BROWNSTOWN — One of the first events of the annual Jackson County Fair — the 4-H Dog Show — was held this past Saturday with 14 dogs vying for numerous awards.

The 14 dogs with 11 4-H’ers in tow had the opportunity to compete in as many as three sections during the show — agility, obedience and showmanship.

During the agility portion, only eight of the dogs competed. To participate, dogs must have performed previously in the obedience exercises portion of the show.

Izzy Smith, co-trainer in the program, said that the reason behind that rule is for the dog’s safety. If they allowed new dogs through the agility course without knowing how obedient they will be, being on the equipment can be dangerous.

Having competed with her Australian shepherd, Roxie, for the first time in 2023, Saturday was the first agility performance for 10-year-old Kaylen Eddy of Seymour.

Despite having experience with the obedience portion of the show, Eddy said agility proved easier for her Saturday. In particular, she found getting Roxie to heel difficult. Next year, she is looking forward to getting even better.

In the agility course, the obstacles are adjusted based on the categories for the dogs, which include size, weight and their experience level. Some of the various obstacles include hurdles, a seesaw, a tunnel and hoops to jump through. More experienced dogs run the course alongside their owner, unleashed, but new dogs such as Roxie perform on a leash.

Kaillee Brown-Cutter, 10, of Freetown joined the dog show for the first time with her Great Pyrenees, Chance.

“I just wanted to try it out,” she said

For her first time in the dog show, she enjoyed it and wants to come back with Chance again.

Obedience was the next portion of the dog show, which brought dogs and their owners one-by-one to the arena. Dogs and their owners followed instructions from the judge, demonstrating their dogs’ abilities to stay, return, heel and other commands, varying in difficulty.

The final portion of the show was showmanship, which saw groups of two or more dog-owner pairs display their dogs and walk on their appointed paths.

Some of the contestants competed with multiple dogs. Taylor LeBlanc ran her Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Scout and Bella, through the agility portion and Vivienne Siefker competed with three dogs in the show — Willow Dean, Bessie Sue and Lucy May.

“One dog is hard, two dogs are really hard,” Smith said.

Altogether, Siefker, 18, from Seymour has been participating in the dog show for eight years, and this was her last.

Siefker was originally introduced to the dog show through other 4-H programs her and her family have been involved in such as showing goats.

“There’s nothing better than free dog training,” Siefker’s mother Stephanie said.

After the competitions, Smith announced the awards for the runners-up and winners. Everyone received a blue ribbon for participating.

Smith thanked Premier Companies for their support and helping them put on this show. With the company’s help, The Waggin’ Pals 4-H Dog Club was able to afford the equipment necessary to make the show happen. For the record, the dog show is held on the Saturday before the fair each year for a simple reason — dogs aren’t allowed in the fairgrounds during the fair, which begins its eight-day run Sunday.

Before announcing the awards for an obedience course, Smith acknowledged the courage it took for LeBlanc to change to a different one.

“It is really hard to leave the comfort zone of (obedience course) 2B,” Smith said.

LeBlanc and Bella were awarded champions for this course.

“You can stay in 2B obedience forever — you don’t ever have to move up,” club leader Carol Newberry said. “There’s no requirement that makes you do that.”

The final award announced was “Top Dog,” which went to Siefker, commemorating her final year with the dog show.