Page 67 - Chow LIfe - 2021 04 Winter

2) Do you prefer breeder/judges exclusively? All- We are very fortunate to have some good breeder-
rounders exclusively? Why? judges. Breeder-judges are my preference by far.
Even if I don’t like their judging, I can still appreciate
We have plenty of breeder judges to choose from their winners.
inside the US and around the world. We like having
both breeders and all-rounders. It gives you judging 3) Do you go to the National strictly to win, or to
from both perspectives and allows you to observe show/compare your stock with other?
different judges’ opinions on the state of our breed.
For me, the National is all about showcasing your
3) Do you go to the National strictly to win, or to breeding efforts to your fellow breeders. The judges
show/compare your stock with others? whose opinions matter the most are OUTSIDE the
ring.
Our first reason is to go and see other breeders’ dogs
and share our dogs with them. We never go to win 4) … sometimes when you lose, you win. Do you
but we always go with the hope of having our dogs believe this, why or why not?
recognized in some way.
When a judge cannot find your dog but all of ring-
4) It is said, “sometimes when you lose, you win.” By side can, I find this a special kind of annoying. I
this I mean your exhibit, in the opinion of most of have observed an interesting phenomenon that goes
your peers drew major approval, but your dog did not along with this. On more than one occasion, usually
win. Is their approval any consolation? in the winners’ class, I have seen the judge struggle
with what should be an obvious choice of a truly
Yes, we believe this because we have had it happen! outstanding specimen in the class. As the judge
Your peer approval is tremendous consolation and, sends the dogs down and back and around repeat-
quite frankly, feels just as good as winning.
edly, trying to make up his mind…the ringside gets
5) Do you feel the judging is better at a National, behind the good dog with clapping and cheering,
where there is usually depth of quality, than at regular “Yes this is the best one!” I am not talking about
specialties or all breeds? By this I mean, do judges se- the unsportsmanlike screaming done by individual
lect only the best or sometimes select mediocrity from camps to try to give their candidate the advantage.
among really good dogs? Does the cream always rise I am talking about the grassroots swell among the
to the top? Why, if you feel the cream does not rise, do observers where polite applause is given for every
you think the judges fall short? exhibit, but they go increasingly wild for the out-
standing individual. You can feel the frustration of
In the case of Irish Wolfhounds, the quality is the the crowd, having watched some less than stellar
deepest at the National level. We feel both the class placements leading up the winners/ class and
breeders and the all-rounders have found the best if you are close enough, you will hear the murmur,
dogs. Many of the final cuts have had more than one “Come ON, at least get THIS right!”
worthy winner of a National. In looking back over
the years, we really can’t think of a “mistake” being 5) Judging…better at Nationals? Does the cream
made on the selection of the Best of Breed winner always rise to the top?
at our National. All in all, we have had good breed The cream does NOT always rise. Many good dogs
representatives found by obviously qualified judges.
are left out of the ribbons and lots of mediocre ones
6) Since it is a great way to learn, should judges have are rewarded. The former is often due to sheer
to attend a National not just before, but after they exhaustion that judges sometimes experience with
have judged a breed a while to add to their store of such an overwhelming assignment. The latter is
knowledge, or attend a performance event to continue usually due to their desire to reward dogs based on
their learning curve? their prior accomplishments instead of what they are
seeing in the ring on that day.
We would highly recommend any judge of Irish
Wolfhounds attend a National before they begin AFGHAN BREEDER
judging wolfhounds and then again after they have 1) … about yourself, your breed.
been judging for a while. This would be very helpful
to expand their knowledge and share thoughts and This breeder chose not to talk about himself. He
concerns they may have about what they are seeing is a very modest, serious individual as anyone who
around the country in the show ring. knows him will attest. He has been in dogs for 40
plus years.
BEAGLE BREEDER
2) Breeder-judges and National judging
1) … about yourself, your breed.
This breeder feels that there are plenty of breeder-
I have bred Beagles for 30 years. This has included judges and or persons who have loved or been
over 150 AKC Champions and 4 #1 ranked dogs (3 involved with the breed for many years who do a
Beagles and an English Foxhound). great job judging their National. “In my opinion,
2) Is your club large enough to have a cadre of breed- no other event can match the National …
er-judges? entry is usually large and has depth of quality.
The winners are usually standouts, although
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