Breed Showing – An Explanation Part 4

Written by Linda Shove

This article was taken from 'French Letters' Issue No.6 May 2000

In previous issues we’ve looked at the “mechanics” of dog shows - how the shows are structured etc. This time I thought I’d try to explain how a judge actually decides which dog is the best. Each pedigree breed has a written “Standard” which describes in detail what the particular breed should look like, how it should look when it’s moving, what its temperament should be like etc. The ”Standards” for most breeds originally evolved around the early 1900’s when dog shows first came into being. Most of them remain basically very similar to their early forms - though usually with some addition, expansion and occasionally some minor changes. (e.g. around 1976 there was an increase to the minimum height allowed for Briards.) There may also be slight variations in the breed standard from one country to another.

We’ll imagine an Intermediate class of 5 Briard males in the ring (so they are all between 2 years and 3 years old). First they will all move round the ring together at a nice smooth trot so the judge can get a good idea of how they move how they hold their heads and tails an indication of their temperament and a general impressionof whether they look “right” for the breed. Then they will all stand in line (“setup” to look their best) and the judge will “go over” each dog checking things like teeth, eye colour, head shape, how their front and back legs are constructed (e.g. the angles that the limb bones make with each other), the depth and breadth of chest etc. etc. Then he will get each handle to move the dog (usually in a triangular course) again at a smooth trot so that he can watch the movement from the back, the side and the front.

By the end of his examination, he will have formed a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each dog. (e.g. Dog A may have a particularly nice head but his eyes might be a little light; Dog B may have a lovely long coat that looks very showy, but the texture is too soft; Dog C may be exactly what a Briard should look like but he’s bigger than the standard allows for etc.) At this stage, the judge is not really judging the 5 dogs against each other he’s judging each one against the imaginary perfect Briard that is in his mind’s eye. He’s saying “Which of these 5 dogs is closest to a perfect Briard?” He’s also weighing up the relative importance of Dog A’s light eyes compared with Dog B’s soft coat and Dog C’s oversize - i.e. assessing the “defects” or variations from the “standard” and judging how severe and/or important he thinks that defect is. He will know what purpose the breed originally evolved to perform (e.g. the Briard was a sheep herder and a guard dog) so he will keep this in mind when he’s weighing up the various virtues and faults of the dogs in front of him. (e.g. Dog B’s soft coat wouldn’t be weather-proof but Dog C’s oversize might make him too clumsy to round up sheep.)

After going over all these variables, the judge will eventually make his decision and place what he considers are the three best dogs in order of merit. Of course the BIG variable at dog shows is that this is just one judge’s opinion at one show. The next judge at the next show may think that Dog A’s light eyes (not considered to be too major a fault by the first judge) are an abomination to Briards and may place the same 5 dogs in a completely different order. Over the course of a number of shows though, you will usually find that the best dogs win repeatedly, the worst dogs almost never win and the rest fight it out for the minor placings so there is some consistency between judges.

When it comes to judging Best of Group or Best in Show (where different breeds are being judged against each other) the same principles apply. Although it looks as if the judge is trying to match up a Briard with a Corgi and a Border Collie, he’s actually measuring the Briard against an imaginary perfect Briard; the Corgi with an imaginary perfect Corgi etc etc and then asking himself “which comes closest to perfection” This explains how a judge could, for example, choose the best dog from a Best In Show line-up of a Pekingese, an English Bull Terrier, an American Cocker Spaniel, a Dachshund, a Briard, a Toy Poodle and a Great Dane. They all look as different as dogs could possibly be but all the judge has to decide is “Which dog is closest to the imaginary perfect dog of his breed as described in its Breed Standard ?”