By Sarah Drake
For the Salisbury Post
The 4-H Junior Dog Show is held every year at the Rowan County Fair. The 4-H Junior Dog Show is a fun and educational experience that focuses on the youth and their ability to relate with their dogs. This year’s show brought out 17 exhibitors.
The show consists of 13 classes: hound, sporting, non-sporting, working, terrier, toy, herding, miscellaneous, puppy, cloverbud, senior citizen dog, trick and talent. In the hound class, Sara Moujahed with her dog Puck placed first, followed by Erin Christner and Gypsy in second and Erik Thomas and Sugar in third. Logan Davis and his dog Ben took first place in the sporting class, followed by Jacob Kluttz with Chestnut.
Tiffin Jacobs placed first in the non-sporting class. In second and third place were Destin Smith with Tater and Abigail Raffaldt with Fi Fi, respectively. Abigail Raffaldt with Stanley earned first place in the working class. In the terrier class, Allison Williams with Virgil won first, Tessa Christner with Chocka won second, and Madison Davis with Asher won third.
Josie Correll and Lu Lu won first place in the Toy class. The herding class was the largest class of the evening. Placing first was Mackenzie Catanese and Kya, followed by Maggy Moore and Cookie in second, Talton Correll and Star in third, Karla Hevenor and Misty in fourth, Skyler Christner and Josie in fifth, and Abigail Raffaldt and Trigger in sixth. Mackenzie Catanese and Grizzley won first place in the Miscellaneous Group.
The puppy class is for dogs ages four months to one year old. Skyler Christner and Josie won first and Mackenzie Catanese and Trigger won second. The cloverbud class is for youth ages five to eight years old. Earning first place was Tessa Christner and Chocka, second place Destin Smith and Tater, third place Talton Correll and Star, fourth place Skyler Christner and Josie, fifth place Josie Correll and Lu Lu, and sixth place Tiffin Jacobs and George. The senior citizen class is for dogs over 10 years old. Talton Correll and Star won first place.
All of the first place winners then returned to the ring for the Best of Show Award. Allison Williams won best of show with Virgil, her Cairn Terrier. The show was judged by Bob Busby, Salisbury Kennel Club member.
The final two classes were trick and talent. The trick class consists of commands (such as sit, stay, roll over, bark, and beg). The talent class is something special the dog can do (such as jump through a hula hoop). Both classes are judged by audience applause. Entering the trick class were Abigail Raffaldt, Josie Correll, Georgie Smith, Skylar Christner, Mackenzie Catanese and Logan Davis. Mackenzie Catanese won the trick class. Allison Williams and Erik Thomas entered the talent class. Erik Thomas won the talent class.
Sara Drake is the Extension Agent with 4-H Youth Development responsibilities in Rowan County.