Cass County 4-H’ers present their best in Minnesota 4-H State Dog Show

   Four 4-H youth from Cass County participated in the Minnesota 4-H State Dog show Sept. 24-25, 2022. In total, 307 youth and 354 dogs from across the state participated in this annual event, held at the 4-H Building on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

   Over the two-day event, 4-H’ers demonstrate their skills and knowledge in agility, obedience, showmanship, and rally, competing against other youth in their age group and experience level.  

   Youth members of the Minnesota 4-H Dog Project learn to train and build a trusting relationship with their pet. Topics of study include canine behavior, breed characteristics, diseases, ethics, grooming, health, nutrition, responsible breeding, service dogs, therapy dogs, dog-related careers, and the wide array of dog sports. 

   “Youth learn so much responsibility from training their dog and competing in the 4-H State Dog Show,” said Kim Lambert, one of the many caring adults who volunteer with the 4-H Dog Project statewide. “These kids work all year long, building strong partnerships with their dogs. If they don’t work carefully with their dogs, the dogs won’t work for them. The responsibility kids learn here they can use forever.”

   The following youth were members of the Cass County delegation and participated in the following events:

   Molly Adkins with dog Theo (Pine River, MN)

Intermediate Agility - Blue Ribbon

Jumpers III - Blue Ribbon, Reserve Champion Award

   Emily Blankenship with dog Dash (Backus, MN)

Beginner Obedience - Blue Ribbon

Pre-Novice Rally - Blue Ribbon

   Gertie Dice with dog Leo (Pequot Lakes, MN)

Novice Showmanship - Red Ribbon

   Kendall Hovde with dog Ollie (Brainerd, MN)

Beginner Agility - Red Ribbon

Jumpers I - Blue Ribbon, Champion Award

Beginner Obedience - Blue Ribbon

Novice Rally - Blue Ribbon

Novice Showmanship - Blue Ribbon

   Congratulations to all the Cass County youth who participated in the 2022 Minnesota 4-H State Dog Show!

   To learn more about 4-H in Cass County, contact Brooke Remer, Cass County 4-H Local Extension Educator, at 218-587-8292 and visit the website, www.4-H.umn.edu.

   About Extension 4-H: 4-H is a youth development program of the University of Minnesota Extension. Available for youth grades k-1 year after high school, 4-H’ers participate in hands-on learning experiences in STEM, citizenship & leadership, animal science, creative arts and much more. Through this learn-by-doing process, youth obtain essential life skills such as problem solving, decision making, coping and communicating that help them succeed in their school, college, community and career. Research shows that youth who participate in 4-H have better grades and are more emotionally engaged with school, are more than twice as likely to be civically active and contribute to their communities, and are 47% less likely to have risky or problem behaviors.