NORWICH - Recently, at the Chenango County 4-H Dog Show in Norwich, 4-H youth ages six to 13, participated with their dogs to compete for the Top Dog Award.

The 4-H dog show participants worked with their four legged friends to tally up the highest scores possible to take home the Top Dog Award. The show dogs included Collies, Labs, Aussies, a Pomeranian, and several mixes.

4-H Animal Science and Agriculture Educator Victoria Ryan said the Chenango County 4-H Dog Show was spectacular and congratulated everyone's success.

“Each class had a score sheet that gave them a number out of 100 and at the end of the day, the scores were tallied up to find the winners,” said Ryan. “This year, the Top Dog Award went to 4-H youth Sophie R. and her dog Hannah.”

According to Ryan, the Chenango County 4-H Dog Show winners were broken down into various categories and included :

Top Dog & Youth went to Hannah and Sophie R. and Reserve Top Dog awarded to Clover with 4-H youth Rachel S.

Grooming and Handling Champion was Ava K., with her dog Felicity and Reserve went to 4-H youth Abbi-Lynn P. with Hank.

In Rally, Champion was Hannah with Sophie R., and Reserve went to Skyla with 4-H youth EmmaJane B.

Obedience Champion was again Hannah with Sophie R., with Reserve going to Rachel S. with Clover.

Tricks Champion went to Rachel S. with Clover, and Reserve to Sadie L. with Mindy.

In Agility, Ava K. with Jagged received Champion and Sophie R. with Hannah were Reserve Champion.

Ryan said she was proud of the entertaining show and acknowledged the involvement and dedication of each youth working with their dog as a team.

Through all of the impressive hard work and talent, she noted their were also struggles and all of the planning and practice couldn’t prevent it.

“Some of our 4-H participants practiced for months for the show, but their dogs had an off day and things didn’t go as planned,” she said. “That can be frustrating but just like humans, animals have tough days too.”

“Learning how to handle those moments, and when to speak up, is a lifelong skill these young partners are developing together,” Ryan added.

She gave a huge shoutout to Mariah L., who received the Sportsmanship Award for spending the day helping others and showing what 4-H spirit is all about.

Ryan said with the generous support of their sponsors, every youth received several items to help them with future dog training. Those items included different sizes of Biothane leashes, a water bucket, a lunch bag of dog treats, and more.

She also thanked their show sponsors Del-Otse-Nango Kennel Club, Denise Malone, Harpursville Lawn and Garden, Rocco Treats and Rau Dog Shows, and Judge Christina Onalee Mazepink.

For more information on 4-H programs contact Victoria Ryan at vmr39@cornell.edu.