Emily's 4 H Dog Show
Experience

Events leading up to Emily's first 4 H Dog Show were not quite as enjoyable as she (and we) had hoped. Not that the meetings or trainings weren't helpful, they were. We had a dog that simply did not want to cooperate!

This was Emily's first year in 4 H, not counting Cloverbud. She was nine years old and loved our dog, Liberty. So, when she decided to take the Dog Project, I thought it would be a piece of cake. After all, Liberty was four and knew a number of commands already.

They attended fourteen project meetings, but the first one was the most trying for Emily. You see, Dad made the mistake of staying to watch. And Liberty knew that. All she wanted to do was get near him. You can imagine how difficult that made it for Emily to train her.

Despite all the difficulties, Emily and Liberty
managed to win some treats and a ball at one of the classes.

At the rest of the meetings, Mark made a point not to even go in the building. That helped, but Liberty still continued to watch for him.

Over time, Emily was able to teach her a few things. But it was not easy! Some of the things they went over in class were the figure eight, the long sit, long down, heel, and come.

The fair was fast approaching and Emily felt they were ready. We so wanted to go and watch, but we knew better! I did manage to peek inside a door or two a couple of times to see that they were doing just fine.

Emily and Liberty's Placing at the 4 H Dog Show

All the hard work paid off. They received:
1. Blue for Obedience
2. Red for Liberty's Roll-over Trick
3. Third Place for Obstacle Course
4. Trophy for "Most Persistent"

The trophy was totally unexpected. We did not even know they gave an award for that! But she definitely deserved it.

So, if you think your dog is beyond training, think again. Don't give up! And in the end you will both learn something!

Don't have 4-H where you live? This New Zealand homeschool family of nine shares how a free online dog training course transformed their puppy!

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