It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Take Cheyenne, for example. The 10-year-old rat terrier only started competing last year in the Dog Show at the annual Jefferson City Jaycees Cole County Fair. However, there she was again Saturday night, running through the obstacle course when it suited her.
She was more inclined to walk under a bar on the course as try to jump over it.
And when her handler, 9-year-old Cash Nilges, asked her to sit, she didn't.
"Does she sit?" asked Amy Gibbs, the show judge.
"Sometimes," Cash responded.
When Gibbs told Cash that Cheyenne didn't have to sit, she did to scratch an itch. And then there was the tunnel. Cheyenne entered the tunnel right on cue, but as Cash ran to the other side to retrieve her, she turned back and walked back out.
A little encouragement from Gibbs got Cheyenne back on course.
Cash didn't mind. He said he had fun working with the dog.
Teams of handlers and dogs competed in five categories in this year's Dog Show, rally obedience (in which how dogs take commands is tested), obedience, showmanship, obstacle and fun show (involving tricks and costumes). And handlers also competed in canine knowledge.
The event gave the dogs and their handlers opportunities to work on some of their weaker skills. Consider Bonnie, a chocolate lab and Husky mix whose age remains a question. Cash's family adopted her about two months ago, shortly after she'd had several puppies at an animal shelter. Bonnie's a couch potato Patrica Nilges said. After Bonnie refused to go through a large ring, Gibbs held her leash while her handler - Cash's 11-year-old sister, Ava - coaxed her through.
Ally, a black 3-year-old shi tzu and toy poodle mix looked tiny in the arena. Her handler, 13-year-old Nadine Schmitz walked her through the obstacle course, but the little dog froze on the teeter-totter and bypassed it.
So, Gibbs brought Ally and Nadine back to the teeter-totter to work on that skill after the class had completed the course.
"It's a lot of hands-on work with her, and that's enjoyable and rewarding," Nadine said.
At only 2, a black and white border collie named Arrow still has a lot to learn, according to his handler, Lindsay Marcum.
"Being young makes him easier to train," the 16-year old said. "He is kind of a spaz sometimes."
The trick is to take away distractions. Once he's focused, he's driven to complete the task at hand, she said.
Since showing last year, Lindsay said she's taken him to classes at PetSmart, which helped him improve.
Lana Lierheimer showed two dogs she intends to enter in American Kennel Club events - Leo, a 5-year-old border collie/lab mix, and Nyx, a 1-year-old German shepherd. She entered them in Saturday's event hoping they'd simply do well.
Lierheimer said she could use the conditions at the fair to help with the dogs' training progress.
Distractions in the fairgrounds' arena were all around the dogs. There were small areas where mulch or hay remained from previous shows. Stands extended right up to the obstacle course. And spectators sat close to the competition.
"There are a lot of distractions here. They haven't had much exposure to this," she said.
There were also a lot of people at the fair.
Eric Brandt, the second-year fair chairman, said attendance appeared to be up from last year. However, the final numbers wouldn't be available for at least a day. Vendors reported somewhat slow business for the first couple of days of the event, but it really picked up. On Monday, when rides were each $1, there were lines at all the rides and several had wait times that approached an hour.
Staff working the fair have spent long nights changing the configuration of the track, Brandt said.
He wants to get back to work at his regular job lawn and tree service.
"It's been a fun week," he said. "But, I'm ready for the fair to be over."