Judging a Fun Dog Show, by Melanie Thomas
Recently I have judged 2 Fun Dog Shows and I thought it would be nice to share my experiences, challenges and memories of the days. The most recent show was at Rye Country Fayre in East Sussex and there were so many dogs in all sorts of shapes and sizes. These dog shows mean a lot to dog lovers and families, so judging them is a very important task. They paid £3 each class and the money was donated to our local hospice. At these shows there are lots of families and kids in the ring with their dogs (very different from normal dog shows). Also of course, most of the exhibitors have no idea about ring etiquette, or how to show their dogs. The show was sponsored by a local vet, so their were lovely rosettes down to 5th place and the first 3 in every class were given a goodie bag. The rewards were quite high which is very different from the shows I usually attend where you pay a fortune to enter and only the principle winners receive a rosette. I bet the winners at fun shows hold on to the rosettes for years.
The first and probably most difficult class was the ‘Childs Companion’ class. This class is made up of ALL KIDS with their little stories about their dogs and what their dogs mean to them (parents are often right along side prompting the kids on what to say). It’s challenging because you get to the end of the line and can’t remember which story went with which dog (I think next time I will take a note book). Can you imagine how hard it is to judge this class (rosettes to fifth place and a few specials). BUT, of course some kids did not win, but I gave them all a clap and encourage cheers from the crowd.
The ‘Best Rescue’ class, well can you imagine, I spoke to each entry and heard their stories, its really heartbreaking when you hear the stories and meet the dogs – one dog had lost its leg. But, my winner was the biggest Great Dane and the guy who had rescued it (what a commitment), was so happy to win the first prize.
Another class which was difficult to judge was the ‘Family of Dogs’ which is a household of dogs, not only do you have at least one person (sometimes more than one) wanting you to place them, but also a group of much loved dogs looking up at you. One couple of young ladies had their group of nine Chihuahuas in the ring and they were ALL rescues and some were old (in a buggy). I thought what a commitment from the girls taking on all those Chihuahuas and giving them a loving home.
The ‘Best Movement’ class was big (mind you all the classes were), I moved every dog and I have to say, most dogs (the ones that were not pulling too much on the lead) moved well. There was the biggest Irish Wolfhound and really moved exceptionally and I remember that the owner was so smartly dressed like a country land owner. ‘Best Condition’ was also impressive, very healthy looking dogs and I even checked their teeth, the odd dog was a little overweight, but generally they were in tip top condition. A couple of the dogs were a bit stand offish, I didn’t want to take any risks with them. Its interesting to see the difference from a normal dog show when the dogs attention is mainly on the handler. At a companion show, many of the dogs are interested in coming to the judge for attention and even rolled over to show me their tummies.
We had all the usual classes, ‘Handsome Dog’, ‘Pretty Bitch’ and I have to tell you how hard it was to judge. The people that win are so happy and many had supporters cheering from outside the ring. So hard to see the losers leave the ring, but I made sure the losers also had a clap and cheer. I’ve been to fun shows before when the judges just ignore the losers and focus on the winner, which I think is so sad.
Waggiest Tail, I made everybody turn their dog away from me and said “wag on three and went 1,2,3 WAG”. I chose the winner and then gave them a second chance at 1,2,3 WAG for the second and again for all 5 winners. There were lots of cheers from around the ring for the waggy tails. Of course there were no Bolognese at the show, but there was a Bichon or Bichon type and she won ‘Most Appealing Eyes’, I must say that she probably did have a slight advantage.
The interesting thing was, at the end I chose a Best in Show from all the class winners (for the fun show part) and my winner was a lovely Lurcher. The Lurcher lady was so happy and overwhelmed and I then found out that she had also won the Best in Show from the pedigree classes in the other ring. So out of hundreds of dogs both judges gave the same dog the Best in Show. I didn’t watch the other ring, so I had no idea.
I know not many of you will of judged a fun show, but I can tell you its no mean task. Both the shows I judged this year took 2 1/2 hours and that is full concentration more or less continuously. Also, there are so many people watching that you really think you must do a thorough job as you have so many eyes on you. You feel you must give every entry a fair chance and an equal amount of time. For a day or so afterwards, I actually don’t want to see another dog, let or lone hear the owners stories and assess the dog. In normal shows its totally about the dog, but in a fun show its also about the handler, the family and the story they tell you so I think that’s harder than judging just the dogs.
