Harwich Dog Makes History As Agility Grand Champion

HARWICH – Sure, every dog has its day. But on March 1, this Harwich dog made history.

The seven-year-old German shepherd owned by Lynda Brogden-Burns and Jack Burns, known officially as Alta-Tollhaus O’Connor — who has a bigger resume than most people have — recently achieved the American Kennel Club’s Agility Grand Champion title.

 Like two suitably proud parents, Jack and Lynda have a big scrapbook of achievements for their animals. But this title puts O’Connor into a pretty elite group: he is only the ninth German shepherd to win the honor, which reflects the lifetime achievement of dogs that excel across all of the AKC’s agility classes. The award came at Dream Park in Gloucester County, N.J., and happened when O’Connor completed his final six qualifying scores of the 450 required tests in six categories.

 In agility contests, dogs of various breeds zigzag through complex courses, often led by their handlers, navigating obstacles without hesitation and leaping over bars, seeking not to knock many down. But at this level of competition, it’s a quest for perfection.

 “Once you get to the master level, you can’t have any mistakes,” Lynda said. Competitors weave through courses designed specifically to trick them, and at a certain level, handlers need to keep away from the obstacles, leading their dogs by voice and subtle body language. If Lynda’s toes are pointed even slightly in the wrong direction, it might cue O’Connor to head for the wrong jump. A successful performance is very much a partnership between the dog and its handler. Lynda shows off a diagram of a particular agility course that looks like some kind of complex battle plan, with serpentine arrows connecting various obstacles.

 “I won’t get Alzheimer’s if I keep leading these courses,” Lynda quipped.

Lynda is the Brewster animal control officer, and Jack retired several years ago after serving as Harwich’s ACO. Animals are their passion. O’Connor’s father was another prize-winning German shepherd who won a coveted Performance Award of Merit from the German Shepherd Dog Club of America in 2016.

 “He did everything with gusto,” Jack recalled. But Aiden’s biggest achievement might have been O’Connor, who has mellowed considerably since his youth. “We used to call him Comical Connor,” Jack said. “He used to torture Aiden.” German shepherds make great dogs, “but they’re horrible puppies,” he said. They’ve got sharp teeth and bite everything for their first six months. Connor went to puppy school as soon as he was eligible. “We recommend it to everybody,” Jack said. 

 Now, when he’s not working, O’Connor has a sweet, loving personality and a great disposition.

 “He’s such a mama’s boy,” Jack mused. “He’s supposed to be my dog.” He and Lynda are also adoptive parents of Ryder, a prize-winning labrador, and cat Finnegan, who supervises the household. O’Connor’s favorite toy is his ball, but that’s not what motivates him.

 “His main motivation is that we are happy,” Jack said. “The labrador? It’s food.”

 Sometimes, people assume that trainers bring their dogs to competitions as a means of earning prize money. The opposite is true; dog competitions are a very expensive sport that require a big commitment of time and money.

 “Where do we go on vacation? New Jersey,” Lynda said.

 But the payoff comes in the form of bragging rights. At the competition where O’Connor earned his title, they were hugged by complete strangers who also happen to be passionate dog owners. And yep, when O’Connor and Lynda got the prize, Jack shed a tear.

 Now at age seven, O’Connor is retiring from agility work, having reached the peak of his career. But he’ll likely find new skills to hone, like “scent work,” where dogs are judged on their ability to detect various odors. So it won’t be a full retirement for O’Connor.

 “He won’t want to just do nothing,” Lynda said.