Sunday, May 2, 2010

Judge the judge

We all have those lists, you know, THOSE lists. Juges we love to hate, hate to miss and the ones we never ever will show to again.

So in my best Andy Rooney voice, so what do ya think it means.....

Actually my question of the weekend is why people choose the judges they do? Okay, how about this, showing dogs is a game. If well played, it results in a stress free, easy going, fun day out with the dog. If not played well, its a nail biter, why in the hell am I doing this and look at all the money I just wasted.

If we've done it long enough, we all have judges we hate. They never like our dogs, or even think it's a personal matter when we don't place. We also have judges we love. We can't walk out of the ring with out some sort of victory and they always like what ever we take in the ring.

That is a bunch of bologna. If you have those opinions on the judging hand played to you, then you are kennel blind. Seriously, take a step back and analyze what went on during your breed's or even the whole ring for the day. Judges are predictable, well all but one and that's for another post. Judges have likes and dislikes, love'em or hate'em. One person explained it well that environment plays a roll too-where they grew up and what types of dogs they were around that influenced them.

So you play the game, you are reasonable about why your dog lost or won. But the kicker is this, why would you then not go back to a judge or continue to go back to them? I figure most people are smart. Especially when you have a big win. Why wouldn't you later on down the road enter under that same judge with the same dog? I mean you either win or loose, but you get a better opinion about why it happened the first time, wouldn't you. Same with the losers. Analyze why you didn't win, the dogs in with you and figure out the why--and please don't come back if you know you don't have the golden ticket for that judge.

But that's okay, I can live with people and their judging decisions. Hey, you didn't show up, more points for me :)

Later gators....
C

1 comment:

Xtacee Cardigans said...

Great post!

I am always amazed at how a "bad" judge can suddenly become a "great" judge just by giving a person that purple (or purple and gold) ribbon! Hey- news for you- its the same person!!!

Perception Changes Everything!!

I try to keep track of those judges that I really don't think get "it"- but I always have given them 3 chances before I write them off! I generally will give any judge three chances with three different dogs. If they can't figure it out- they aren't going to! That doesn't mean that I HAVE TO WIN with one of those dogs-- it does mean that I have to see that they A)understand the breed and B) have found some reasonable quality in the dogs that they put up! If I come out of the ring on 3 separate occasions shaking my head... I'm not going to go back!

I would hope that an exhibitor would pay me the same respect. Not every judge is going to LOVE every dog you bring them! And you never know who else is going to be in the ring with you=--= NOT the people, silly-- the dogs!! (We do judge the dogs-- REALLY-- we do!) Sometimes its pretty easy to find the standout dog in the class and send it to first place; most times its a matter of assessing priorities and doing a little bit of shuffling. Today may not be your day-- next week it might be. The one thing that MOST exhibitors fail to realize is that ALL judges choose THE DOG ON THE DAY!! That DAY may be influenced by a lot of different things- coat, condition, weather, attitude- and competition!

Another thing to remember if today is not your day- its nothing personal! I don't think most judges even realize who is in the ring; I really don't think any of us consider personal feelings, friendships, paybacks, favors or the like when we are making placements. We have a job to do- it looks really badly on us if we don't do it well!

If you wonder why your dog didn't go up today- Ask!?! Don't be surprised if you get the rehearsed reply "Its not that I didn't like your dog, I just liked the other dog better"- but sometimes you just might get some valuable information!