photo by: Nick Krug

Contestant Wyatt Slavin kneels down to give a big hug to his dog Tug, after wrapping up his final preparations for the showmanship portion of the Douglas County 4-H Dog Show at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 16, 2016.

Wyatt Slavin got off to a shaky start Saturday at the Douglas County 4-H Dog Club’s annual county fair dog show.

The afternoon dog show, along with a morning pet show, were the opening events in Building 21 of the 2016 Douglas County Fair.

“We like to do it inside where it’s cooler,” said Margaret Kalb, executive secretary for the Douglas County Fair Board. “It can be 100 degrees during the fair. This building is full with other things at fair time.”

Slavin, a recent graduate from Baldwin High School who made it to the 4-H dog showmanship finals at last fall’s state fair in Hutchinson, said he entered the ring “a little rusty.”

He brought his 3-year-old blue merle Sheltie, Tug, into the ring with the wrong collar, which would cost him and Tug points should judge Sue Badgett notice. Concentrating on keeping it covered with Tug’s fluffy white mane when Badgett leaned in for a close inspection of the dog, he didn’t hear her instructions on how he was to walk Tug around the show ring. That, too, cost him points when he took the wrong route.

His younger sister benefited from the mistakes, scoring highest among the three 4-H’ers entered in the competition level and earning the reserve grand championship ribbon. She was, nonetheless, understanding of her brother’s rust.

“It gets harder to as you get older,” she said. “You don’t have as much time to train with your dog when you have a part-time job and are involved with other activities.”

photo by: Nick Krug

Eight-year-old Rylee Bentley, of Baldwin City, waits for the judges with her pit bull LuLu during the showmanship portion of the Douglas County 4-H Dog Show at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 16, 2016.

Jade Slavin was going to be tough competition for her brother, at any rate. Two years ago, she brought home the state grand championship showmanship ribbon from Hutchinson with her then 3-year-old poodle, Pepin, earning a perfect score of 100. She made the finals last year. As a junior at Baldwin High School, she will be taking upper-level classes and doesn’t know if she’ll go to the state fair this year, she said.

Alexandra McMillen, the third 4-H’er in the competition, said she knew the level of competition she would be up against Saturday. She was pleased with her blue-ribbon result and with Badgett’s praise with the dog she rescued from a shelter. The 17-year-old, who will be a senior a Free State High School this year, said Augie was a flat-coated retriever and “probably a lot more.” He proved 4-H’ers don’t have to enter pedigree dogs to compete or excel.

“Hopefully, he will be a therapy dog,” she said. “He’s a very good boy.”

Earning the showmanship grand championship was Jonathan Wren, competing in a younger age group with his chocolate Labrador retriever, Coco. Wren, who will be a sixth-grader at Baldwin Junior High School this year, said Coco also was rescued and “probably wouldn’t be alive” had his family not adopted him.

Coco’s laid-back attitude would serve him well when Wren and Wyatt Slavin faced off in the show’s novice performance class. The two 4-H’ers were asked to put Coco and Tug through a number of exercises. Both excelled at a no-leash walking exercise, with Tug prancing smartly at his owner’s side with head looking straight ahead, while the larger Coco ambled at a more leisurely pace with his front shoulders always near Wren’s hip.

The dogs’ different temperaments were more evident during an “stay” exercise, in which they were asked to remain still for three minutes while their masters stood 10 paces away. While Coco immediately stretched out on the floor and seemed content to doze away the afternoon, Tug sat on his hunches and looked intently at Slavin with ears up, twice twitching with eagerness but never standing until called.

Although there seemed to be little separating the dogs, Badgett gave the edge to Coco, giving Wren two grand championships on the day.

The double grand champion’s mother, Annette Wren, co-sponsor of the Douglas County 4-H Dog Club with John Berg, said dog show numbers were a bit down this year. In making a pitch for more members, she said dogs were a great way for youngsters to start exhibiting in 4-H.

“Unlike cattle or sheep, you don’t have to buy an animal,” she said. “Almost everyone has a dog. You need to learn the same skills you need to show livestock of looking at judges, paying attention to what they say and handling the animals.”