Eleanor Parker, 12, of Greenfield and her 2-year-old Sheltie, Daisy, were the highest scoring duo in the 4-H State Dog Project for the Novice Class in 2025.
In their first year, Eleanor and Daisy have won dozens of ribbons and awards for Showmanship and Obedience at 4-H competitions, which include clubs from around the state.
Mason Parker, Eleanor’s father, said his daughter swept all the categories in the end of year.
“In her class, she won all of them. She received the highest score in showmanship, obedience, and in her test scores out of all the novices in the state,” Parker said. “Eleanor worked very hard, and they just did great.”
Eleanor is part of the 4-H Club based in Concord.
“This was my first year in 4-H,” she said. “This year I was a Novice, and next year I’ll be in Intermediate.”
As the top-ranked Novice competitor in the state, Eleanor went on to compete against the winners of every other age group and was runner-up against older competitors.
“She was competing against kids ranging up to the age of high school seniors,” her father said.
Along with competing in Showmanship and Obedience in the ring, Eleanor took written tests about the health and science of canine care at each event. She never scored under 96 on any test, and scored 100 at one competition.
“This year the test focused on the anatomy of a canine ear, feet, bones and nerves,” Eleanor said. “Next year we’re doing tails, herding dogs, and other stuff.”
To compete in Showmanship, Eleanor trained Daisy in different walking patterns, which she then had to demonstrate to the judges on command.
“For Showmanship, you use a really skinny leash. First we go around the ring and you ‘stack’ your dog, which means they have to stay in a certain position with their feet straight up and down,” Eleanor explained. “Then the judges can ask you to do a pattern. You can either do a ‘down and back,’ or a ‘t’, or a triangle.”
In Showmanship training, Daisy is rewarded with treats for performing each pattern, but in Obedience, which is the more challenging category, Daisy must learn to obey commands without a reward, or “bait.”
“In Obedience, you can’t bait, and you use a regular leash,” Eleanor said. “In Obedience trials, every time you stop, your dog has to sit, and you’re not allowed to use bait. I have to train her to stop, every single time I stop, without any treats.”
According to Eleanor, Daisy can sit for one minute, stay down for three minutes, and work her way around cones, walking a figure eight.
Eleanor and Daisy competed in four fairs in 2025, including Stratham, Hillsborough, Hopkinton and Sandwich.
“Stratham was her very first fair, and she did really well,” her father said.
At the Hopkinton fair, which is considered Eleanor’s 4-H home county, she also won Judges Choice award for her art project, a painting of Daisy.
“She gets her talent from her mom, who is a very good artist,” Mason Parker said.
Eleanor, who “had always wanted a dog,” researched what kind of dog would be a good fit for the family and made a case to her parents when she was 10. The family settled on a 30 pound Sheltie, who Eleanor named Daisy.
“I got Daisy as a puppy, when she was about two months old, and we started working on some training. We started with obedience classes and got her certified AKC (American Kennel Club) Good Citizen and all that stuff. Then we did some basic agility, and then I joined 4-H,” Eleanor said, adding that Shelties are smart and have a lot of energy.
“If Daisy doesn’t have something to do, she gets bored and starts chewing on something.”
Eleanor’s dad says the family specifically wanted a herding dog.
“We have a lot of kids, and she is always following along, yipping and getting everyone in line,” he said. “She’s just playing, but she does try to keep everyone together.”
Eleanor and Daisy travel to Concord twice a month to take part in the club, which focuses on dog and puppy care, including grooming, training, nutrition, health, and dog-related careers.
Eleanor takes full responsibility for Daisy’s care, from feeding and grooming to walking her and monitoring her health.
Next year, Eleanor will move up to the Intermediate class, which will mean more challenging patterns and more off-leash work.
“Daisy will have to do everything she was doing before, but off leash,” she said.
She said at one county fair, she and Daisy were only about five feet from a cow, which was a tough distraction for the little herding dog.
“The cow was actually eating Christmas lights, and we were like, what the heck? So that was a real distraction for Daisy, having that right there when she was trying to compete,” Eleanor said.
She is now working on teaching Daisy tricks at the next level of obedience , including leaping in the air.
Thanks to Eleanor’s training, Daisy has been such a success in the Parker home that she plans to breed Daisy at this time next year.
“Shelties typically have small litters of two or three puppies, and maybe, just maybe, we will get to keep one of them,” Eleanor said.
Eleanor’s goal for 2026 is to be able to compete with Daisy at The Big E (the Eastern States Exposition) in Springfield, Mass., where all New England 4-H clubs compete for regional titles next summer.
Unlike the other New England states, New Hampshire 4-H Dog Project participants have to qualify to compete at the Big E.
“My instructor says New Hampshire students always seem more prepared, because they have to qualify to go,” Eleanor said.
Mason Parker said he hopes the duo will make it to the Big E, but it will require a lot of logistics.
“When you go there, there could be thousands of people walking by as you’re telling your dog to stay still, so it could be really challenging,” he said. “We’ll see.”
Meanwhile, Eleanor and Daisy will keep practicing.
For more information about 4-H, go to extension.unh.edu/new-hampshire-4-h.
