Monday, December 20th, 2021
Man's Best Friend is a Terrific Athlete
Dog and trainer win World Championship
By Leslie Gartrell
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Olivia Jutte and her dog Sonic demonstrate their world record breaking skills as they climb over obstacles at their home in Celina.
CELINA - Team Super Sonic has made history in the competitive DockDogs arena.
Olivia Jutte, 15, and her whippet Sonic, 2 1/2, took home the DockDogs Youth World Championship cup Oct. 25 in Iowa, the first youth team to do so. Sonic also set a record in the Youth Finals World Championship big air discipline, considered the long jump for dogs, with a leap of 30 feet-9 inches.
DockDogs was founded in 2000 to create a nationally recognized competitive dog sport. Based on track-and-field competitions, DockDogs includes canine aquatics, according to the company's website. Dogs leap and then swim after toys thrown into the water and air.
The sport has three different disciplines: big air; extreme vertical, which is similar to a high jump; and speed retrieve, an event that combines running, jumping, swimming and retrieving.
There's also the Iron Dog challenge, which incorporates all three competitions. Teams compete in each discipline at a single event, register as an Iron Dog team and get ranked against other teams in the event.
Jutte said for this year's competition she just wanted Sonic to jump off the dock - something he didn't do last year at their first world competition.
"The previous year, he wouldn't even leave the dock," she said. "So the first (jump), I just wanted him to get off. That was my main goal, and I'd be happy with whatever happened."
Sonic had a 26-foot jump his first attempt, Jutte said. For his second attempt, Jutte tried something a little different.
"I said, 'The next one, we're just going to have fun with this,' just do what we could. I got him really wound up … and I knew as soon as I let go of that toy, I knew it'd be a big one."
Jutte said her mother, Jackie, was the person who piqued her interest in the sport. A veteran competitor and dog handler, Jackie Jutte helped train her daughter and their four competing dogs, for all categories in DockDogs. Their group of competing dogs and handlers are known as the Buckeye Express. The Juttes have seven dogs in total.
Olivia Jutte said she competes in 10-15 competitions a year and has probably competed in 120 competitions over the past six years. In addition to her youth championship cup and world record big air jump, she also took home the Youth Handler of the Year award.
The Juttes participate in other canine athletic sports, such as Dueling Dogs, a more competitive version of the speed retrieve discipline where dogs compete head-to-head in a two lane competition.
Sonic has clocked in at 35 mph, Olivia Jutte said, and has become an excellent competitor thanks to natural speed and extreme "toy drive."
Jackie Jutte said a strong toy drive is essential to the sport.
"You need the dog to be absolutely insane for that toy, bouncing off the wall," she said. "If they don't have that toy drive, they won't jump into the water."
As a whippet, Sonic is built for speed and a perfect match for Olivia, the teen said. She had wanted a whippet for years, but her parents had waited until they thought she was responsible enough to take care of a dog on her own.
The Juttes also brought home Flex, Sonic's younger half-brother. The eight-month-old pup already is showing promise with a desire to learn and plenty of speed just like his older brother, Olivia Jute said.
Despite the rigorous training, competitions and the cost associated with the sport, Olivia Jutte said she wouldn't trade it for the world.
"It's something that I've enjoyed for so long," she said. "I find enjoyment from where we started to where we are now, the improvement that we've done together. Working with dogs and building a relationship is something special."
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Olivia Jutte and her dog Sonic demonstrate their world record breaking skills as they climb over obstacles at their home in Celina.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Olivia Jutte and her dog Sonic demonstrate their world record breaking skills as they climb over obstacles at their home in Celina.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Olivia Jutte and her dog Sonic demonstrate their world record breaking skills as they climb over obstacles at their home in Celina.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Olivia Jutte and her dog Sonic demonstrate their world record breaking skills as they climb over obstacles at their home in Celina.
