Just Point and Shut Up?
Kathy Lorentzen
A couple of weeks ago I was reading the weekly dog rag (that I, only half jokingly, refer to as the National Enquirer of dogs, since the quality and accuracy of the reporting are pretty similar), and I came upon a new column that is supposed to provide advice to judges by way of tips from breeders. The column aims to provide conversation about dogs, be all about learning and about doing things in a positive way in an effort to ‘make a difference’. Things like what breeders think that judges misunderstand about their breed, where they often make mistakes, how they can improve their interpretation of the standards, etc. It was sort of interesting reading, until I got to the bottom of the page and there, in bold face, was a JUDGES TIP-‘Don’t speak!!!! Point and SHHHHH!!!!’ And the tip was signed by a current AKC executive Field Representative.
I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. How unbelievably typical a statement this is from ‘the other’ organization. Let’s make the judges jump though hoops and spend thousands of their own dollars fulfilling the educational requirements necessary to apply for a handful of breeds, but for heavens sake never have enough faith in those judges or your own educational process (since AKC loudly proclaims that ‘they’ educate ‘their’ judges, it must be ‘their process’) to allow them to critique their entry or just plain discuss the dogs with the exhibitors in an attempt to further their breed education. Heavens no, just follow the time schedule, act like you know what you are doing, point, and shut up. If somebody approaches you, look intimidating, act busy, and if they do ask a question, just say you liked the other dogs better on the day and close the conversation and move on.
I would love to know who, pray tell, benefits from that sort of thinking? Not the judges, because they get no opportunity to prove their expertise (or lack thereof) through verbal or written critiquing, plus they get no chance to learn more through honest conversations with talented breeders. Not the breeders, who time and again go away scratching their heads in puzzlement over judging that they simply cannot understand and could not follow. And certainly not the breeds themselves, because when real educational opportunities are lacking and communication between exhibitors and judges is forbidden, breeds often veer away from satisfying the real requirements of their standards because the judges don’t understand and recognize what those requirements are, and the exhibitors breed the dogs that the judges point to instead of those that are truly correct.
Thank goodness for the totally different attitude at UKC. Our judges are encouraged to discuss their placements with the exhibitors and encouraged to ask for feedback from experienced breeders. At UKC, we actually train our judges to use a positive mindset when judging, and to use that same mindset to formulate a verbal critique for the exhibitors. This attitude creates an atmosphere that allows for a free exchange of knowledge and a learning opportunity for all. And it can (and must) be done in a friendly, polite and non threatening manner.
Last weekend I judged a Multi-Breed show and had some breeds that I was not very familiar with. How many Spanish Water Dogs, Portuguese Podengos and Hungarian Wire-Haired Vizslas have you seen? If you are like me, probably not very many. I find that being a competent judge for UKC is a daunting task, because of the number of different breeds that we encounter in a day, and the fact that we are encouraged to discuss our placements with the exhibitors. I want to talk about the dogs, and I want to come off as knowing my stuff about the different breeds. I want to know what to reward and I also want to know when to withhold. So I take any opportunity that comes along to learn about the breeds I’m not so familiar with, and also about those that I think I have a decent handle on. Let’s face it; nobody is an expert on dozens of breeds, let alone hundreds! I consider myself an expert on exactly TWO - those two that I have bred for the longest and with the most frequency. I consider myself extremely well versed in four or five other breeds, those that I co-bred or owned and handled to significant wins. Beyond that, I have spent a lot of years studying but there is always a lot more to learn.
So last weekend, I jumped at the opportunity to have some discussions about different breeds. Some were discussions that I initiated, and some were initiated by exhibitors after I had judged their dogs. Some people thought I was brilliant (they won), and some thought otherwise (they didn’t) but all were polite, listened to my opinion, offered theirs when I asked for it, and we all went away with more information and knowledge that we started the day with. All of the discussions were in breed specific terms, and in a couple of instances I opened the discussions right in the ring while I was judging because I had a question and I knew that the exhibitors had the answer and I wanted to factor it into my judging equation. Questions answered, I went on about my task and when I had made my decisions, I made my placements, told them why I did it that way, and then asked if they agreed with me based upon what I had said. A couple of other times, when I was on a break an exhibitor came with a question about why their dog didn’t win. In one case, when I quoted a portion of the standard and told the exhibitor that was the reason I put up the dog that I did, she disagreed with me and said I was only the third judge that had made the statement about her dog. We agreed to disagree, and when I got home I inquired to a breed specialist as to whether or not my interpretation had been correct, because I knew she had seen the dog. She assured me that I did the right thing. Another lesson learned, though this time I had to disregard the protestation of the exhibitor!
What I hope you will all take away from this discussion is that judging is a continued learning experience, and just because you are approved to judge does not mean that you shouldn’t strive to constantly learn more, and a great way to learn is to have meaningful discussions with breeders, exhibitors and other judges at the shows. At UKC, we will NEVER tell you to ‘just point and shut up’.
Correspondence is invited at Vincefan@centurytel.net
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