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Samson proves his strength by ... Fetching a gold medal
By JoAnn Jones
CANFIELD
From the time she was able to talk, Michele Awad of Canfield had begged her parents to get her a dog.
Finally, when she was 11, she talked them into going to “the pound.”
According to her mother, even though the family hadn’t planned on taking a dog home, Michele had her eye on one. The family went to a fast-food restaurant, got something to eat and talked it over.
The verdict? They brought home their first dog, a rescue dog they named Shakira. That’s when Michele began training dogs — something for which she obviously has a talent.
Awad, a freshman at Youngstown State University and the youngest daughter of Mounir and Linda Awad, has trained the family’s youngest dog — a 11/2-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever named Samson — so well that he won the state 4H title in showmanship and a gold medal in rally obedience last August.
“I got him with the intention of training him with 4H and maybe showing him afterward,” she said. “He won third place in obedience and second in showmanship in county 4H when he was a year old. If you do well at county, your adviser will tell you to take them to state.”
Awad’s adviser at the Mahoning County 4H dog club, known at the Youngstown Tailwaggers, is Shari Yuhas.
“She’s been my adviser with the dogs since I started 4H,” Awad said. “We’re really close. She has helped me with all my dogs.” All her dogs include Shakira, Samson and another Lab named Delilah.
Awad said the club meets once a week for formal training, but she actually works with Samson all the time at home. Although she lives on campus at YSU, she goes home to work with Samson one or two times a week.
“If I could take him to school, I would,” she said. “One day, when I get my own place, I’ll take him.”
Awad, who said she has always wanted to be a veterinarian, is studying biology for preveterinary medicine. She has shadowed veterinarians and volunteered at Angels for Animals in North Lima as part of her preparation for her intended career. She would like to go to veterinary school at either Ohio State University or the University of Michigan, the two vet schools closest to home, she said.
In addition, through her 4H involvement she has raised market livestock — cattle, chickens and goats — in a barn on a piece of land the family owns in North Lima.
“When I saw the livestock at the Canfield Fair,” she said, “I wanted to do that, too.”
Dogs, however, are her first love. She takes care of all three family dogs, grooming them herself, cutting their nails, brushing their teeth and cleaning their ears. But it’s Samson that has responded the best to training.
“He’s calmer and more suited to showmanship and obedience,” Awad said. “He responds to hand signals and vocal commands. These are hand signals I use myself, not the ones in 4H.”
“I was excited teaching him the paw trick,” she said. “He uses his paw to open up my hand with the treat in it. He likes ‘fetch’ the best — a tree branch or a toy — anything that makes noise or squeaks.”
Because of his training, however, Awad and her family are careful with the number of treats he gets. Samson never gets table food, she said. “He’s actually at his proper weight,” Linda Awad said. “They’re high-energy dogs. He gets five cups of food a day and dog treats, but he also gets a lot of exercise. He grew at a phenomenal rate.”
As Samson grew and responded to training, Awad said she thought he was ready for the annual 4H event at the Expo Center in Columbus. The shows are in a huge arena where hundreds of people can watch.
“The competition is always nerve-wracking,” Awad said. “Animals are always so unpredictable. Even with a well-trained dog, it’s so hard to do, especially with a crowd.”
“He did well, though,” she added. “I was proud of him.”
“It’s all about knowing where to be and when to give commands,” Awad said, as she described the rally obedience competition he won.
“We can give commands as many times as we want or tug on the leash,” she explained, “to compete as accurately and quickly as possible. It tests their agility and is an obstacle course for dogs with hoops and tables.”
Awad herself was judged in showmanship competition as she had to undergo an interview with questions based on the anatomy, health and wellness of her dog. In the actual show, she had to set Samson up so that the judges could see how well he was groomed and how healthy he looked. It was her fifth time competing in showmanship, but it was her first time with Samson.
Samson doesn’t spend all his time in training.
“He loves human contact, and he’s a cuddler,” Michele said. “When I’m home, he sleeps downstairs in his bed. When I’m not, he sleeps with the other dogs in the garage.”
This is a case where a dog is woman’s best friend.