Gerard the champ

He’s got an 82% first-place rating, has finished in the top four 100% of the time, has a training course at his home and recently won the top prize in his sport.

He’s not Olympic champion Jordan Stolz from Kewaskum—he’s Gerard, the 8-year-old, 55-pound standard poodle from the Town of Saukville.

Like the multi-gold medal winning speedskater, Gerard, whose official name is Gladystar Slopestyle Trickster, began training early in life, and it recently paid off in winning the 24-inch division of the Master Agility Championship in New York City.

Gerard, however, didn’t know or care that he won. He just ran over to John Pittman, his owner, breeder and handler, to play tug.

“That’s his big reward,” Pittman said.

Pittman was handed a huge blue ribbon soon after the victorious run, got interviewed on Fox Sports, which carried the event live, and then was assigned a person to make sure he and Gerard stayed until the rest of the divisions finished so a group photo of all the champions could be taken.

The competition, held at the Javits Center near the Hudson River in Manhattan, has dogs run up and down ramps, jump over bars and weave between poles as fast as they can. Dogs are used to that, but this setting had unique elements.

“The venue is hard because there are so many people and it’s loud. The people are right on top of you,” Pittman said.

It was so tight he couldn’t see the ring, and he had no idea what time Gerard had to beat.

There were also delays for commercial breaks and plenty of waiting. Pittman kept Gerard busy by doing tricks and dancing. The pooch didn’t mind the crowd noise.

“He’s pretty stable,” Pittman said.

Gerard was seeded first after the qualifying runs. Second-seeded Rodeo the border collie was on the hot seat after turning in the fastest time of nine dogs. Gerard was the last to compete.

He had completed these types of courses plenty of times before, but rarely all at once. Training is usually done one obstacle at a time, Pittman said.

Gerard flew through the course in 36.55 seconds, easily ahead of Rodeo’s 38.77, making history. He is the first and only standard poodle to earn Agility Grand Champion and Confirmation Grand Champion.

Pittman, who has been breeding poodles for 17 years and produced and trained more than 100 poodles, knew he had something special in Gerard since the dog was young.

He only reached 25 mph in the 100-yard dash—the fastest can reach 28 mph —“but he has the drive,” Pittman said.

Gerard’s father was a show dog from Pennsylvania and his mother, a show dog who has agility and trick titles, is still alive and resides with a senior citizen who shows her.

Pittmann starts working with his poodles early, getting them accustomed to everyday life. Their first grooming is at 4 weeks old on an old adjustable dentist’s chair that Pittman switched out for a table. At 6 weeks, dogs walk across a wobble board to get the feeling of motion.

“I do that because the teeter’s moving,” he said of one of the agility course’s obstacles.

The big test to determine a dog’s willingness to please is playing fetch. Gerard excelled at that. Pittman used a tennis racket to hit a ball into a field of tall grass (he can hit farther than throw), and Gerard “won’t come back without it.”

Pittman doesn’t teach his dogs the “come” command. Instead, he does “restrained recalls” with his wife Patty holding the dog as he runs away with a toy. The dog struggles to get away, then “blasts over to you,” he said.

Gerard has his Working Certificate, retrieving ducks from water and land—Pittman borrowed a dead duck from a farmer to practice—and has never failed at barn hunt, which has dogs looking for one or more rats in tubes hidden inside straw in a barn. Rat feces are randomly placed to throw dogs off, but Gerard always found the rodents. (The rats were live and unharmed.)

Dogs can’t compete until they’re 15 months old. Gerard’s training started earlier than 12 months. He could weave between poles by the time he reached puberty.

Pittman said he does aptitude testing before he sells his puppies.

“For family pets, which is the most important job they can have, I’m not going to give them the most driven dog,” he said.

Agility training is done in 15-minute sessions, one apparatus at a time.

“Ten minutes of that is playing tug or getting rewarded,” Pittman said.

“My main goal is to have fast and clean runs. Fast is more important than qualifying. It’s fun to run fast for a dog.”

Gerard’s big reward is toys. He will do anything for a ball, Pittman said. His poodles’ treats are sharp cheddar cheese. At $5 per pound, it’s much cheaper than dog treats, Patty said.

“They like string cheese, too,” Pittman said. “These are Wisconsin dogs. They get cheese.”

Gerard’s meals are 1.5 cups of Purina Pro Plan twice a day, usually salmon or lamb flavor.

Pittman, born in Cedarburg and raised in Brookfield, grew up with a poodle. His yard didn’t have a fence and he wanted his dog to come back to him when he opened the door, so he joined the Milwaukee Dog Training Club. He’s a lifetime member.

After getting a divorce, he wanted a partner to come home to and a jogging partner, and poodles fit the bill.

He has competed or shown in 42 different states, including Hawaii. Between participating or volunteering, Pittman did 49 shows last year. He has trained 15 breed champions and has won multiple other titles.

Pittman’s family van can carry their four dogs, who love to travel. An air conditioner runs on the battery to keep them cool during stops at restaurants.

Pittman works on his laptop in information technology as Patty drives. After his workday ends, he takes the wheel.

Agility might not even be Gerard’s most impressive skill. He can balance on a rolling barrel for at least 10 feet and can put a basketball through a toy hoop.

At 8 years old, Pittman is retiring Gerard from agility at the end of this year.

“I want him to go out on top rather than be injured. There are other things I can do with him,” he said.

Gerard might not be Pittman’s last star. One of his other dogs, Asme, is already faster than Gerard, and 9-month-old Cadet is a speedster.

Pittman loves that dogs keep him moving.

“Otherwise, I’d be sitting on a computer all day long,” he said.

As he gets older, he is looking for junior handlers to show his dogs.

“I’m getting old and slow,” he said, “and my dogs are going fast.”

For more information on Gerard, visit tinyurl.com/5n88kfb8.