State Fair Part II: A.B. Graham

A. B. Graham was the founder of 4-H, the first part of the program started just over 100 years ago.

Today, I took Griffin to the Ohio State Fair Jr. Dog Show. We did a bit of a training demo and helped teams with their training. I also just had a really great time with my dog. He was relaxed. He barked only a little. He would lie on his side. He performed well in the 90* temperatures. With the ~80-100ish kids and dogs and parents around. I was very happy. We definitely have room for improvement, but the amount of eye contact and "what now" made me very happy.

At one point, an older man came over while I was chatting with a camper. She talked to him a bit and offered him a cookie I made. Griffin pretty much jumped on him. The guy pet Griffin. I realized the cookies weren't all that good. He walked away. And then I found out he's the grandson of AB Graham and was there to pass out some awards. How embarrassing. Not only did my dog jump on him, but he experienced my cooking.

I really had a great time with campers. My favorite parts:
- Campers helping with CGC tests
- The participation from past campers. We had at least 12 campers participating in activities...and in just about everything: poster, assistance dogs, rally, agility, obedience, showmanship, skillathon, petpals and would have had freestyle if the weather cooperated! AND we had some great placements too!
- Getting emails afterwards about campers wanting more training and competition info...for obedience!
- Watching some "good training". One of our campers was working with Griffin today. She was training him to "shake" his foot. I helped her a little. Very quickly she was asking me to do the treats while she did the clicks, cueing, and hand part. I was SO proud!
- Amazing sportsmanship. Two campers were present for all/part the week to help. Everyone else did some helping out too... so proud. And great behavior when things went well and didn't go well. Encouraging other kids. Talkign about how great camp is and how much fun they have. I was really proud.
- And of course the campers loving my dog. The one we spent a lot of time with today is in love with him too... "His face is so cute!"

And because of what AB Graham did...the 4-H program grew to what it is today. And I get to know these really fabulous kids and spend time with them!