Last Friday I promised to answer an excellent question that a couple of readers asked about dog shows.
Raisingdaisy and Val wanted to know :
When a dog is eliminated at any point, can the owner or handler find out why so they know what to work on?
At its core, a dog show is nothing more than an evaluation of breeding stock. The AKC was started in the 1880’s by some sportsmen who had recently held a dog show or put on a field trial. These two events were held to evaluate breeding stock. Read more on the history of the AKC here. Today both events still exist with the primary purpose to evaluate breeding stock.
In a conformation show (or dog show), the dogs are judged against a written standard for the breed. The breed standard is set by the national breed club and its members, (with approval from the AKC). I do not know about all of the other breeds, but the American Chesapeake Club does a lot to educate judges on the breed characteristics of a Chessie and proper conformation. Read the Chesapeake Bay Retriever Breed Standard and Revisions here.
In a Conformation show the dog is judged against the breed standard, so it is often said that a judge has in their mind the perfect example of breed and the dogs in the ring are judged against that. The Chessie Standard allows for dogs of a varying range of size, shades of brown color, coat style, etc. The people who originated our breed did not want a cookie cutter dog.
Judges are only human and I am sure that they have preferences within the standard. So just because a judge may pick one dog over another, it does not mean that there is something wrong with a particular dog, as long as it meets the standard, it may be that the judge prefers another dog more. Perhaps the judge prefers a smaller dog. Maybe the judge doesn’t mind a larger well put together dog. Or it may be that one dog just shows better than another in the ring on any given day. Generally the judges will not say their preferences, but if you watch them and watch which dogs they give ribbons to, you can usually figure it out.
There is a list of things that are a disqualification under the breed standard:
DISQUALIFICATIONS
1. Specimens lacking in breed characteristics.
2. Teeth overshot or undershot.
3. Dewclaws on hind legs.
4. Coat curly or with a tendency to curl all over the body.
5. Feathering on the tail or legs over 1 3/4″ long.
6. Black colored.
7. White on any part of the body except breast,belly, toes or back of feet.
If someone were to enter a Chessie with any of these disqualifications, then the Judge would in fact excuse the dog from the ring and note the reason for the DQ in their judge’s book. Any dogs that are DQ’d, (or excused), are not counted to determine the points awarded to the winning dog/bitch. (An summary of the meaning of points is here.) This really doesn’t happen because most people are familiar with the standard and do not enter dogs that would be DQ’d under the standard.
A dog may also be DQ’d from any event for attacking a person. Obviously, this is something you don’t want to happen. The AKC takes these incidents very seriously and it is documented and may end up that the dog can no longer compete in any AKC events. More on DQ and the reinstatement procedure, here.
Next, a dog can be excused from the ring for reasons short of a DQ. For example when Storm was a pup, (entered in the 6-9 Month Puppy Bitch Class), the judge startled her in the ring by approaching her from behind and very quickly. After that she was not going to stand still to let him touch her. Rather than letting her handler (who was also inexperienced), reset her, the Judge excused her from the competition. It is unfortunate that he did not take a minute or two to let a puppy become comfortable in the ring. The Judge would note in his judge’s book why she was excused, (probably that Storm would not stand for inspection).
At that same show, the Judge excused Smokey’s mom due to her color, (tan/ash). She was already a Champion, but he felt that our parent club should specifically call out that color (even though it is brown, a dilute but still brown). He told the handler the reason and noted it in his judge’s book. It caused a bit of a stink, but nothing that anyone could do about it.
So in one case we knew we had to work with Storm on making sure she would allow the Judge to touch her, but in the other case, there was not much to be done about that except not enter a tan/ash dog if he is judging.
Beyond that, Judge’s are fairly quiet about why they make their choices. Sometimes they will give encouragement if they like a dog. For example, maybe the dog is young and they might say: “I really like the dog so bring him/her back when the dog matures”. Or if someone asks after the show, the Judge may share the reason he or she picked a particular dog. For example, when Thunder won his first 3 Point Major from the 12-18 Month Dog Class, one of the other competitors asked the Judge why he selected Thunder. The Judge responded that he liked the way Thunder moved. He felt that he could do the job he was bred to do.
But I do not want to give the wrong impression. Most Judges do not volunteer why they made their choices. They have a lot of dogs to judge and they do not always have the time. In this way a dog show is different from other performance events where the Judges have time to let you know why you are out, or you can even look at score sheets. In conformation the Judge’s are not scoring on paper, but in their heads. They may have only a few minutes to look at each dog. It is up to the handler to present the dog in the best light possible. This means stacking the dog properly, moving the dog correctly and making sure the dog will let the Judge touch it. We have found the Conformation classes that we attend at a local club very helpful in helping both the handler and the dogs work on these things.
I hope this very long explanation answered the question.
Quite alot goes into it. We never realised how much. We were aware it wasn’t a matter of strike a pose but it was interesting to read all the in and outs of the dog showing world. Thank you. Have a terrific Tuesday.
Best wishes Molly
Thanks so much for the informative answer! I had a feeling there was a certain amount of subjectivity in the judges’ decisions, but I’d hoped it was less than it seems. That’s pretty common, though – every author, chef, movie director, etc. has their work judged subjectively, no matter how experienced the critic or reviewer may be. Otherwise there’d be no conflicting opinions in ratings! Very interesting post.
It seems pretty complicated if you ask me. 🙂 But I’ve often wondered (when watching a show on TV) why the Judge chose one breed over another for Best In Show. Does preference come into play? For instance I’m sure I would more drawn to a lab than I would say to a Basset Hound (not that there’s anything wrong with Basset Hounds.)
I don’t think I would be a fair judge. LOL
Something for FUF. 🙂
I think you did a great job of explaining the ins and outs of conformation. Aside for following a certain written standard, and being aware of certain faults, it makes sense that in the end it comes down to taste. Nice to see some judges favoring a dog because they like the way the dog moves or it’s attitude…shows the dog wants to do the job and is happy to be in the ring. Weird about disqualifying Smokey’s mom though, especially since she was already a champion!
Wow! There is much more to a dog show judging than I thought. What dedication you have, and what excellent doggies you work with.
This is so informative! Lots more than I ever knew! Thank you so much!!
Thanks for the inside look at dog shows. We love to go but so much seems complex and mysterious.
I once asked a judge for a critique of my dog when we met back in the ring for pictures. I was a rank novice at the time, and the judge was very kind but honest.
That is great you had that conversation. As I said, if you ask and there is time, they will usually share.
Linda this was a great post. I hope you don’t mind me reblogging as you said it perfect.
Thanks so much for the re-blog. I am glad you liked my post. 🙂
Reblogged this on Sand Spring Chesapeakes and commented:
Why reinvent rt the wheel when Linda from 2browndawgs wrote a great blog on dog shows.
What a great post!
Very interesting – you did a great job explaining an event type I have no background in. It sounds like it could be an interesting experience, though tough on inexperienced handlers (less so on the dog… I doubt he cares much about whether they leave sooner or later )
That’s an excellent explanation of judging…sometimes personal preference does play a part, but I think most judges do their best to remain neutral and judge by the standard
I think where you have a breed that is more cookie cutter, that may be true, but Chessies come in all shapes and sizes and colors. There is definitely more preference involved with some judging (ie the ash/tan dog that was excused). I am not saying that there is anything wrong with judging based on what the judge preferences. It helped us in some cases and hurt in others when we were trying to finish our big dog.
That was really interesting! I also noticed in the picture of Tule and Smokie that (I’m assuming that Tule is the dog in front) she had really large nipples. You are probably going to think I am crazy for noticing that, but Ash has really large nipples and I have always wondered if it is a Chessie thing. We weren’t familiar with Chessies when our son brought Ash home with him and our vet hasn’t had much experience with them. Everyone always thinks Ash is pregnant because of her large nipples. I was happy to see that she isn’t the only one with large nipples! Sorry to be talking so much about nipples:)
Haha I think all the nipple talk made your comment go to spam. 🙂 I don’t know the answer. Storm is regular, but she has not had a litter. I have seen some female labs with large nipples after litters. I don’t think it is just Chessies. Poor Tule had 12 pups. That would make anyone’s nipples huge. 🙂
Sounds like the judges have their work cut out!
Slobbers
I felt both of your conformation explanations were wonderful. I’ve been to a lot of dog shows and I’m still nervous to get back in them. Seeing your pictures and reading your explanations help ease the tension! I also love all the pictures!! You have a very beautiful set of dogs! I especially love freighters color, but don’t tell thunder or storm I said so. :p
Do you ever think about handling yourself? I’m trying to convince Julio that he should be a handler, with his long legs, I can just see beautiful strides between him and our future poodle ^_^
Thanks for the explanations…so much work goes into those shows, wow!! Now when I watch future dog shows on tv I’ll know what they are talking about and looking for. 🙂
This is a great explanation of how judges may look at a dog in a conformation event. I’ve assisted my dog’s breeder a couple of times when she’s needed an extra handler and I found it nerve-wracking.