If you have ever been to a dog show, you may have watched the competition and been totally confused about what was going on in the show ring. Unlike performance events like agility, or obedience, a dog show is evaluating how well the dog matches the written standard for the breed.
Obviously each breed’s standard emphasizes different things. I am most familiar with Chesapeakes so I will use some pictures of Freighter from a recent show to help explain just what goes on in the show ring. For this post, I am focusing just on the class dogs, or those dogs trying to earn their championship.
You may have heard some say that a dog show is just a “beauty contest” for dogs. But it is so much more than that. Chessies are part of the Sporting Group and are meant to be working dogs, so as you may imagine, structure and movement are very important to our breed. Proper coat is also very important and carries a lot of weight in our breed standard. The breed standard for the Chesapeake Bay Retriever is here. I will quote excerpts from the breed standard throughout my post because this is what the judge should have in mind when evaluating each dog.
Size, Proportion, Substance
Height–Males should measure 23 to 26 inches; females should measure 21 to 24 inches. Oversized or undersized animals are to be severely penalized. Proportion–Height from the top of the shoulder blades to the ground should be slightly less than the body length from the breastbone to the point of buttocks. Depth of body should extend at least to the elbow. Shoulder to elbow and elbow to ground should be equal. Weight–Males should weigh 65 to 80 pounds; females should weigh 55 to 70 pounds.
Upon entering the ring, usually the handlers stack the dog so that the judge can get a good initial look at the dog. Sometimes a judge will have the dogs enter the ring and immediately move around the ring. It is up to each judge as to what they think they need to see to evaluate a dog.
Color
The color of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever must be as nearly that of its working surroundings as possible. Any color of brown, sedge or deadgrass is acceptable, self-colored Chesapeakes being preferred. One color is not to be preferred over another. A white spot on the breast, belly, toes, or back of the feet (immediately above the large pad) is permissible, but the smaller the spot the better, solid colored preferred. The color of the coat and its texture must be given every consideration when judging on the bench or in the ring. Honorable scars are not to be penalized.Disqualifications: Black colored; white on any part of the body except breast, belly, toes, or back of feet must be disqualified
After getting an initial look at the dogs, the judge may have the dogs in that class move around the ring as a group before evaluating each dog individually.
Head
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever should have an intelligent expression. Eyes are to be medium large, very clear, of yellowish or amber color and wide apart. Ears are to be small, set well up on the head, hanging loosely, and of medium leather. Skull is broad and round with a medium stop. Nose is medium short. Muzzle is approximately the same length as the skull, tapered, pointed but not sharp. Lips are thin, not pendulous. Bite–Scissors is preferred, but a level bite is acceptable.Disqualifications: Either undershot or overshot bites are to be disqualified.
One of the first things most judges check is the dog’s bite. This is where it can get a little touch and go with an inexperienced dog. You have a stranger coming up to the dog and opening the dog’s mouth to check bite. We worked on this with Freighter so that he would be comfortable with it.
Next the Judge will evaluate structure.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck should be of medium length with a strong muscular appearance, tapering to the shoulders. Topline should show the hindquarters to be as high as or a trifle higher than the shoulders. Back should be short, well coupled and powerful. Chest should be strong, deep and wide. Rib cage barrel round and deep. Body is of medium length, neither cobby nor roached, but rather approaching hollowness from underneath as the flanks should be well tucked up. Tail of medium length; medium heavy at the base. The tail should be straight or slightly curved and should not curl over back or side kink.
In order to evaluate the structure the judge will feel the the dog. Putting hands on a dog is the best way to do this.
Forequarters
There should be no tendency to weakness in the forequarters. Shoulders should be sloping with full liberty of action, plenty of power and without any restrictions of movement. Legs should be medium in length and straight, showing good bone and muscle. Pasterns slightly bent and of medium length. The front legs should appear straight when viewed from front or rear. Dewclaws on the forelegs may be removed. Well webbed hare feet should be of good size with toes well-rounded and close.
Hindquarters
Good hindquarters are essential. They should show fully as much power as the forequarters. There should be no tendency to weakness in the hindquarters. Hindquarters should be especially powerful to supply the driving power for swimming. Legs should be medium length and straight, showing good bone and muscle. Stifles should be well angulated. The distance from hock to ground should be of medium length. The hind legs should look straight when viewed from the front or rear. Dewclaws, if any, must be removed from the hind legs.Disqualifications: Dewclaws on the hind legs are a disqualification.
Coat
Coat should be thick and short, nowhere over 1½ inches long, with a dense fine wooly undercoat. Hair on the face and legs should be very short and straight with a tendency to wave on the shoulders, neck, back and loins only. Moderate feathering on rear of hindquarters and tail is permissible. The texture of the Chesapeake’s coat is very important, as the Chesapeake is used for hunting under all sorts of adverse weather conditions, often working in ice and snow. The oil in the harsh outer coat and wooly undercoat is of extreme value in preventing the cold water from reaching the Chesapeake’s skin and aids in quick drying. A Chesapeake’s coat should resist the water in the same way that a duck’s feathers do. When the Chesapeake leaves the water and shakes, the coat should not hold water at all, being merely moist.Disqualifications: A coat that is curly or has a tendency to curl all over the body must be disqualified. Feathering on the tail or legs over 1¾ inches long must be disqualified.
The time each judge spends going over a dog will vary. Some judges spend a lot of time on this, while others are not as thorough.
Next the judge will evaluate the dog as it moves away and toward him or her (down and back). The judge is evaluating gait.
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 the front and plenty of drive in the rear, with good flexion of the stifle and hock joints. Coming at you, there should be no sign 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.
Usually you try to have the dog “free stack” at the end of the down and back so that the judge can see how the dog stands naturally.
Finally the judge will ask the handler to take the dog around the ring so that he or she can see the side gait.
After each individual dog has been examined, a judge will usually ask the handlers to move the dogs again and then it is time to give the ribbons. In each class, ribbons are given to 4th place.
We are lucky with Chesapeakes because most of the people who enter the shows around here are breeder/owner/handlers or just owner/handlers. It is not uncommon for the bred-by-exhibitor class to have more entries than the open class. It is not uncommon for there to only be bred-by-exhibitor dogs entered. Of course this also means that the competition is pretty fierce. We don’t often get professional handlers showing Chessies (thank goodness). This means that an owner with a nice dog has just as much chance to grab a ribbon as the next entrant.
I love how Freighter’s tail is up when his bite is being checked. He was well-prepped for his experience. That’s great that most Chessies are owner or breeder handled. That’s how it should be, in my opinion. It’s about choosing breeding stock not starting the next trend in grooming or movement. Handlers with flashy (but incorrect) dogs have had a negative impact on many breeds.
Very well said. We do get handlers with dogs who have incorrect conformation now and again and it is a determent to the breed. I hate to see it but I also blame the judges. We seem to run into issues when judges are not familiar with chessies. They end up picking the most lab-like chessie which is not good.
Great post..thank you for sharing…there really is a lot of science behind the dog show and even more so behind the breeders..people really need to understand how much time and effort is put into maintaining the standards of the breed, and the fact that each breed has a specific purpose, and structure and movement plays so heavily in those decisions. In Brittanys we do see a lot of professionals at the top, but with that said…a quality dog will always get noticed in our breed. Like Chessies, in our breed club there is a strong emphasis on field/hunt…which is really where the rubber meets the road! I’m proud to show my own dog, I’ve used a handler too, but love doing it myself…Biddy and I will be making our journey to Westminster in a weeks to show our stuff!
We see handlers at the Best of Breed level too, but as you say a nice dog with a non-pro at the end of the leash can still get noticed.
Excellent, excellent post! Love all the photos that went with the definitions, they all were perfect!
Thanks JoAnn. 🙂
Oh my goodness, so many things that need to be so perfect! This was such an interesting post, thanks so much for taking the time to educate us all. I can see where an inexperienced dog can be uncomfortable with some of those things – or even lose patience. Freighter looked like a winner to me. 🙂
Storm never really liked being in shows. She tolerated it…lol.
What a great job of explaining the dog show. Based on your explanation is a title important to a breeder? It seems to me, if a dog is being judged based upon a breed standard, then it would make sense if you were breeding the dog to have titles on it as it would show that a dog does meet all the requirements for that breed.
I love Freighter, he’s so attentive to what’s going on around him.
Yes most breeders around here try to put some sort of title on their breeding stock. Usually it is conformation (CH), but as with Storm, her title was a working title (SH).
That was very interesting and it seems far more complicated than we thought. We certainly never knew about the dewclaws and tail feathers. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Best wishes Molly
With working dogs, there is usually a reason that the breed club sets something in the standard. I am not sure that is true for every breed.
That’s pretty nice that you don’t see many professional handlers – they know their stuff and definitely have an edge in the ring, especially if they travel around a lot with the same group of dogs and really get a routine going. One of our few show experiences, we actually showed up to see Moses’ dad competing in the ring, travelling with a professional handler who had several dogs of different breeds (he was also showing a Dane, a Berner, a Doberman, and a couple other I’ve since forgotten). It was cool to actually see Mo’s dad because we’d only met his mom at the breeders’, but he was handled by a total pro and totally cleaned house and kicked our asses – bittersweet, I guess. lol!
LOL it is nice when you beat a pro every once in a while. The issue I have is that the pros often follow judges and those judges reward them in the ring. I wish it wasn’t so and one of the bad parts of dog shows. In Chessies it is pretty obvious because normally it is the same group of fanciers/breeders around here, but when a dog comes in with a pro, they usually beat better dogs.
I really like that most of the handlers showing Chesapeakes are breeders/owners. To me, that shows a real love for and devotion to the breed, which is nice. I also love that the standards for dogs in the Sporting and Working Groups reflect what the dogs are meant to do. There is such a reason for each of the breed characteristics. Great post. Thank you!
It is also more fun at shows when you know everybody and can be happy with whoever wins. 🙂
Great post – and timely give the Westminster is coming up. Love the phrase “honorable scars”…so if he got it going after that pheasant, it’s okay.
The standard really tries to emphasize that Chessies are a working breed. I don’t think I have ever heard a judge ask how any dog got a scar though….lol.
Such a great post! Thank you, I found it really helpful to see what they were actually feeling for. I’ll be able to watch both Westminster and Crufts without being as baffled now!
Much love, Carrie (Myfie, Ellie and Millie) x
You are very welcome. Hope it comes in handy!
That was so interesting! Thank you for the informative primer … now we’re even more excited to watch the Westminster Dog Show! 🙂
You are welcome. Glad to help. 🙂
Dog shows are amazing and can certainly be a bit overwhelming to a first-timer. I miss the excitement but not the stress! I love to go and watch them when they are held here. I’d love to watch y’all compete someday!
That would be fun. 🙂 We like to just go and watch too.
Hi Y’all!
Nice to know the “little guy” can still have fun with their Chessie. Is it all over this way, or just in your area?
My Human picked me up from a big dog show up north (Virginia). I was with my Dad (pawed) and a van full of other show dogs. We were at a big show with a professional handler.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
I think because Chessies are not that popular, the little guy can still do OK most places.
That is interesting that Chessies have mostly owner/breeder handlers. I would have thought they were a more heavy pro-handler breed but maybe I’m just tainted by thinking of labs (I know, I know, lol). Icelandics are the same way – in fact I can only think of two dogs with professional handlers though one dog happens to be owned by a pro handler. But other than that, it’s up to the little guy!
We do occasionally see pros but the thing is that most of the breeders know the judges and who will give placements to pros over better dogs. So while a judge that places inferior dogs shown by a pro may see a lot of Chessies once, they probably won’t see them again. Of course that discourages the pros from coming back. 🙂 Oh I could go on about the politics, but I won’t. 🙂
The judges really have a lot to remember, don’t they? There is just so much detail in the breed standard. It must be a little easier for judges that are judging just one breed….but then when it comes to Best in Show, they have to know a lot more about so many different breeds?
Most judges are very dedicated and attend seminars and are always learning. It can take years to be able to judge Best In Show because it is a lot to remember.
Nice explanation of what goes on in the ring. I’ve been to a few shows and am still confused, particularly by all the different categories.
I would be happy to answer any questions, not that I am an expert because I am still learning myself. It helps when you know the dogs and where they are entered. I have a much easier time watching Chessies because I know most of the dogs and handlers.