Mary Tarkany, 16, of Brookville, shows her dog Teddy at the Dog Show at the 2021 Miami County Fair.
Sam Wildow | Miami Valley Today
By Sam Wildow
TROY — A small but loyal group of dog owners returned to the Miami County Fair this week to participate in its Dog Show, during which they showed off their dogs’ obedience skills.
“Our program is getting smaller and smaller,” said Nikki Palsgrove, president of the Dog Committee. Palsgrove said the Dog Show is one of the programs with the Miami County Fair that kids can do anywhere, regardless of whether they live in the city or in the country. Participants’ dogs also do not need to be purebreds, she said, as they also accept mixed breeds, as well as both fully grown dogs and puppies.
Palsgrove said kids and families looking to get involved in the fair may not know the program is out there and still running, but she encouraged them to take part in the family-oriented group. She said the group bonds together and attends the state fair together.
“We just try to do fun things like that,” Palsgrove said.
Trinity Smith, 16, of Piqua, returned for her eighth year participating in the Dog Show at the 2021 Miami County Fair.
“At the very beginning, I just wanted to get a little bit closer with the dogs we had. I had two boxers at the time,” Smith said. She said during her third year, she switched to standard poodles.
“I’ve just stuck around because it’s fun,” Smith said.
Smith has different favorite obedience commands for her two poodles, explaining how she practices the “stay” command with one of her dogs by having her dog sit somewhere and then she will either go in front of her dog or somewhere out of sight.
With her other dog, she said, “I love working on heeling, because she gets so excited.”
Smith won second place in the Beginner Novice B class in Dog Obedience, first place in the Senior Division B class in Dog Grooming and Showmanship, and first and third places in the Rally Intermediate B class in the Dog Rally.
Lexie Williams, 15, of Brookville, has also been showing her dogs for eight years, and she got her friend Mary Tarkany, 16, also of Brookville, involved in her first year of showing at the fair’s Dog Show.
“I just thought it would be fun,” said Tarkany, who added that she loves doing stuff with her dog. Tarkany’s dog, a standard poodle, is also a therapy dog. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, they would visit nursing homes and schools.
“I just love doing it so much. I think it builds a stronger connection with you and your dog, and I’ve just always had a passion for dogs,” said Williams, who is showing her third dog at the Dog Show. Williams’ dog is a golden retriever. Williams explained that she prepares her dog for the Dog Show by taking him to different places to practice his obedience commands and get him used to distractions around him.
“We practice with each other quite a bit,” Williams said.
Williams won third place in the Senior Division B class in Dog Grooming and Showmanship and fifth place in the Rally Intermediate B class in the Dog Rally.
Tarkany won first place in the Beginner Novice A class in Dog Obedience and first place in the Rally Novice A class in the Dog Rally.
