How To Make (Legal!)
Brownie Points with the Judge
By Ann Rogers Clark
Now, how is that for a title? No, I am not going to tell you how to send an upcoming judge Omaha steaks or personal photo of you and your hopeful.
I have judged dogs for a long time and previous to that I started to show our own dogs when I was eight or nine years old. From that beginning, I began to show dogs professionally when I was just out of high school. And all of those years have learned every facet of the sports – I had to!
I feel one of the problems that has occurred in our sport since the advent of more shows, bigger entries and the sport becoming a true family sport, with a place in it for all members of the family - mom, dad as well as the youngsters – is that many of the dogs them selves have not been properly prepared for the rigors of the show ring. Bear in mind that the show ring, in all livestock, is the place you bring your breeding stock to be a evaluated.
There's nothing more frustrating to me as a judge… Wait, may I digress here and explain why I am frustrated with judging? I liken judging to prospecting for gold, or for gemstones. It is the prospect of finding the next great one, or one that will be in an enormous help to the breed, either at stud or in the whelping box. It's to get the feeling of the hairs rising on my arms, and the feeling of discovery that runs through me as an electric current - to look, to get the feeling, then to reassess to make sure that my early warning system has not been activated in accurately, and the feeling of satisfaction to realize what has spoken to me is a real find and worthy of excitement.
Let's get back to the frustrating part, shall we? Many, many entries are walking into our rings today ill prepared for the rigors of the show ring. Let me list some of the most clearing of problems we judges see today…
