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The 'Rocky' of sporting dogs
By Steve Bowman
Special to GOG
Heidi is a Labrador not a boxer. But the 8-year-old retriever has something
in common with Rocky Balboa.
Sylvester Stallone made the Rocky character famous by utilizing everyday
hard work as a training tool for his boxing matches. When Beth Gutteridge
gets Heidi ready for the upcoming 2001 ESPN Great Outdoor Games, training to defend a gold medal in the Big Air competition, it will be old-fashioned hard work that makes the difference.
Heidi has been scaling 8-feet snow banks along the driveway of Gutteridge 's
New Hampshire home.
"She loves to run and play in the snow," Gutteridge said. "I think it is a
great leg conditioner and I'm reminded of one of the Rocky movies where
Rocky is training to compete against the Russian. He goes to a farm and
'works' cutting logs, dragging sleds through snow and plain and simple,
'building muscles the old fashioned way.'"
"We really don't have any secrets of how to get in shape, just get out and
do the work."
But the work is fun for Heidi as well as Gutteridge. And there's plenty of
rest mixed in for both.
"I am a Physical Education Major with a background in Science," Gutteridge
said. "I understand the physiology of exercise and apply the same training
concepts of athletic conditioning to my dogs as I did when I was coaching
athletics. I believe it is more important not to over train so as to
prevent injuries from overuse: strains, sprains, ligament tears, etc.
"So far Heidi has responded to our exercise program and at 8 years still has
the energy and body of a younger dog."
That energy made Heidi a natural for the competitions in the Great Outdoor
Games.
"We were originally invited to compete in the Great Outdoor Games as the
'fast Labrador,'" Gutteridge said. "And then, after inquiring about the other
events, heard of the Big Air competition. All I knew was that Heidi jumped far, but we had never been entered in another competition or, for that matter,
I had never measured her jumps. I had no idea she was capable of setting a
world record. She always has jumped further than any of my friends or
family's dogs but I always figured that somewhere out there, was a better
jumper than Heidi."
Gutteridge was proved wrong when Heidi sailed past the judges, jumping 22.44 feet
to capture the gold medal and set a world record.
It was a definite change of pace from the competitions Heidi had
entered previously.
Heidi competes in USDAA agility and is close to her Championship
designation, needing three Masters Jumpers legs and one Masters Pairs leg.
"Our problem with jumpers is knocking at least one bar down on the course
and not qualifying," Gutteridge said. "It sounds funny since Heidi can
jump great distances, but most of the problem is her handler, me.
"Sometimes when she is going so fast I try to catch her and she thinks we
are racing and she tends to flatten out her jump, hence knocking a bar.
"If I can get it together as a handler for her, we should have plenty of
opportunity to finish the ADCH this year. Heidi has qualified for the USDAA
Nationals for five straight years."
Heidi also competes in Flyball, Gutteridge is a Flyball Instructor teaching people and their dogs the game of Flyball at New Hampshire's All Dogs Gym.
Heidi has earned her Flyball Dog Champion Title and is still racking up
points towards the next level.
Even with the impressive list of titles, it's jumping where Heidi really
excels.
"I truly believe that the cross-training of all her activities is what helps
her to achieve her distances when jumping," Gutteridge said. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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Heidi wins big air gold.