If you happen to catch the President's Choice SuperDogs show at the Fraser Auditorium this Sunday, March 3, watch out for Sudburian Taylor Duguay-Ladouceur and her two (super) dogs, Lottie and Grizzly.
You might remember the pair from a 2015 viral video in which Lottie, a six-year-old border collie, hugs her BFF, Grizzly the five-year-old German Shepherd mix.
The adorable, furry duo have captured many trick, agility and obedience titles between them, and Lottie has even gone to the frisbee world championships three times.
They have also previously performed in the SuperDogs show, including here in Sudbury back in 2016.
Duguay-Ladouceur said her interest in dog training began when she happened upon some YouTube videos of a border collie doing tricks.
She tried teaching some tricks to her dog at the time, but she said he was old (ever hear the saying about teaching an old dog new tricks?) and “kind of a goofball,” which made it difficult.
So she adopted Lottie, a four-month-old border collie puppy who was being rehomed through Kijiji by a family that found the dog's high-energy, super-intelligent nature a bit too much to handle.
“We just started doing everything from playing fetch and doing little jumps in the backyard to doing tricks in the house,” Duguay-Ladouceur said.
“She's a total keener. She wanted to work all the time, and it was all the best. She just loved it.”
While she enrolled Lottie in classes, she also got a lot of ideas for tricks from YouTube and from the wider dog training community.
“Lottie weighs about 50 pounds,” she said.
“If I lay on back, she can balance herself on my feet up in the air. From a standing position — I'm only about five feet tall — but she can actually jump up and stand up on my right shoulder as if she was like a four-pound parrot.”
Later that same year, Duguay-Ladouceur adopted Grizzly as a puppy from Rainbow District Animal Shelter. He actually rivals Lottie for doing tricks — the only thing holding him back is that at 75 pounds, he's a bit larger than his doggie sister.
“His specialty is obedience,” she said. “He loves obedience, which is weird, because it's obviously a lot less fun. It's very formal.”
When it comes to training, the two dogs are motivated by different things — Lottie by her frisbee (she'll “do anything for a frisbee,” said Duguay-Ladouceur), and Grizzly by food, which makes him especially easy to train.
The dog trainer said she's excited to appear in Sunday's President's Choice SuperDogs show.
“When I did the Sudbury show last time, I didn't realize how much they would play it up that I was from Sudbury,” said Duguay-Ladouceur.
“They're shooting for the same thing again this year, which I think is really cool, because I don't think a lot of people will know there's dogs like this in Sudbury.”
The March 3 show, which takes place at the Laurentian University Fraser Auditorium, also features a performance by children's musical entertainers TEAM T&J.
As part of the price of admission, you can meet the SuperDogs at Pat N' Chat, talk to the artists of TEAM T&J and become an honorary SuperDog with the help of face-painter Chantal Gladu.
Show times are 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Admission is $17.50, and children age 2 and under get in for free.
Tickets are on sale now at www.superdogs.com and at the door while quantities remain. Advance ticket sale is encouraged.
Back in 2015, Sudbury.com captured some of Lottie's tricks on video (Duguay-Ladouceur tells us she's learned even more amazing feats since). Check out that video here:
