guy a good barking to, so he still rockets out there on a regular basis. He’s just more ready to make an emergency than he is on the other doors.

Qualifying Runs: Door Leap Event (Video)

At this point, I can only assume Hercules is in peak competitive form. He trains daily, studies none of the hazards, and commits fully to every leap like the laws of physics are more of a suggestion than a rule. The video below captures a few of his cleanest runs, though it fails to convey the true chaos, speed, and total lack of situational awareness that define his technique. If the Dachsolympics committee ever calls, I’m confident he’ll medal — or at least crash through the judging table at full speed.

You can see his official training footage below.