How long is the Long Sit in the novice dog obedience classes?

This is just one of the many questions that the 4-H dog project project bowl team studied on their way to a 1st place finish at the Regional Project Bowl competition in Hastings on Saturday, March 13th. Team members Sara Henkensiefken, Collin Diedrich, Shae Neuschwander, Sam Snyder, Ritchie Diedrich, and Lauren Summers have been getting together for a few hours every week since Janaury to study dog-related information from a long list of resources. The study sessions help ensure they are fully prepared for the Regional Competition where they are up against other teams to see who can buzz in first to answer the question correctly. The team is coached by Martha Diedrich and Kris Fischer.

Its an intense competition, and the team members take it very seriously. However, they have a lot of fun learning the information, which they use in other aspects of the dog project. The information helps them with livestock interviews, dog training classes, and in the show ring while showing their dogs. Some 4-H graduates who were on the dog quiz bowl team end up going in to dog-related careers, where the information they learned in quiz bowl is especially helpful.

Quiz Bowl questions range from what breeds of dog belong in which groups to common diseases found in dogs and how they can be treated. Team members often end up having a well-rounded knowledge base about dogs, including health, reproduction, requirements for classes, breeds, and anatomy.

Up next for the team is the State Project Bowl competition on April 17th. The State Competition is familiar territory for the Waseca County 4-H Dog Project Team - the junior team has won 1st place four years (2009, 2008, 2007, 2005) and 2nd three years (2006, 2004, 2003). While the members of the team change from year to year, their success every year can only mean one thing ... they put many hours of studying and hard work into this! Good luck to the Dog Project Bowl team members competeting at State on April 17th.

Also, good luck to both the junior and senior Horse Project Bowl teams who will be competiting in their Regional Project Bowl competition on March 20th in Redwood Falls. These two teams have been practicing and studying since January as well, and we know their hard work will lead to success also! Be sure to check the blog next week for results from their competition.

(Oh, and the answer to the question, "How long is the Long Sit in the novice dog obedience classes?" is one minute.)