Doggie directions

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

Bransen Schaffert and "Pebbles," right, and Paige Witt and "Rex," above, work for dog show judge Pam Gaston at the Hitchcock County fair in Culbertson, Nebraska, Thursday morning. "Your first priority is getting your dog set up," then keeping an eye on the judge, Gaston told the youngest showmen. To the older division competitors, Gaston encouraged them to show the dog at its very best. "Don't do anything to interfere with the lines of the dog. Put your hand on the side of your dog, not on the top," she said. Keep the dog calm by stroking him calmly, on his/her side away from the judge, she said. "Don't stand between the judge and the dog," she instructed. "And work on standing still at the end of a pattern."