Tonight is the first night of television coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Will you be watching?
People unfamiliar with dog shows often comment that they are no more than beauty pageants with the dogs prancing around the ring. But there is much more to it.
Dog Shows More Than Prancing Around The Ring
I think there is a misconception that dog shows are to pick the cutest dog in the ring. But in reality a dog show is to evaluate breeding stock. Dogs are evaluated against the written description for the breed, (called the Breed Standard). The winner is the dog most closely matching the written standard in the eyes of the Judge.
Most AKC Breed Standards contain a description of how a dog should move (called “gait”).
For example from the Toy Group the Pekingese standard describes their gait as follows:
Gait: It is unhurried, dignified, free and strong, with a slight roll over the shoulders. This motion is smooth and effortless and is as free as possible from bouncing, prancing or jarring. The rolling gait results from a combination of the bowed forelegs, well laid back shoulders, full broad chest and narrow light rear, all of which produce adequate reach and moderate drive.
Compare this with the standard for the Chesapeake Bay Retriever which is a hunting dog from the Sporting Group:
Gait- The gait should be smooth, free and effortless, giving the impression of great power and strength. When viewed from the side, there should be good reach with no restrictions of movement in front and plenty of drive in the rear, with flexion of stifle and hock joints. Coming at you, there should be no signs of elbows being out. When the Chesapeake is moving away from you, there should be no sign of cowhockness from the rear. As speed increases, the feet tend to converge toward a center line of gravity.
Even where a Breed Standard does not describe gait as a separate item, it will usually includes some description of movement when describing the breed’s structure. The Beagle standard, a hunting breed from the Hound Group, describes Hips, Thighs, Hind Legs and Feet as follows:
Hips and thighs strong and well muscled, giving abundance of propelling power. Stifles strong and well let down. Hocks firm, symmetrical and moderately bent. Feet close and firm. Defects- Cowhocks, or straight hocks. Lack of muscle and propelling power. Open feet.
Judges place their hands on the dog to feel the dog’s muscles and bones so they can judge whether the dog’s structure meets the breed standard. Watching a dog move, whether it be watching the dog move away or toward them, or watching the dog move around the ring at a trot, the judge can evaluate how well the dog “is put together” or how well the dog’s movement and structure matches the breed standard.
When you watch a handler move a dog just right to best show off its gait, it can indeed be a thing of beauty. If you watch Westminster or any dog show, pay attention to how the dogs move, you will see that it is more than prancing around the ring.
Tomorrow’s post will be why correct movement matters for all dogs, purebred dogs as well as mixed breeds.
Movement is SO important, and one breed is not like to another. It’s cute when a Miniature Pinscher trots along with its trademark hackney gait, but not so much when an Afghan Hound does it.
Very true. I wish that they would stress movement more during the Westminster commentary and tell why it is that a breed moves they way they do. I bet most people have no idea.
I am definitely going to try to tune in and watch. I think a lot of people misunderstand what the dog shows are really all about….I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t explained it.
That is a lot for a judge to remember though, isn’t it, for so many different breeds?
Yes, but most judges study the breed standard and may even refresh their memory before they judge. They also attend seminars on various breeds or learn from a mentor within that breed. Before they become a full-fledged judge a breed they are “Provisional” for that breed. Once they are qualified on all the breeds in a group, they can judge that group. Once they have all the groups, they can judge a Best In Show. It takes a long time and dedication to get to that point.
I can imagine the skill involved in this sport!
Practice for sure, just like agility and hunt test.
We love to see the dogs, but feel it is such a bummer it really comes down to the feelings of the judge on that particular day, and handlers compete against each other, not against themselves as in many sports. It’s not like a hunt test where things have to be met and you pass. That being said, Mom will never be one to do much showing of dogs even if we get full AKC one day. We do like to watch, though.
I think you have the wrong idea about dog shows and hunt tests. Handlers absolutely do not compete against each other. Not sure where you heard that. Each dog is judged against the breed standard. It is the judge’s opinion and not their feelings that governs which dog wins. It is exactly the same with hunt tests. Dogs are tested against a standard and it is the judge’s opinion whether they meet the test standard or not. The only difference between a dog show and a hunt test is that I cannot make a dog not conforming to a standard magically conform, but with a hunt test I can train my dog to meet the standard.
I have no doubt that prepping for dog shows is hard work. I have only been to one dog show so far, and was in awe of all the different breeds being shown. Dog lover heaven!
Thank you for sharing excerpts from different breed standards. That’s super interesting – I really liked the part about the “muscular” requirement from the Beagle breed standard.
Most working breeds will have muscular or well muscled in there somewhere. I was quoting mostly the sections on gait, but usually it will be in other sections of the standard for those breeds if that makes sense.
I don’t watch Westminster, because it’s not something that interests me much. I have tuned in when they had the herding dogs and I’ll watch that section, but otherwise, I don’t search out the program. I do have a lot of respect for the handlers and dogs that make it. When I have watched the program, I think of Rodrigo or any of my other dogs at the event. It would be chaos.
Don’t tell anyone but I do not always watch either. I normally try to catch the live stream of the Chessies online but this year I missed it. I think watching a show in person is much better than on tv anyway. And your dogs would be fine because you would practice with them beforehand. 🙂
It is not always easy to show the gait of a dog! I’ve seen some unleveled rings ~ the dog may be fine but the handler can be thrown off balance! Occasionally a ring is small and/or crowded. An experienced owner/handler has to make decisions and adjustments. Our Cullen hated one space in particular, it was just claustrophobic Some dogs prefer an outdoor show. There is an art to moving a dog! And of course
structure is key!.
Hubby said that at the Monroe show in July he just could not keep his feet from slipping on the wet dewy grass. He felt he never got Freighter moving correctly and his placement reflected it. Small rings are usually a disaster for our dogs too.
Nice post. so many people have the wrong idea about dog shows. Just read a debate on fb about this very thing and some of the comments were quite ludicrous and no matter how others tried to explain the person was not having it, unfortunate but their opinion none the less.
Great post, I too think it is so beautiful to watch a dog move.