Golden Retriever's Impressive Jump on Trampoline Is One for the Record Books

As the proud dog momma of a retriever of my own, I know that discovering a new way to be playful and athletic is the raison d’être of the breed group as a whole. So I’m not remotely surprised that this Golden Retriever took to bouncing on a trampoline like a duck takes to water.

What I didn’t expect was that he could possibly go as high as he did.

And you know what—it’s possible that he didn’t. For Brian, the Golden Retriever Barry’s proud owner, is known for his funny, highly edited “prank” videos. Some of them feature Barry as a Clifford the Big Red Dog-sized puppy, towering over the treetops in the backyards. Others turn Brian and Barry into Looney Tunes-style adventurers with impossible, sky-high lifts seemingly helped along by a makeshift see-saw or tilting board.

Ah, video editing!

Related: Boxer’s Pure Love of Jumping on the Trampoline Is So Wholesome

All of this tomfoolery makes it difficult to tell which of these daring feats of acrobatics are actually real, and which ones are just cleverly edited.

Do Dogs Even Like Trampolines?

For instance, I’ve jumped on a mini-trampoline before. I’ve never gone above anyone’s head or over hedgerow in the process. However, I’m also not a golden retriever, a highly athletic canine who can regularly leap three of four feet in the air without the assistance of a spring-loaded surface.

There are many videos online of dogs enjoying a bit of a hop on a backyard trampoline, those most don’t get more than a foot or two above the surface, and seem a little timid and awkward while doing so. There are, however, several clips of dogs getting some real air on trampolines, and I’m sure that training enters into play as well.

In the interest of science, I dragged out my mini trampoline and gave it a whirl—though I could not convince any of my pets to do more than curl up on it (or underneath if for a nice nap). My cats, in particular, who can jump over five feet from a standing position, were not impressed with the action of the springs, possibly because they are calibrated for creatures heavier than ten pounds, and they couldn’t really bounce on it anyway.

Golden Retrievers, on the other hand weigh about sixty to seventy pounds, which is right in the ballpark for a mini-trampoline. I’d wager that some of these leaps (not the one on the see-saw) are one hundred percent real and unedited. Further—I bet Barry here could jump just as far without the assistance of this piece of equipment.

Agility Training Your Dog

To train your dog to use a trampoline is a similar prospect as training them to use any other kid of sporting equipment, such as the tunnels, hurdles, cones and other obstacles that make up a standard agility course.

And “training” may even be a bit of an overstatement. For my retriever, you couldn’t get her near a playground without her wanting to take a run through the tunnels and tubes on the structures. It might be that all the trampolining skills of this retriever are actually self-taught.

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