Youngest follows family tradition of showing dogs

Each of the McKarnin family’s five dogs has a distinct personality.

There’s Lilly, a rat terrier mix who chose Brandon McKarnin, age 13, as her favorite human when he was 5. Brandon’s grandmother rescued Lilly when she was a puppy and was found in a Walmart parking lot. Lilly bonded with Brandon, who started inviting her over for sleepovers that got longer and longer over time.

Lilly and Brandon made it to the run-offs for the finals of the dog showmanship competition at the Kansas State Fair two years ago. They fell short because Lilly was tired; Brandon takes the blame for that because he made her sit all day instead of letting her lie down. She retired from showing last year, at age 10.

Hyper little Oliver, known as Ollie, was thrown out twice by his owner before he ended up in the McKarnin’s care. The white dog, possibly a mix of Bichon frise or West Highland white terrier or poodle, isn’t very bright and his humans suspect he might have some sort of attention deficient disorder. A horse stepped on him the other day because he wouldn’t listen to his humans during a trip to the pond (he wasn’t injured).

“I hope he learned his lesson,” Brandon said.

Moose, the 10-month old golden retriever puppy, is Ollie’s best buddy and swim partner. Ollie’s his favorite chew toy. Moose is very protective of his humans and loves to retrieve items thrown into a nearby pond.

Skippy, another rat terrier mix and almost 15 years old, is the crotchety old man of the family. He retired from the show ring six years ago and isn’t fond of Ollie. Skippy was a puppy when he chose Brandon’s older sister, Emily, by jumping out of the window of a parked car and into her arms when his previous owners were looking to rehome him.

Shy, sweet Oreo, a border collie mix and state fair pro, retired last year after Emily’s final year in 4-H. Oreo loves to smile at visitors, but isn’t very good at it. Her toothy smile, accompanied by a little growl, looks and sounds intimidating but in reality, she’s just misunderstood. And when it comes to the show ring, she’s probably the best at everything, mom Karen McKarnin said.

“What the heck, Mom, you hurt his feelings,” Brandon interjected on Ollie’s behalf, giving the dog a sympathetic pat before he squirmed away.

ALL OF THE dogs in the McKarnin family are rescues.

“A lot of them, we weren’t actively looking for a dog but a dog chose us,” Karen said.

All of their dogs also are pros of the 4-H dog show circuit. Both Brandon and Emily, age 20, have taken dogs to the state fair as recently as last year; their brother Casey, age 15, also has shown dogs for 4-H. Brandon will show Moose this year because all the other dogs are older and retired.

The dogs choose when they’re ready to retire, Karen said. They get tired more quickly and don’t listen to commands.

“Their attitudes are different,” Karen said. “We try not to push them.”

When all three of the McKarnin children showed dogs, they had enough to go around and even shared some with other 4-H friends. Now, Brandon is the family’s only competitor.