Poodle shows off to Vernon Hills students

Kids sat in amazement as dog trainer Alex Rothacker and his dog Sailor performed during an all-school assembly at Hawthorn Middle School South in Vernon Hills Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Rothacker, owner of TOPS Kennels in Grayslake, took his standard poodle Sailor through trick after trick as he talked about goal setting to the students.

Rothacker started out the program giving students pointers on teaching dogs new tricks.

The black poodle performed tricks including hoop jumping, jumping rope, walking on two legs, balancing on one leg and walking on a ball.

Sailor already has one Guinness World Record that he set on the Today Show in September of 2015 for walking up 20 stairs on his hind legs in 18 seconds.

Rothacker has been goal setting his whole life.

"I love to wake up in the morning and have a goal on my mind every day," he said.

Rothacker's goal for his shows is to teach kids to have fun and accomplish things. With 11 world records under his belt, Rothacker hopes his message of accomplishment will resonate with this kids he performs for.

At the end of the program, Rothacker thanked the Hawthorn Middle School South for letting him use the school to train Sailor and attempt a new world record, the results of which are not yet public.

"This is not like a roller coaster where you ride it and then forget about it. Kids will remember this for a while," Rothacker said.