Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Kosciusko County 4-H Dog Show features every breed, from collies to toy poodles, terriers, labradors, shelties, hounds and dachshunds and several examples of unplanned breeding.
Brought to the Show Barn Saturday, the young handlers and their canines were put through obedience trials in two rings.
On the south side, 4-H members took their dogs off their leashes and followed the judge's instructions. The animal was to stay at the child's side, walk when they walked, run when they ran and sit at the 4-H'ers side when the child stood still.
At one point in this routine the dog is given a hand signal to "sit and stay" and the handler walks a short distance away. The dog isn't to move until called.
Angela Wright, 4-H Dog Club leader for the past three years, said success in obedience depends on the dog's transition to accepting a "new leader."
"These are all family pets," she said Saturday. "The adults are looked to as the pack leaders. Now the dog is supposed to listen to one child only and children are usually a little lower in the pack."
The dogs faced another challenge this year, walking on sand for the first time. The arena had a 4-inch layer of sand put down, a change from traditional wood shavings.
EmmaLeigh Hill, 17, a Warsaw Community High School student, brought Mason with her Saturday. Mason, 3, is a Dalmatian and Great Pyrenees mix.
"He's not really good yet," said the seasoned handler of her brown-eyed darling. "He's kind of lazy."
She also admits she's spent a lot of time with her horses this year and with the colt born this spring.
Mason is Hill's third dog. Her first year she brought a neighbor's Rottweiler.
After the Rottie, she showed her mother's golden retriever - collie mix until the dog's retirement.
Mason was given to her by a neighbor. He is the only survivor of a litter of 14 pups.
"Everyone else who got a puppy lived by a highway and they all got hit," the Clunette resident said. "I'm glad we don't live near a highway."
Not that Mason hasn't seen some highway miles, because he and EmmaLeigh are inseparable.
"I take him everywhere with me.
"I'll show him in agility tomorrow (Sunday). He'll jump if he feels like it," she said casting an eye down at her spotted dog. Mason immediately looked away. "The retriever would have gone around the obstacle course twice if I could have kept up."
Because of his unconcerned attitude regarding ribbons and trophies, Mason is repeating the 1B obedience class this year.
The obedience classes 1-5 have an "A" or a "B" level. 1B is for 4-H'ers with previous dog training experience returning with a new dog or 4-H'ers with no experience whose dog has had training that disqualifies them for 1A.
The higher the class number, the more that is expected of dog and handler.
In the second ring, another judge tests a dog's patience with sit-and-stay and down- and-stay commands. At the 1A and 1B levels, the "sit" lasts one minute and "down" lasts three minutes. The 4-H'er stands a few feet away during this time.
In classes 3A and 3B, the dogs must sit for three minutes and hold the down command for five minutes ... while the child leaves the building.
Like any 4-H Club, the Dog Club is open to third-graders to 19-year-olds.
This year, the club had 35 members. The dogs, with the exception of a few excited yips now and again, were a happy group that got along just fine.
