says IS ENOUGH TRAINING AND EMPHASIS GIVEN TO THE MENTORING OF NEW JUDGES? asked if they will have ring side mentoring and often respond that this is not possible. It seems they do not have anyone in their club that recognizes the value in providing a mentor. Even having a person mentor at ring side for the classes is helpful and I have been to events where the person needed to excuse themselves from the discussion at the end of the classes as they had a special entered. This is acceptable and those clubs that do this, making it a priority, need to be com- mended for making a mentor available. I think that a require- ment of CKC should be that if a club is having a specialty show, they must offer ringside mentoring. It should be none negotiable and simply a breed club requirement. The group of judges that I know are always seeking learning opportunities and I know that if these events were made available judges would attend. –Michael Guy
I think that lots of attempts are made to provide oppor- tunity for new judges to learn, but I think that if judges are encouraged to spend their weekends in the grooming areas at dog shows. There is much to be learned from the breeders and we need to stop thinking that learning in this way pro- motes favoritism in the ring. When I started in the dog show world, judges frequently came up to me and asked if I could put my dog on the table for them to see and asked what I liked about them best, least, what I would like to improve and why. They put their hands on lots of dogs every day and I think this hands on learning was so much better that watching power point demos and learning online or from a book. The Internet has made our world a smaller place and everyone can talk to everyone now, so why not let the education return to the shows. –Kathy Wiecha In my opinion, there are plenty of educational opportu- nities for new judges to learn a breed. How they use those opportunities is up to the individual. As in all walks of life, there are good and bad judges. However, if exhibitors don’t show to a provisional judge, how in the world would a judge gain experience in the ring? Judges need to use the educa- tion they have and do their best. Being a provisional judge is extremely expensive, $4 per dog and no expenses paid. Exhibitors should assume that their judge has done their homework and is passionate to get it right. –Anonymous Yes, there is enough emphasis however, for some breeds, they have only a specific few people who can mentor which makes it difficult to find someone. Sometimes you are only told after the fact that the person who you were talking to is not approved. Obviously Parent Clubs want to make sure that the Mentors are qualified but sometimes it feels to us on the outside that there is a different agenda of power or control rather than what is best for the breed. –Anonymous There is a very strong emphasis on education of new judg- es. The CKC has very strict rules in regards to the education requirements for new judges. I have education from many areas and have a number of degrees, but the requirements established by the CKC are in some cases more rigorous than other mainstream educational endeavors. The problem is not with the emphasis placed on this issue, but with the availabil- ity of educational events. What is a challenge, or lacking in the dog world, is breed clubs taking on this educational goal of judges in general. There is huge diversity between breed clubs in how easy it is to get ring side mentoring at their specialty. Some clubs take this very seriously and provide a mentor at ring side and make the availability of their mentors known, through posting on the CDJA website for example well before the specialty show. Clubs also take on the task of producing an illustrated standard and make this available to judges. These are helpful endeavors and result in a far better education level of judges on those breeds. Other clubs can be contacted a month or two before a specialty show and
Yes, but it is up to each judge to learn the particulars on each breed. –Bob Eisele
Yes, however it is up to the new judge to pursue the opportunities afforded them. As with everything, there are some that do just the minimum to get by and others who truly wish to learn and be the best they can be. Other than the Canine College, AKC/DJAA/ADSJ and regional Seminars there are long established and reputable breeders through- out the country where any of us can reach out and receive an in-depth education and hands on, often with a wide range of dogs. Also having established a relationship with this/these breeder(s) there is someone you can go back to with any questions and concerns once you begin judging. –Christie Martinez Yes, would be helpful though if more club mentors were available and willing. Often it’s very difficult to get ringside mentors to do it, they’re all too busy. When it’s done, it’s thor- ough. We get a lot more learning done than judges did many years back, when all they did was write to AKC and state what they wanted to judge, whether breeds or groups and they were given it without attending any seminars or learn- ing experiences. Same for handlers, being a rep or handler or around some breeds, does not make one an expert. Judges today who apply go through far more learning experience and hands on and expenses than judges did way back, say around the 1960s, 1970s and maybe into the 1980s. Many old timers have stated this to me. –Anonymous Yes, I believe all the tools are available for anyone wanting to become a judge. The problem I see is that some judges are still looking at the wrong end of the lead. They will reward handler’s dogs, even if not worthy, because they expect that handler will bring them more entries. I feel more observation of the judges needs to happen by AKC. As I said, all the infor- mation is available to know a breed and what is correct. How- ever, that doesn’t mean the judge will use that information or even remember it once they enter the ring. –Anonymous
102 • S how S ight M agazine , J anuary 2017
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