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THE PRINCIPLES OF JUDGING DOGS By Tom Horner DOG WORLD, March 1, 1991I have received a long letter from a very successful breeder in Europe who feels that politics, over administration and the co-operation of friends in the judging of dogs, is having a bad influence upon certain breeds in his and other European countries.He has asked for an article on the principles of the judging of dogs; highlighting those unwritten laws by which judges of dogs are constrained to judge to the best of their ability, so revealing their knowledge of the breeds concerned, and to have always in mind the best interests of any breed they may be called upon to judge. Of course, the breed standards and a judge's knowledge of both a breed and its Standard are of great importance, but there is more to judging than can be found in any breed Standard; and this is where judges' principles have a major part to play. First and foremost judges must be concerned with the merit of the dogs before them; no other consideration should concern them, but there are matters in many breeds which are not mentioned in the breed Standards: defects the judge knows to be hereditary, running eyes, lameness, skin disease, hostility to humans or shyness - all on occasions arise to complicate a judge's task. Judges must not act as veterinary surgeons, though a few of the latter do judge dogs, and judges must not take it upon themselves to diagnose disease in the show-ring - they must simply regard symptoms of diseases as faults. When a judge suspects that a serious physical or temperamental disorder is present in a dog, he is at liberty to place it out of the prize placings, or to withhold from it any award. It is not for a judge to decide what is wrong with a dog. He is most unlikely to be qualified to do so, nor will he have the necessary equipment or aids available for diagnosis even if he is qualified. Judges must have the welfare of the breed they are judging in mind and should not award high placings to dogs liable to damage that breed through their progeny. Sometimes the overall best dog in a class may have a bad fault, not evident in those of lesser quality. Then the judge has to decide whether the degree of the fault is such that it represents a danger to the breed, or if the merit of the possessor of the fault is such that it can carry it and still win. All judges of experience have been faced with situations such as this, and sometimes decide one way and sometimes the other, depending on the merit of the dog concerned and its competitors. I was once faced with such a situation when by far the best dog present at a breed show was limping. It had severely cut pad on one foot and that was clearly the cause of the lameness, so I took a deep breath and made it best in show on its outstanding merits. Such situations call for judging at its highest and most difficult level. Personal considerations must have no bearing on a judge's decisions. If his worst enemy has the best dog in a class, and if his best friend has the worst one, they must be placed accordingly, and vice-versa. Ownership must play no part in a judge's decision. He is there to judge the dogs, not their owners or handlers. A judge must show no favour - to ownership, colour, the volume of coat, presentation or any other matter other than the overall merit, including health and temperament of the dogs concerned. He is there to place the dogs in their order of merit and for no other purpose. The owners do not matter: they are only there to show the dogs. When a class is concerned with the winner qualifying for an annual or nationwide competition the same rule applies: no favour, or the opposite, must be shown to any owner or handler. Breeders' and/or handlers' reputations must not sway a judge's decision. Should a big shot in a breed's hierarchy show under an inexperienced judge, that owner's dog must be given the same consideration as any other exhibitor's dog and no more. And if, in the opinion of the judge, there are better dogs present, then they must win. To put up the big shot with a poor dog over exhibitors with better dogs will finish that judge's reputation before it has had time to get going. If the big shot has the best dog, then of course he must go up. Nor must leading breeders be dumped because it would be thought clever or popular to do so. It is the dogs that must be placed in their order of merit, not the owners, if a judge is to be respected. Only by judging to the best of his ability without fear or favour will a judge gain the respect of his peers. This is a primary consideration for all judges and absolutely basic to real success: if a judge has to put up his best friend, the judge at the next show, or a dog bred by himself - because those dogs are the best present - then he must do so. No matter how conscientiously and competently a judge goes to work there will always be ringside carpers who will think up - usually unworthy and inaccurate - reasons why a judge put one dog over the others. This one simply has to ignore. Provided a judge has sound reasons for his placings it does not matter what the carpers say. Whichever dog has won, unless it is their own, that type of ringside critic will always be critical. It's their nature, they cant help it, they just had the misfortune to be born bad losers. When one attains the highest levels of judging, of groups and best in show, the same principles apply. To judge the dogs as they are on the day is the only way, paying no attention to what the competitors have won previously, who owns them, or who sent them in. Simply judge to the best of your ability and you will be respected. It is not clever to "bury" - as they say in Australia - the great winner any more than it is smart to put up an unfinished youngster, but if these things have to be done because of the relative merit of the competitors as the judge sees them, then so be it, he should go ahead and put the best dog first. That way he will have nothing to bother his conscience or disturb his sleep in the days to come. Let the best dog win and the judge can go home happy, as well as that dog's owner. https://chat.whatsapp.com/LECLiiP7RqRHuvs5ZJQpbi