Informative Essay On Dog

I never realized that dog training would be one of my biggest hobbies, until now. This year I participated in the 4-H Dog Show at the Knox County fairgrounds. I did dog training last year and plan on doing it for the rest of my school years at ROWVA. Two years in a row, I have won Dog Champion. You do this by participating in Showmanship, Dog Care, and Obedience. I learned that hard work pays off.
I arrived at the fairgrounds on a Saturday morning, very tired but ready to show. I got my number, 25, and went to pick out a pig pen to stay in for the day. Grace and I chose to sit next to each other and talk about how we were feeling. Grace is my friend from Williamsfield and I met her during Dog Training.
“How do you think Pepper is going to
do?” asked Grace.
“I don’t know. She seems ready but all I care about is if she does better than last year,” I said back.
We talked more about what we wish for the future and about sports. The first event I had to do was Showmanship. This is where you show off your dog to the judge. You also have to look very nice for this event. I was number 25, so I was toward the middle of the line. “Alright, let's see what you got!” the judge told us.
We jogged into the arena, smiling and ready to show.
I was so nervous that Pepper was going to do something bad so I it was hard for me to smile. The judge called everyone individually to show off their dog.
“Number 25, Beagle,” the judge called.
I took a deep breath and jogged forward with Pepper. I showed her very well until she peed in the arena! Luckily, the dogs can pee in the arena in Showmanship but not Obedience.
We all exit the arena, all feeling very confident. The judge took about 5 minutes to make the final decision and called us back to the ring.
The judge started from the lowest rank and worked up to the highest. It got to the 3rd place position and Pepper was still not called. She called my friend Grace as third place. Then it got to second place.
“Second place goes to...Beagle, Pepper!” the judge called.
I smiled and walked forward to take the Reserved Champion place. I was still proud of Pepper even though she got 2nd.
We all exit the ring once again and go to sit down. Grace and I talk about how we did and tell each other good luck for Obedience. I wanted to get Dog Care over with, so I headed over for
that.
The line wasn’t very long but it took a while to get through some people. Before I knew it, it was my turn to present. The judge asked me about my poster and about Pepper. She was very nice and it was easy to have a conversation with her.
I finish and headed back to my pig pen.
I also changed into a more comfortable outfit. Around noon, we started to line up for Obedience. I was toward the end so it took a while to go but in that time, I made sure I was focused. For Obedience, every one goes in the ring separately.
“Number 25, Beagle,” called the judge.
I smiled at her and walked into the ring. The first thing she had me do was a course. Pepper and I had to walk, jogg, slowly walk, heal, and turns. After that, she had us do a figure 8. This was when things went downhill. Pepper thought one of the posts was my sister. She looked similar to my sister. Pepper started to jump and whine because she wanted the girls attention. The judge noticed that and knew that Pepper never does that. She was the judge last year and saw what I could do. She asked me if the girl was a relative but I said no.
“She looks like my little sister,” I said, very nervously.
The judge told the girl to switch with someone else and we continued with the figure 8. The last thing Pepper and I had to do was a recall. I called Pepper and she sat there like she didn’t hear me. I waited because if you call the dog more than once, you get points taken off. Finally, she came without me having to call her a second
time.
“Thank you so much number 25. You may exit the ring,” said the judge.
After I finished I felt good but I didn't know what was about to happen. There was a 20 minute wait until the judge called us all in. Just like Showmanship, she stared at the lowest rank and worked her way up. She was at 3rd place and still hadn't called my number. This was when I knew that I had made it to state because the top 3 get to go. Second place was also my friend Grace.
“First place, with a score of 195, goes to number 25, beagle! I think you all could tell that she did very well and deserves this!” yelled the judge.
I stepped forward and smiled. I was so happy, I couldn’t feel my face I was smiling so hard. I took the trophy, ribbon, and my score sheet. She also called the Overall Dog Champion award. This is where you have to do good in all three events. KC, my coach, called my name as Overall Dog Champion. I was ecstatic and so thankful.
I learned that hard work pays off and to always be thankful. If you don’t practice, you don’t get better and nothing comes for free or without work. I made sure to congratulate my fellow competitors and to thank everyone who helped me win.