I am sure there are those who think judges sitting ringside during group judging are all talking about their dogs. And the conspiracy theorists undoubtedly believe that we are telling each other which dog to put up when we get to judge. I hate to burst your bubble, but many of us don’t know which one is your dog, and really don’t care. As for judges “plotting” which dogs should win – it just doesn’t happen. To be honest, most of us have huge egos and believe we are better judges than almost everyone else, and don’t care which dog another judge thinks should be the winner.

I have had times when I was fortunate enough to be in the presence of an icon – a judge I truly respect, and we have sat together to discuss a breed in general and pointed out a specific dog or two as examples of our discussion (good or bad), but at no time was it when either of us was going to judge that breed on that day. There are occasions when a newer judge or one who does not judge a certain group, may ask a more experienced judge about a dog in the ring as a learning tool for that breed.

For the most part, we are talking about where we are going for dinner, what time we are going to meet up, and who is going. At other times, we may be discussing a new AKC rule that bothers us. Discussions about the latest changes or actions by the AKC are often the primary themes of our discussions.

There have been times that I was lucky enough to be sitting with a few of my favorite iconic judges, and our discussions have been about dogs of twenty or thirty years ago or more. I am constantly amazed at their memories of these dogs and their accomplishments. But folks, relax, very rarely are we critiquing the dogs being shown in the group. It is considered in very poor taste for one judge to criticize another judge. There are certainly times that I do not agree with what another judge has done – and I am sure there are others who feel the same way about my judging at times – but we all have our own priorities in each breed. Isn’t that a good thing? Imagine if we all judged exactly the same way – we would only need one show a year! Thankfully, that is not the case.

About the judge: Mr. Sid Marx is an AKC judge with 50+ years experience judging.  He currently judges the Sporting, Hound, & Terrier Groups, Best in Show and Jr's.  He also writes a wonderful column for Dog News titled, The Judge Marx the Spot.