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By Ty LeGarde
Retriever trialers have
long known and practiced sound policy in breeding their retrievers.
Little or nothing is left to chance. The breeding pair is selected based
on their lineage, their personality, drive, performance, and a multitude
of health factors. If these are satisfactory, another litter of
potential Field Champions is born.
Of course, other factors are in play and breeding is often the most
vehement of arguments among retriever followers, but breeding at a
rudimentary level is a good, sound dog plus a good, sound dog equals a
litter of good, sound puppies.
What happens when combining dogs with these traits and more?
Haley, a female yellow Labrador set a Big Air mark of 23.04 feet in May
of 2002 at the Northfield, Minn., Super Retriever Series event, and
Little Morgan is the world record holder with a other-worldly 26.06
feet.
These are two Labrador retrievers with proven track records of not just
big air, but huge air. The result? One of the most sought after litter
of puppies bred specifically for Big Air.
Now imagine taking one of these pups and placing it in the very capable
hands of one of the Nation’s top Big Air trainers, Tom Dropik. Enter
Haley’s Smoking SkyRocket, more affectionately referred to as Rocky.
In April of 2004, born into a litter of five blacks and three
chocolates, Rocky landed himself in the company of Tom, and his highly
successful Big Air dog Tucker, with a little audition.
“Going in, I wasn’t sure what the deciding factor would be,” Dropik
said, “but after seeing this little guy being pushed down the line by
the big guys and watching him fight his way back to the nipple, I knew
he had something.”
In Big Air, a dog’s drive is paramount. The desire for the object or toy
builds speed and speed produces distance. Rocky’s early drive wasn’t the
only deciding factor for Dropik.
“I held up Rocky and another male,” Dropik recalled “As I looked them
over, Rocky winked at me. It was decided.”
Call it intuition, call it voodoo. Call it what you will but as dog
trainers the world over will say, “Highly successful dogs are made with
as much ‘feel’ as repetitive and successful training. “
The trainer’s intuition as well as expertise in how to get as much as
possible from a variety of different canine personalities can be a
barometer of success. Some trainers have it, some do not. It is that
“feel” that can be the difference between a top-level competitor and an
average dog. Agreement as to what that “feel” is differs from trainer to
trainer.
What most trainers will agree on is the bond that exists between animal
and handler. This bond is something that Dropik stresses as one of the
most important and fundamental aspect of any Big Air dog.
“You have to develop a relationship that builds trust and confidence.
You have to become a team,” Dropik said. “If that Foundation is built,
the interaction will be an invaluable tool in the future.”
From his earliest days in the Dropik household, Rocky was acclimated to
how things are done.
“Rocky was immediately put into the Big Air ring with Tucker and
Sarge,’’ Dropik said. “Rocky traveled the country. He’s been out to
Baltimore, Maryland, down to Jonesboro, Arkansas, and even as far west
as Scottsdale, Arizona.
“Rocky has gotten stepped on, kicked around, and literally put on his
back many times just to learn his place in line behind the bigger dogs.
He doesn't get special privileges just because he comes from world
record holders. Tucker and Sarge put their hard work in. Rocky has to do
the same. No champagne for the little guy.”
For a 9-month old pup, Rocky has been punching the Big Air time clock
from the beginning. Less than impressed with his new kennel-mate, Tucker
made certain Rocky knew his place. The first time Rocky decided he could
eat out of Tucker’s food dish, Rocky found himself on the other side of
the garage about 20 feet away.
Cross-country trips were not walks in the park either. Tucker and Sarge
absolutely let Rocky know who the “big dogs” were. And Rocky has the
scars to prove it.
As Old Man Winter gives way to his much more attractive and endearing
colleague Spring, the time will come to think of warmer weather, green
grass, and dog sports. More specifically: the Mack’s Super Retriever
Series and the Ducks Unlimited Big Air competition.
For Big Air, 2005 looks to be a year of rapid growth for the sport with
the introduction of a Pro and Amateur class for the DU Big Air
competition.
Amateur dogs will be considered dogs that have not broken the 18-feet
mark. The top two Amateur dogs will be given a “pass” into that
weekend’s Pro class, where they will compete against well known big
jumping dogs like Little Morgan, Tucker, Larry Woffard and his
Chesapeake Bay Retriever Tank, Amanda Tarasewicz’s German Shorthair
Poitner Sarge (handled by Tom Dropik), and Brent Ohlson’s Raider.
With the first Mack’s Super Retriever Series event of the year slated to
go off at Great Country Farms in Loudon County, Virginia April 7-9, 2005
what can we expect from the “Air” apparent?
Rocky will be just short of his first birthday, and he has already
competed in several competitions including an event in Scottsdale,
Arizona where he logged jumps of over 16 feet in practice.
“Rocky is definitely showing me he has what it takes,” Dropik said.
“It’s just a matter of time. And when that time comes, Mom and Dad will
finally have the opportunity to step back, be proud, and watch their
little boy Rocky.”
As the weather heats up so too will the competition for Big Air
supremacy at the DU Big Air competition for the Mack’s Super Retriever
Series. Fans and competitors alike will be treated to some of the
biggest jumping dogs in the country.
Is this the year Little Morgan’s world record falls? A little black
Rocket from Minnesota would like to think so.
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