Written by Logan Eure
VetriScience Laboratories has been sponsoring dockdogs teams for the last 8 years. This year the VetriScience sponsorship program through DockDogs grew to 20 teams! If you are unfamiliar with dockdogs, you may be missing out on one of the most exciting dog activities out there! We asked Logan Eure, one of our GlycoFlex sponsored youth handlers to tell us in his own words about his adventures as a dockdogs competitor. Check out his story below and you too will see why, we are so proud to have Logan jumping for #TeamGlycoFlex.
My name is Logan Eure and I am fifteen years old. I am from Clayton, NC. I am a youth handler in the sport of Dockdogs. My family and I are proud members of Carolina Dockdogs. Dockdogs is a competition where you and your dog compete in various events that measure retrieval speed, vertical leap, and the distance your dog is able to jump. My dog’s name is Bella Reese. She is a three year old yellow lab. My sister, Sydney, also competes with Bella. A few weeks ago at a NC event, Sydney decided to compete in my best event (Big Air) and beat me! I was so proud.
We are sponsored by an amazing company called Vetriscience. They make a dog treat for joint support called Glycoflex. Another treat they make is called Composure, which is used to calm your dog during thunderstorms, fireworks, or other things that might scare them.
We have been involved with Dockdogs for about two years, and we love it. We have been to many different states to compete such as Virginia, Kentucky, Florida, and Iowa. We have made many good friends and my family has enjoyed being together at the events and on the long car trips.
Last year we were fortunate enough to be invited to the Dockdogs World Championship in Dubuque, IA. Bella and I did well and became the #4 youth team in the world at this event. There were so many people, dogs and vendors. We had so much fun and we have an invitation to go this year as well!
There is a great deal of training that goes into being competitive at Dockdogs events. Bella and I work weekly on learning verbal commands and hand signals such as sit, stay, back, and lay. She has mastered all of these commands, but there is always room for improvement. I also spend a lot of time working on Bella’s endurance.
I love this sport because I get to have fun with my dog. She gets so excited and wants to get on that dock so bad whenever she sees one. It makes me very happy to see that she has so much fun with it. It is also nice to see so many other people who feel the same way. Some teams are fast, slow, big and small and they are all having fun on the dock.
I also love the competition Dockdogs brings. We get to compete against other teams with all breeds of dogs from around the country. Even though I am 15, it’s nice to be able to compete against adults, especially when I am lucky enough to beat them! It’s always fun to compete against some of our friends. You are also competing against yourself when you are trying to get your best time or best jump and that’s something I really like.
Being involved with Dockdogs at my age has really given me some great life lessons and experiences. It has given me more responsibility. It is my job to get Bella ready for an event by getting her in shape, making sure she is listening to our commands, getting the car ready, and by representing our family and Vetriscience at the events. It has also taught me that you are going to have good days and bad days. I play soccer at a high level and have learned this lesson. If Bella or I are having a bad day, I can’t get frustrated or upset. You just have to keep going forward and remember it’s all about the dogs and having fun with them. Dockdogs has also given me the opportunity to travel to many different states and meet many new friends.
