Recreation

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Breed Showing - An Explanation Part 1

Written by Linda Shove

This article was taken from 'French Letters' Issue No. 3 March 1999

All the breeds of pedigree dogs are divided up into ‘Groups’ according (loosely!!) to their original purpose.

In New Zealand there are 7 Groups:

1. Toys (all the little ‘lap’ dogs)

2. Terriers (all the breeds that dig out ‘game’ from underground)

3. Gundogs (all the breeds used for hunting gamebirds e.g. spaniels, setters, retrievers)

4. Hounds (breeds used to chase and bring down prey animals)

5. Working (sheep and cattle dogs e.g. the collie breeds, corgis - and of course Briards)

6. Utility (breeds mainly used for pulling carts / sleds etc and the guarding breeds)

7. Non-Sporting (all the remaining breeds which no-one can fit in anywhere else !!!)

Each breed has a written ‘Standard’ which describes in great detail what the breed should look like and what it’s behaviour and temperament should be.

(e.g. the Briard standard starts: ‘Very intelligent, gay and lively’ !!)

At a pedigree dog show, the judge has to assess how the dog he is judging measures up against the ‘ideal dog’ described in the Breed Standard. (e.g. is it the correct size, weight and colour; is it’s tail the right length and ‘carried’ in the described manner; does its head/face look right; ears the right shape; eyes the right shape and colour etc. etc)
The judge will begin his assessment by standing back looking over the exhibit gauging all the proportions and outline. This is usually followed by a thorough ‘hands on’ examination where the underlying bone structure, joints and muscle tone are felt, the coat condition and texture, eyes, ears and teeth are inspected. During this ‘going over’ the dog’s temperament is also under scrutiny no signs of fear, timidity or aggression should be shown. Finally the judge will want to see the dog in motion, going around the ring. The movement of the dog is an indicator that it is soundly built. Dogs with a ‘sound conformation’ (i.e. the way the dog is constructed) will move correctly according to the breed standard, a dog with poor conformation or proportions will not move correctly. Based on the above examinations (all done in about 1-2 minutes per dog) the judge has to pick the place-winners from the dogs lined up before him.

The Judging Sequence

At a dog show, judging starts off at breed level with all the animals from one breed competing for the title Best of Breed. The breed entry is first separated into dogs and bitches and then into classes according to age.
 In New Zealand these are :
Baby Puppy 4- 6 months
Puppy 6 -12 months
Junior 12 - 24 months
Intermediate 24 - 36 months
Open over 36 months
A lot of shows also include another class called ‘N.Z. Bred’ which is for dogs of any age that were born in N.Z. (i.e. this class excludes all imported animals)
Judging begins with all the Dog Baby Puppies coming into the ring together and being placed in order of merit for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. This is followed by Dog Puppies, Dog Juniors, Dog Intermediates, Dog N.Z. Bred and finally Dog Opens. To find the best male in the breed (Best Dog), the 1st place winners from all the age classes are brought into the ring together
to line up for the judge. For his best dog, he chooses the animal he thinks most closely matches the ideal dog described in the breed standard. The 2nd place winner from this dog’s age class replaces him in the line-up and the judge chooses his Reserve Best Dog.
This whole procedure is repeated for all the bitches in the breed. This produces a Best Dog and a Best Bitch from which the Best of Breed is chosen. The Best of Breed is replaced by it’s
Reserve Best of Sex to compete for Reserve Best of Breed. (e.g. if the Best Dog wins Best of Breed, the Reserve Best Dog competes against the Best Bitch for the Reserve Best of Breed). The dog and bitch winners of each of the age classes now come together to determine the various Best Age Class of Breed awards  e.g. Best Dog Baby Puppy and Best Bitch Baby Puppy compete against each other to find the Best Baby Puppy of Breed.
In future issues we will describe how a dog becomes a “Champion”, how “Group” and “In Show” wins are awarded and the significance of the different types of dog
shows that are held in N.Z.