Dear Meg, Thank you so much for your encouragement.I too think the 4H program is wonderful and the rules have been well thought out and serve a purpose.You nailed it when you said "It's hard when even the adults think that's "a bother" and they don't want to take the time" Our agent has sent the rules to all the leaders ,but I really can't see any evidence that they have been read.
The kids and parents in my club are following the rules, and working to qualify for state.The problem comes with the way the agility is set up at our county events and fair. There is only one coarse, that would be at the very least a novice course. My beginner kids are penalized when they don't do a piece of equipment they have not trained for, and the kids dragging their dogs around sometimes have higher qualifying scores because they are making better times.
We have gotten permission to hold our county's qualifier for state(not enough room to set up a regulation course at the fair grounds)and will be following all the rules, as was said before if we didn't we wouldn't be properly preparing the kids for competition.Everyone in the county is of course invited to participate. I not looking forward to all the potential issues and the disappointment of the kids when they are asked to follow the rules.
Then there will be our fair to deal with again. Thanks again for your encouragement, It meant a lot to read your post and realize that I'm not alone and the perseverance is worth it.
Elaine

--- In wa4hdogleaders@yahoogroups.com, "Meghan Mac-Rhyann" <momloveslacey@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Elaine:
>
> I so totally agree with you!! It's hard to get the group to follow the rules. I have had my girl in 4-H for four years and it wasn't until I was a meeting helper this year and took on the training the kids for questions the judge may ask that I found out they aren't running the meetings with rules. It's hard when even the adults think that's "a bother" and they don't want to take the time but I'm pretty insistent that if you are going to call yourself 4-H, there are some rules you should be following and although we want you to have fun, we also want you to learn life skills and be a leader and that means you need to know how to run a meeting!
>
> I'd say just continue to say, "They are not my rules, they are the rules of the organization WE belong to and then give them the rules." I was pretty shocked at the conversation regarding dogs in 4-H that we not legally licensed. We, the adults, ARE responsible to make sure that all these kids are following basic laws of good dog ownership and licensing your dog is a requirement, it's not optional.
>
> I want our kids to have fun (and they do) but I also want them to follow the awesome 4-H program and learn some life skills and basic good citizenship and leadership skills too.
>
> I'd say, just be calmly insistent that your group do things properly (especially at events - that's even more critical!). They are not going to be good dog trainers or good citizens if WE teach them to skirt the rules and do things their own way. If we can't help them problem solve whatever obstacles are preventing them from being legal to their county, then we shouldn't be calling ourselves "leaders".
>
> Be polite, calm, unfrustrated and quite insistent in speaking up against what you see in violation of the rules. Be ready to step in and help to do whatever is necessary to adhere to the rules. It's like dog training - just remain calm and say, "Let's try that again, it's not quite right". The rules are made for safety as well as conformation in the group.
>
> Blessings,
> Meg (Southern Washington)
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