‍A famous quote from Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, is To Thine Ownself Be True. This is a good place for every exhibitor to start. First, be sure to understand your breed’s standard – not just memorize it - understand it. Find a mentor and both of you should be brutally honest in evaluating your dog. Next, have some concept of canine anatomy. This will help you to better evaluate your dog, so you can understand if you should be winning or not. Knowing the standard will help you to understand if you should be actively presenting your dog’s head as a strong point, or not. Knowing your dog’s strong points will help you to know what to push. Certainly, there are no perfect dogs, but you should know if your dog has the necessary basics to be in the show ring.

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‍Next, make sure your dog is groomed properly and clean. There are some breeds that are described as rustic or to be shown naturally. That does not mean the dog can’t be tidied up (within the boundaries of the standard) and clean. Nothing turns a judge off more than a dirty, smelly dog. It should bother you also.

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‍Do a personal evaluation. Are you comfortable showing your dog? Do you get too nervous? If so, those nerves will travel down the lead to your dog. Are you physically able to show your dog properly? Can you get up and down easily? Can you put your dog on the table if that is required? Can you gait your dog at the proper speed or are you constantly pulling back on the lead, causing your dog to be very hesitant and unable to reach out? Think about how this would look to the judge who is trying to determine if it is your dog’s structure that is holding him back or is it the handler?

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‍Once you are done with this self-evaluation, you will be better able – and perhaps, more confident – to show your own dog. If showing your own dog is not something that you enjoy (remember, this is supposed to be fun) or are easily able to do, you can make certain decisions. Do you need to take advantage of using a runner or do you need to find someone else to show your dog?

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‍Finally, don’t take it personally if you do not win. If you don’t win, the judge is not insulting you or your dog; he simply thinks another dog is a better representative of the standard today. Winning is always fun, but if you enjoy showing your dog (even if you are no longer at your most athletic self) and the companionship and competitiveness with others, winning need not be the only goal. 

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‍Enjoy your dog and have fun.

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‍Many thanks to judge Sid Marx for his wisdom and insight that helps and encourages exhibitors to gain greater success in the show ring.

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‍For those of you who would like to hear more from Sid Marx, read his column in Dog News magazine and online at: https://www.dognews.com/sid-marx-0. His great articles help answer many questions that exhibitors have about judging.