Lights, camera, WOOF

HAILEY ROSS, Editor-in-Chief|October 1, 2019

Sophomore Alexis Smith holds her breath anxiously as she awaits the results of Archie’s performance. Did he have his four-legged walk perfected enough to clutch the first place title? Could he really walk the walk or just talk the talk?

Archie, the German Shepherd mix was one of the five winners at the Washington County Fair Youth Dog Show. The Youth Dog Show was held Aug. 29.

“It’s a competition between the obedience of the dog, the tricks it can do, how they look, and how they act around other dogs and people,” Smith, a sophomore, said.

The dog show provides a fun and playful environment for dogs and humans alike. It provides a great opportunity for students interested in Future Farmers Of America to get involved in related activities before actually committing to the club.

“It was fun. My dog had fun,” Smith said. “Just seeing the types of dogs that are out there and how they act around their owners; my dog’s fine around my house but it’s fun to see how he gets along with others.”

Archie swept the competition away during the first round, winning a first place title. He later won a second place title in the obedience round. Archie was not the only shining star that morning though. In breed standards Nikol and her eight month old corgi, Maggie, got first place. In obedience they placed second.

“Winning makes everything fun,” Bankovskaia said.

In the breed standards category you don’t have to train your dog, they are judged just based off of how they come. For the obedience category, it’s just how your dog listens to you and how they understand you.

For other winners, like one-and-a-half-year-old English Bulldog Ozzy, winning just seemed to come naturally. He competed in purebred male which takes nothing more than just coming as you are.

When asked about preparations junior Jack Kutz said, “Nothing much. Just making sure he was clean.”

At the end of the day everyone was happy and content, especially Archie who received some extra treats.

“The general vibe from people made it really fun. Everyone was so excited to participate in something like this, nobody was stressing out about anything,” Bakovskaia said. “I highly recommend it.”