“Copper” the 10-year-old Catahoula Leopard Dog is obsessed with the sport of dock diving. When his owner-handlers, Julie Ostrander and Cheri Grant, from Riverview, Florida, start loading their van with dog gear on the weekends, he knows exactly what is going on and is very vocal about his desire to be involved.
Ranked the number one Catahoula Leopard Dog for the last six years by North America Diving Dogs, Copper continues to make waves in the sport and is currently on track to take the top spot again in 2025.
Whatever happens during the next half of the year, Ostrander and Grant appreciate every opportunity to be on the dock with their water-loving boy, especially after he was diagnosed with lymphoma last year.
‘The Fluffies and the Tails’
In 2016, Ostrander was looking for a pool to give her other dog, “Zata,” a 10-year-old All-American Dog, the opportunity to swim. Copper came along for the ride, and she discovered he loves diving off docks. “He lives for it,” Ostrander says. “If there are other events going on at a facility at the same time, his focus is 100% on getting onto that dock and being able to swim.”
A year later, Ostrander met her partner, Grant, at a Diving Dogs training facility. Known as “Team GO Dog” on the competitive circuit, they affectionately split their dogs into “the Fluffies and the Tails.” Copper and Zata are the “Tails,” and Grant’s two 9-year-old Australian Shepherds, “Keeper” and “Berkley,” are the “Fluffies.” The pair also recently added another Aussie, 18-month-old “Anchor,” to the mix.
All five of their dogs have participated in dock diving and various other dog sports, including UpDog Challenge and Fast CAT. The couple is lucky that there are several facilities close to their home. “We’ve competed with Ultimate Air Dogs, United Dock Diving, International Dog Sports, and North America Diving Dogs,” Grant says. “We just love the sport, so we try to do it whenever we can, because we want to have fun with our dogs.”
Embracing the Catahoula Quirks
Since getting Copper as a 10-week-old puppy, Ostrander has developed a deep bond with him. She and Grant love him dearly and have grown to understand his quirks. The breed is known for being fiercely protective and loyal, with an independent streak. “They’re predominantly bred to hunt wild pigs in the southeast of the US,” Ostrander explains. “When they get focused on something, they are 100% focused.”
While their athleticism and drive work well for competitive dog sports, it can make the breed more challenging housemates. Copper is very protective of his people, prone to resource guarding, has the loudest, baying alert bark, and is a professional counter-surfer. “He’s not even sneaky — he will do it right in front of you,” Ostrander says with a smile.
He also has a sensitive side. “I’m very in tune with him,” Ostrander says. “If he comes up and lays his head on my leg, I know he wants that spot on the couch.” He also seeks out his humans for comforting touch during heavy rainstorms.
From the start, it was clear Copper adored dock diving and had a natural talent. “2018 was his first year jumping with North America Diving Dogs [NADD],” Ostrander says. “We did a partial year, and he finished in second place for the breed.” For the last six years, he has been ranked as the number one Catahoula Leopard Dog, and his personal best jump with NADD is 28 feet and 3 inches.
Copper Aims for 300th Dock Diving Jump
In July 2024, the couple noticed Copper’s neck lymph nodes were swollen. After seeing an oncology specialist for testing, he came back positive for T-cell lymphoma. This rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma develops when abnormal white blood cells multiply and become cancerous.
Although it was a shock for the couple, Copper’s blood count results fortunately came back normal. As a result, the oncologist recommended monitoring without treatment at this time. “We do feel like his lymph nodes are getting larger, but there’s nothing saying that we are going to need to do any treatment right now based on his blood work and his behavior,” Grant says.
Since then, the focus has been on giving Copper every opportunity to participate in the sport he loves. “Even at 10 years old and being diagnosed with lymphoma, he’s still the same crazy Copper that he has always been,” Grant says. “He loves it when we get to the dock — he’s always barking when we get out of the car, and he grabs his toy and is ready to go.”
The couple would also love for Copper’s hard work and talent to be honored with a spot in the North America Diving Dogs Hall of Fame. “For this recognition, dogs have to have 300 jumps,” Grant says. “He’s currently sitting at 253.”
While he might not be achieving those 28-foot distances anymore, he is still consistently hitting 23-foot jumps — pretty incredible for a senior dog with lymphoma.
“Every day that he’s still able to jump, we’re incredibly proud and thankful for that,” Ostrander says.
The AKC Diving Dogs Challenge participants are making a splash! Catch all of the action on July 4th at 7pm ET on ESPN!