Hi, I’m Melissa Vogels.

Alongside dock diving, I’m actively involved in a variety of dog sports, including rally obedience, obedience, barn hunt, and scent detection. I’ve also competed heavily in weight pull with my heart dog, Bentley  a sport that will always hold a very special place in my heart and helped shape who I am as a handler and teammate.

Outside of the sport world, I’m the owner of B&N Wellness, a canine bodywork business rooted in supporting dogs of all backgrounds from couch potatoes to high-drive performance dogs with a strong focus on teamwork, longevity, and overall well-being.

Now onto the goods, One hot day in 2023, I found my way into dock diving thanks to one very special dog many people have come to love and know the flying velvet hippo herself, Miss Naughty Nelli.

Nelli has always been absolutely obsessed with water, so when we found a pool with a dock just outside of Calgary, we naturally convinced some friends to give it a try with us.

At first, Nelli was like, “absolutely not.” She wouldn’t go past getting her feet wet and was far more interested in drinking the water than jumping in it.

But I’m stubborn as many people know so we didn’t quit.

We went back again… and again… and again. Eventually, we made it to the big dock. She would jump, but there was always hesitation. At the beginning of her first season, she was jumping maybe 9 feet. By the end of that season, she stopped hesitating and hit 20 feet.

In 2024, she consistently stayed in the 15–18 ft range, and we added two more disciplines, expanding our love for the sport even further. That year was all about learning and growth we were on our own and figuring everything out as we went. Thankfully, Nelli is very much a full-send kind of lady.

Fast-forward to 2025 we heard K9 Wave was coming to Alberta and waited (not so patiently) for Shogun’s to open. We attended a throwing clinic with the incredible Mary Young, and honestly learned more in that single session than we had in the previous two years combined.

During that clinic, Tammy mentioned the judges clinic, and I was immediately like, “Heck yes I’m in.” The love and passion we have for dock diving quickly became greater than any other sport… except maybe weight pull with Bentley haha.

From the moment the judges clinic started, I was hooked. Becoming a judge meant more to me than I ever expected. Friends and family encouraged me to keep pushing forward because they saw I was good at it and they were right.

During the first Shogun’s event, Kirsty and I really shined. We pushed ourselves, judged over 300 splashes, earned our judging status, and by the end of a very long weekend, we were on our own… and absolutely loving it.

In 2025, we also found a place to truly call home. Shogun’s gave us the space to be ourselves loud, fun, and a little crazy and for that, I’ll be forever grateful. Shogun’s will always hold a special place in my heart, and it’s only going to get better from here ❤️ Being part of so many huge moments and feeling the love within this community is more than anyone could hope for.

At shoguns we go out of our way to make sure everyone feels included always ❤️ Bring on the loud, crazy dogs and their people who love this sport as much as we do!

Somehow I still don’t know why  Mary chose me to MC, and I’m incredibly thankful for that opportunity. It pushed me even further out of my shell. Even in the off-season, when I see dogs, I say their names and they get so pumped and that feeling is honestly unmatched.

This sport, this community, and these dogs mean everything to me, and I can't wait to be apart of so many more moments