What Is Drill Team?

Well, I have to say, I've gotten behind in keeping up with the four part "What Is" series. And I apologize for that. But, here we go, with part two, "What Is Drill Team"?

Drill Team is, in a nutshell, a group of 4 to 7 people, who have all been in Dog 4-H for at least one year, coming together and creating a routine to music to perform and/or compete at Fair. It requires more time and dedication, but is a great way to get to know the Dog 4-Hers in your county better, be creative, and have fun with your dog!

When your Drill Team group comes together, you guys have choices to make! What sequencing of music are you going to use? Based on that, what type of costumes? Will you do a dance or skit? Most importantly, what is your routine going to look like? How creative are you going to be? You do get judged on all of these things and more!

When coming up with a routine, you must follow the rules for competing. You have to have a certain number of sits, downs, stands, moving circles(when you are walking in a circle with your dogs), halts, recalls, etc. It's no small job to put together a routine, with all the requirements met and staying within your music time, which also has a time limit. But if you can do it, it can look amazing!

When doing the long down, which is one minute, are you just going to stand there? no way! Get creative! Do a dance, act out a skit, so do something!!!! Enjoy yourself! Drill team is made to be fun, and the long down is a great way to show off some of your club's creativity!

Costumes and music...hmm....well this is all a personal choice. You do have regulations on both, they must be appropriate, but there is plenty of room for creativity. You could do nearly anything!!!!!!! You can also dress your dogs up to help play the part if they will oblige to wearing a costume.

Yes, it is more work. It takes more time. But it is so rewarding. You get the chance to get to know your fellow 4-Hers from other clubs also showing dogs, as this team can be any Dog 4-Hers in your county, you get a closer relationship with your dog, and have fun! You learn teamwork, and everyone is equal. You are not working to be better alone, but better as a team.

I, personally, am active in my club's Drill Team and love it. I encourage anyone who is interested in Dog 4-H, or who has been involved into it, to check it out. It is a very rewarding experience! Our team is heading to State here soon, wish us luck as we try to take some awards!

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Busy Busy!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. And I apologize about that. Seems as time goes on, it gets crazier and crazier as everyone is getting ready for the biggest event of the year, FAIR! And it's almost here, barely two months away. All the people showing dogs this year are perfecting their obedience, showmanship, and for some, drill team. Excitement is starting up as the time draws near....

Those who show obedience and showmanship, or just one, are perfecting their skills for this year. Drill Team is doing that as well as memorizing and perfecting their routine, which will be shown at State and County Fair this year. After a break from showing last year, Drill Team is ready to rock State again this year!

Mm, fair. Fair is a time of fun, excitement, hopefully winning some ribbons and trophies, hanging out with friends, hot sticky days, and loving the fair food. :) How can you not? Fair is one of the biggest events around here, nearly everyone looks forward to Fair.
To anyone reading this, please comment and let us know that you actually read this! Sometimes it's a bit hard to tell if anyone really is reading it....if nothing else let us know on the poll. Thanks! And I will write soon...until then!

What is Obedience?

This is part one of a 4 part series looking at "what is" something that you'll see mentioned in further posts. These four in particular will be "What Is Obedience?", "What Is Showmanship and Skillathon?", "What Is Drill Team?" and "What Is Agility?". There will most likely be more on other subjects, but for now we'll tackle these four. :-)

So what is "obedience"? Well, it's basically the showing of how obedient your dog is. Simple, right? Wrong. Unless you got blessed with a dog that does virtually nothing wrong, you've got some work to do. Who doesn't want a dog that walks beside you, not pulling or dragging behind? Or one that will let people pet them? Or one that really just listens to you? I know, that's a dream dog, right? For many people, yes. But, you can have this dog. Without settling for an online pooch.

Obedience training in 4-H varies in club to club, but they all carry a common theme: To make the dog more obedient and the handler more confident in their ability to handle their dog.

Obedience showing consists of preforming several different commands at the judges request. Heeling, long sits and downs, recalls, figure 8's, and stand for exams are all part of Sub-Novice.(sub-novice is beginners) Heeling is walking around the ring , making sure your dog stays with you at all times, going faster when the judge calls "fast", going slower when the judge calls "slow", stopping and your dog should sit when you stop without being told, and doing "about turns"(when you turn around with the dog staying on the outside) and "u-turns" (when you turn around and the dog stays in the inside), and also doing "circle lefts" and "circle rights", which are precisely what they sound like, you do either a complete circle left or right depending on the direction called.

Long sits are when you sit your dog, which is giving the command to sit, then leaving your dog, which is saying "STAY" once, then walking to the end of your leash. You will stay there for 1 min. and your dog cannot move at all. Nor can you give any extra commands in any of these events. Long downs are when you "down" your dog, making sure that they're laying down, then you leave your dog for 3 minutes.

Recalls are where you sit your dog, leave them, then at the judges command, call them back to you. Your dog should sit directly in front of you. Then you "finish", a process where you give the command for them to either make a loop to your left and sit by your left side (called "swing"), or where they will go behind you and sit by your left side(most commonly called "around").

A figure 8 is when you have two "posts", either real posts, cones, or people, and you go around them in a figure 8 pattern. This is to see how well your dog stays with you on your turns.

And, last but most certainly not least, the stand for exam. Stand for exams are probably the hardest thing for people to master. You have to stand your dog, then leave them. Then the judge will come over and feel the dog. Your biggest hope is that your dog will not move or growl/bite the judge. :-)

And you people thought showing dogs was easy! Obviously not. There's a lot of hard work put into it, but the results are so lasting and rewarding that every bit is worth it. By the way....this was only the Sub-Novice basic routine at shows. Sub-Novice is the very beginners...they add more things to do the higher up you get. And there's many little things that are watched...you're posture, you're actions, even how you walk! But, the results are a much more well behaved dog, and a wonderful relationship between you and your dog. Plus, you really do have fun out there in the show ring!

Welcome!

Hi!

Welcome to our new blog! We're a multipurpose 4-H club that specializes in dogs. Here we'll keep you updated with whats going on, you'll get the inside look of how this 4-H club looks! Hope you enjoy. :)