4-H dog shows

Participants (canine and human) of the Waseca County 4-H Dog Project had a chance to show off their hard work  this weekend at the fairgrounds in the categories of dog obedience, showmanship, rally, and agility.  The project classes meet once a week for one to two hours beginning in April, depending on which events the young “handler” and dog wish to prepare for.  Many handlers compete in more than one event throughout the day, and those that do well have the opportunity to take part in the Minnesota 4-H State Dog show, which is held every September at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul.

Rylie Cromwell of the Waldorf Peppy Peppers and Nova the black lab have participated in the dog project for two years. Rylie explained she also took part in the Dog Project Bowl (similar to the Knowledge Bowl extra-curricular activity ) last October, and though it was the first year for Waseca County, she was very proud that the Peppers sent two teams (the Bulldog Bandits and the Pug Hugs) on to the state competition in April to test their canine knowledge.

Another event within the project is the interview, a task to give kids a chance to show off their knowledge and hard work, if they perhaps don’t do as well at events as they would have liked. Audrey Gray of the Homegrown Explorers, interview champion at the junior level, is competing in all three events with her mini Aussie Anney for the first time, though this is her second year in the project. “It gets easier when you know what you’re doing,” she said. Along with Audrey, Sydney Lewer is this year’s champion senior dog interview winner.

Though the weather could not have been any better, Sunday’s agility show had fewer participants. While her bulldog Jellybean waited patiently, Eliza Sankovitz explained that a dog has to be at least two years old and have been in the dog program for at least one year before entering the agility program. Gus Bethke and partner Odie are currently in their third program year and second year of agility. Gus said this year has been pretty easy for the most part, but Odie did forget a few things. “We kind of struggle with the A-frame. And I’m off-leash (running through the course without a leash on the dog) this year, so that might be fun,” he chuckled wryly. “Odie is food-driven, so I’m making sure my hands smell like dog food.”