JUDGING THE TFT
By Jon Rawleigh
M ost of my adult life, other than dogs, has been spent as a teacher. In that time I have learned that you can’t save every- one. I also learned sometimes if you plant a couple of seeds, or create a challenge, you can win some of the battles. I’m not going to explain everything in the standard in this writing. Th at is your job, your responsibility and your chal- lenge. Th at is if you want to be considered a respected judge of TFT. I will try to plant seeds and challenge you. I will give you tips and thoughts on the process, to help you sort out this delightful breed. Stories A judge once told me that if he could recognize a breed then it had all the type it needed. However true that comment is, in a simplistic way, it’s not the core knowledge you want adjudicating the National. All too often we see in the rare breeds, generic judging with “ fl ash and dash” or “best down and back wins.” Big wins bestowed on dogs with no type while the one with type walks. I have also heard breeders of other breeds say, “We have a couple of types in our breed.” My only question as a judge should be which one more closely matches the Standard. Th ere is a big di ff erence in eliminating dogs with faults (negative judging); to rewarding dogs with attri- butes and breed hallmarks that match the standard (positive judging). At the end of the day, fault judging can’t be as much fun as looking for the unique char- acteristic’s that make them di ff erent than breeds of similar type. Another story. An elderly lady breed- er I knew decided to go for her judg- ing license. She picked the breeds she wanted, back when you could do that.
She confessed to me she knew the breeds and what she liked. She didn’t know the standard and if what she liked, was cor- rect. She wanted to do right and not look like a foolish old lady. She made fl ash cards with the breed on one side and a sentence of the standard on the other side. She would mix them all up, standard quotes side up. Th en she began building her breeds. Putting parts of a standard under the breed she thought it belong to. She tried visualizing it in her mind’s eye as she went. She then turned them all over to see what was under the wrong breed.
Th at became her challenge to see and understand why it went to the breed it belong to. She ended up getting 100s on breed tests, could sort out large classes, judge in the positive mode and write cri- tiques that commanded respect. I miss her. Thoughts & Tips on Judging TFTs Assemble your class. Look hard at their pro fi le. Th e TFT is an athletic dog and should look like one. Th e standard calls for a totally balance dog. Balance is mentioned fi ve times in the standard. Th ere are clues to show you the balance from a glance.
278 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , A PRIL 2014
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