BUCYRUS – Christie Auck’s dog is making a splash – one jump at a time.

Barry, her beloved black Labrador Retriever, is a big-time winner in the competitive dock diving circuit.
Yep, he jumps off docks – motivated to fly by a toy before landing in the water. Barry has splashed his way to several titles in the North America Diving Dogs (NADD) competition.

“He gets so excited when he sees the pool, and he’ll watch the other dogs before it’s even his turn,” said Auck, who got Barry two-and-a-half years ago after the tragic loss of her other black lab. “He’s a very good dog. He’s a really nice, calm dog. But when he when gets around the pool, the water, he gets crazy.”

Since qualifying in regional NADD events as well as the national showcase in Springfield, Missouri, in October, Barry has racked up ribbons jumping in all three disciplines of dock diving – Distance Jumping, which is the most popular, and the “specialty splashes” of Air Retrieve and Hydro Dash.

So far, Auck said, her black lab has bested other canines across the country for titles as Dock Senior, Dock Master, and Dock Senior Advanced. He’s also wowed the judges to earn ribbons as Air Retrieve Senior and Hydro Dash Senior, all at NADD events sanctioned by the American Kennel Club.

He’s a water wonder. Auck said that when she first got Barry as an eight-week-old pup, she noticed that he loved playing in the water. So much so that she frequently hauled him to Riley Reservoir in Bucyrus, Amann’s Reservoir in Galion, and even Lake Erie so he could frolic and fetch his floatable toys.

At first, she bought Barry a small plastic kiddie pool for the backyard. “It’s funny because, at the time, I didn’t think about or know about a dog sport,” said Auck. “He just kept wanting to play in the water. It was kind of funny, so I kept getting something bigger and bigger for him.”

Next, she bought a Rubbermaid livestock trough until, in September 2020, Auck said she decided to look online for indoor dog pools. That’s when she discovered The Gated Dock in Shelby, a sprawling canine enrichment center off Rt. 98. And she met her mentor – owner and trainer Marie Buckingham.

At the facility’s outdoor pool, and with Buckingham’s coaching, Barry was able to run off the dock and leap a distance of 10 to 12 feet out, Auck said. “He was so excited and so unafraid. For dock diving, toy drive is a big thing, and me always working and playing with him, he has toy drive, and he likes to swim.”

That December, Auck and Barry traveled to North Fairfield for a mini-clinic on-dock diving. In February 2021, they drove with Buckingham and her dog Diamond to Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, for Barry’s dock diving debut, which was held at the Rustic Lodge Diving Dogs facility there.

Barry attempted air retrieve for the first time in March at another indoor facility in Mendota Heights, Minn. “We introduced air retrieve, and I’ll tell ya’, air retrieve is his favorite game,” Auck said.
“When he has his choice, and he sees his toys, he will grab that Nerf bumper, and he’ll bring it to me.”

Barry’s jumping skills earned him qualifying spots at the North Central Regionals in Amana, Iowa, and at the Northeast Regionals in Willimantic, Conn. In distance jumping, his personal record is 22 feet, three inches after turning his body mid-air to track the toy, Auck said.

Auck and her husband, Matt, who have six other dogs, love being on “Team Barry.” In fact, she said it’s only fitting that his registered full name is Barry Bjorn Giovanni. The Italian surname means “gift from God,” and they have adopted the slogan “Bjorn to Swim.”

Although the canine sport has given Barry bragging rights, it’s also given his owner a newfound passion – and the confidence to take her own “plunge” and pursue new life goals. Auck is now The Gated Dock’s first dock diving instructor and a trained and certified judge for NADD.

Because this “girl and her dog” are reaching new heights. One leg at a time.