Participants of the “Tail Waggin” fun event included Eli Leffelman, Logan Arvigo, Heather and Kelly Stranberg, Heather and Holly Phillips, Oregon; Emily Moritz and Skylar Black, Chana; Taylor Hensen, Davis Junction; Madison Tigrett, Rochelle; and Madison Pedersen, and Isabelle and Mallory Bergstrom, Mt. Morris. (Photo submitted)

OGLE COUNTY — During the week of June 28th to July 2nd a 4-H summer academy was held. This workshop series was called “Canine Academy” and was sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension Office—Ogle County. The class was open to kids, ages 8 to 18 years old. There were 13 students from various towns in Ogle County that participated.

There were two instructors for this program. The first was Laura Overmyer (Byron), a 15 year member of 4-H, a former 4-H Ambassador & Federation president, who also owns and shows Border Collies. The second instructor was Deb Daleiden (Oregon), a 4-H volunteer and instructor, who loves and trains dogs & uses her 2 dogs to teach and do demonstrations for 4-H classes and does Therapy Dog visits to local hospitals & retirement centers.

Assistants for the program were Mary Beth Overmyer (Byron), a long time 4-H volunteer & instructor, who also breeds, trains and shows Border Collies and runs the “Children’s Farm” at the Ogle County Fair every year; and Jenny Sharron (Forreston), a 15 year member of 4-H and a huge dog lover too!

Each day of the Canine Academy was filled with fun, dog inspired games, dog facts and information about different dog breeds & characteristics, grooming, health & care of dogs and training needs, how to choose the right dog for your family, cost of owning a dog along with many special guests.

Some of the guest speakers and demonstrating friends were – Linda Zack (Stillman Valley) who is currently a 4-H Ambassador and Federation Vice-President and long time 4-H member. Linda came and talked about the 4-H Pledge. She explained the meaning of the pledge and the importance of it to 4-H members. She also helped to teach it to everyone.

A volunteer from Chicago brought her Therapy Dog Kai in and talked about what Therapy Dogs do and how they are trained for this and about the program she and Kai belong to. They are members of the Therapy Dog group at Edwards Hospital in Naperville, that currently has 100 dogs and handlers that make regular visits there.

Dr. Patricia Holm, a DVM from Auburn and Forreston Vet Clinics, came and spoke to the class about the importance of getting your dogs vaccinated regularly to protect them and us from diseases and illnesses. Dr. Holm is very involved with 4-H and told us she was very honored and pleased to come and speak to the class.

Susan O’Neil (Byron) came with her dog Barley, a Golden Retriever, to tell us about fostering rescue dogs. She has been a foster parent to many dogs including Barley who she just had to adopt because he was such a perfect fit for her family. All of Susan’s foster dogs stay with her until they are placed in their new “Forever” homes.

Lisa Purka who is the President of the Border Collie Society of America brought her dog Win in to demonstrate “Herding”. Win showed us his awesome talent by herding several ducks outside on the lawn, while Lisa explained how she signaled and told Win what to do.

Penny Kurz (Schaumburg) came with her black Lab Yatzee to tell us about how she volunteers to foster puppies and older dogs that have been picked to become Service Dogs. She told us how she begins their training, starting with socialization, obedience training and then the specific training that the dog will need for the special needs person he or she will go to. Penny & Yatzee then did a Tracking demo for us. Tracking is a sport where a dog follows a human scent on a path and the dog finds articles left by the track layer. Tracking is cool, and you can do this for fun or earn AKC titles. Penny has earned the title of “Champion Tracker” several times with the dogs she has owned.

The class was also invited to tour the Pines Meadow Vet Clinic (Oregon) where we were taken through the whole facility and got to see everything including a surgery room. This was amazing and very interesting for everyone.

Another extra special guest was Oregon Police Officer Corporal Joe Brooks and his K9 partner Oz. Officer Brooks had Oz demonstrate his ability to find hidden drugs & a set of lost keys in the grass. Officer Brooks told the class about the special training he and Oz do every day and how they assist other police departments in the area whenever needed. He showed the class the specially designed truck for Oz and why and how it was built to keep him and Oz safe and comfortable. The most impressive thing that every student commented on was not only how smart & well trained Oz was but how friendly Oz was. He loved all the hugs and pats as much as he loved showing everyone how well he could do his job.

The Canine Academy class also did a Service Project – they collected pet food from family and friends to be donated to Barb Adkins (Oregon) to help her with her Pet Food Drive for residents of Ogle County who are struggling to make ends meet by helping them to feed their pet(s) and be able to keep them in their family. If you would like to make a donation or need some help or know of someone who needs help with feeding a pet just give Barb a call at

Canine Academy was fun, entertaining, informative and very interesting. The instructors worked hard to teach and demonstrate how dogs can do many things, but most importantly they showed the students how a dog when cared for properly, trained and loved will be your life long loving “Best Friend!”

Anyone interested in learning more about the 4-H program can contact the University of Illinois Extension Office at 815-732-2191 or visit on-line at www.extension.uiuc.edu/ogle.