says No. But with today’s economy, I think it is as much as should be expected. The breed/all breed contenders spend the money necessary to show to the Judges they find favor with, regardless of how they interpret a standard. Unfortu- nately, it does come down to money. Either AKC has to charge more per entry to pay for breed confirmed Judges or continue as is. I compete for NOHS because I do not have the finances to play the all-breed game. –David & Becky Boyd No, a lot of judges get licensed to judge a whole group, but are clueless on most of the breeds in the groups. Other judges are just clueless about breeds they judge; it is shocking to hear them make a statement about the breed standard stating something that it never has. –Anonymous
IS ENOUGH TRAINING AND EMPHASIS GIVEN TO THE MENTORING OF NEW JUDGES?
discuss the breed. In addition, we should be contacting each new judge to discuss the Breed, but again, that means having qualified people who are willing to take this on. –Jill Bregy Wildisle No! The new system is an extreme swing in the easy direc- tion. With the current system, one can go to a Low Entry Breed National, the JE, have three exhibitors sign mentor forms and approval for that breed can be purchased in one weekend. Judge a NOHS Group for one group and be given credit for a breed in a different Group. Raise a litter of Chihua- huas and receive credit for Mastiffs! Very sad for our exhibi- tors and our Sport. –Marcie Dobkin No, I think new judges need to have to spend time with the mentors and or more study time with the breeds. I know several judges that just put down someone’s name but don’t actually study the breed with that person. –Cindy Stroupe No. In my breed, I watch judges rewarding extremes. They are easy to see. If you are not familiar enough with a breed, your eye automatically goes to the extreme exhib- it. When these types of dogs are rewarded and their breed- ers validated, it’s a license to produce even more extremes. The only way to learn to appreciate the importance mod- eration, balance and soundness are to look at many, many examples of the breed and not just standing on a table. –Kristi Crouch No. I’m not sure what all needs to be done, but the judges aren’t doing a good job. So, something isn’t happening that should. I rather not guess why, but the judging quality has declined regarding breed type and movement. It also seems there is tendency for awarding pro-handlers and handlers very new to the sport. I don’t know if judges don’t know how to judge a breed or they aren’t held accountable for making good choices. –Amy Burnette No, for someone not only coming new into a breed but also a breeder/handler it seems like people do not want to offer mentorship. I have been very lucky that the breeder of one of my dogs is an AKC Breeder of Merit and a judge for our breed, she has kindly offered to mentor me. The only problem is I would love to become a judge but I am based in the UK rather than the US and this is difficult for me to gain any recognition for our showing achievements in Europe. –Victoria Harrild-Jones No. Maybe they get enough training, but proof is in the pudding and many forget simple things, like spanning a Par- son Russell Terrier. –Leah Shirokoff No. The Jec committee can try two things we have done with the PBGV Club. First we provide a Learn to Mentor program at the National. Some decide they do not want to
Not enough training and mentoring is given to new judges. Emphasis should be given to judges attending national spe- cialties and other parent breed Club sponsored events. New judges will receive tools by attending a required number of shows. A parent breed club judge’s education representative could be assigned to a new judge for future questions. I won- der if a breed club representative should be involved in the selection of questions asked of new judges to meet approval requirements. –Anonymous No! I think that it should be mandatory for every new judge that they must go to a National specialty and sit with the Judges Education chair before being approved by the AKC to judge a breed! If the new judge does not go to a National, then they should not be approved for the breed. Plus, they should be mentored by three national club judge’s education mentors at different time before being approved by the AKC to judge a breed so they are not just getting one person’s opin- ion on the breed. I also think that all judge should be made to do a breed refresh every year to make sure that they are still understanding the fundamentals of the breed. As for the National clubs I feel that if a club does not offer a mentoring at their National Specialty the AKC should fine the club for not having it. In some breeds the only place that judges can see a lot of a breed is at the National! –Shawny Cirincione No. Judges should be required to take a parent clubs approved Judges Education. Kennel visits can have a tinted view or be kennel blind thus should not count toward Judges Education. –Anonymous No. Something needs to get judges doing the right thing whether it is more mentoring or some sort of education. I wish judges would judge the dogs and not the ads, there are some lovely dogs but they are very rarely awarded the top wins because of the money. –Anonymous No, Parent Clubs need to be more pro-active. As National Education Chair for the IWCA from 2007 to 2010, I made it a mission to send qualified people out to judges groups to
112 • S how S ight M agazine , J anuary 2017
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