of our breeds. New judges do not understand the reason why Hounds are built a certain way and the reasons why say the Bloodhound has wrinkles, why the large nostrils and long ears. Few judges understand or know why the Walker Foxhound seen in the American Foxhound ring today has a shorter ear than the Trigg Hound. Some of the judges are moving along to fast so that when they are faced with a many hound judges need to go to lure trails, field trails, etc. to get a feel for the work hounds do. RS: New and novice judges don’t seem to understand Sighthounds particularly, as they seem to look for a lot of frills, such as fancy colors, and they overlook (or don’t recognize) incorrect coat, shape or movement. Of course, there is a difference but most Sighthounds should be light on their feet and not pounding the ground. The balance between front and rear has been somewhat lost with extreme rear angulation and not so much in front—judg- es need to reward balanced movement that is appropriate for the individual breed, not the inefficient tremendous reach and drive that was recently a fad. And Afghans, in particular, should have some spring in their gait, not a bounce. New judges don’t seem to get this too quickly, some never do. My wife and I presented the judges’ education seminar at the AHCA National in Providence, Rhode Island last year. From the questions and response, we found a few (out of 20 present) that seem to ask the right questions or understand what we were saying about type, balance and movement. Also many Sighthound judges do not understand what a good tail or tail set is all about. We see today many winning Hounds with com- pletely improper tails. PT: A novice judge seems like a contradiction in terms. Should novices be judging dogs from anywhere other than ringside or Facebook? Or learning in their own backyard as they evaluate and grade puppies, only to learn later they didn’t get it right? One thing new judges should avoid is getting too many breeds too soon. AKCs new Judging Approval Process gives a false sense of confidence to some who do not realize how absurd some of their decisions look to knowledgeable old-timers. My advice would be to do more research. Great dog people of my lifetime have been readers of old books on the breeds. When considering the better learning tool-Inter- net or old books-keep this in mind. Something on the Internet can be taken down in a nanosecond if proven erroneous. Something in a book lasts forever; so perhaps the writer of the Internet doesn’t have to be as informed as the writer of old books. Books like Herman Cox on the Dachshund, Dan Gordon on the Boxer and Enno Meyer on the Bulldog for example are truly Bibles for those breeds.
New judges should be willing to do their research and their homework. A great source of information for new judges is to seek out great breeders in the breeds they are judging to get a better understanding of the nuances of breed type. Since questions come to one’s mind as you judge each breed, jot them down and follow up later by seeking answers to those questions. Always keep the door open to learning more so you grow as you judge. This open-mindedness and a sense of fair play will make you the judge we all wish to be. 10. Anything else you’d like to share? GB: There is ample evidence that we are losing quality in many of our breeds and only good, fair and knowledge- able judging can reverse this. The future of our breeds is in the hands of today’s judges and when we reward undeserving dogs, those dogs are bred and contribute to the problem. My first dog was a very bad representa- tive of the breed, although well-bred. I showed her three or four times and quickly learned that I needed to get a better dog if I wanted to succeed in the sport. Where is the incentive today to do that? Also, many of the hounds I judge are in horrible physical condition. Their coats may be groomed and shiny, but muscle tone is com- pletely lacking. Of course, it is hard to keep our dogs in hard, physical condition, but it is essential to type and to health. I really enjoy judging Dachshunds and I can immediately tell which dogs run at liberty and which ones live in crates and I try to compliment the handlers on good conditioning, regardless of how I place them. PS: This was answered in the question above, judges and breeders must get out of their comfort zone and learn “A GREAT SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR NEW JUDGES IS TO SEEK OUT GREAT BREEDERS IN THE BREEDS THEY ARE JUDGING TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NUANCES OF BREED TYPE.”
206 • S how S ight M agazine , J uly 2017
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