How Does a Judge Choose Best In Show at a Conformation Dog Show?

National Dog Show Winner 2011 - Wire Fox Terrier (female)

For the past 6 years America has sat in front of their television long after the Macy’s Day Parade is over, Santa has walked down the streets of Manhattan, and the floats are being deflated to watch the National Dog Show. Most families figure that no matter the age of their children their love for animals will keep them glued to the tv while last minute preparations are made to the family Thanksgiving Dinner. The children get really into it and start cheering for their favorite breed — maybe its the Labrador laying on the floor at their feet, or the most unusual looking dog participating in the event, the fluffiest, or smallest, or the dog with the most personality that literally oozes pick me I am going to be the winner. Everyone has their favorite and they decide that it is their favorite for any number of reasons.

I received an email yesterday asking me how the judge can possibly choose the winner at the end of the show when every dog is so different wouldn’t they just choose their favorite like the children in front of the tv at home each with their own opinion?

What happens at a dog show (the part you don’t see on tv) is that first all the dogs of each breed are shown in separate rings to determine which dogs most closely resembles the breed standard. (the breed ring from Westminster Day 1 2011 http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2011/video/breed/index.html  or Day 2 2011 http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2011/video/breed/index2.html) First the boys are in the ring and judged. Then the girls are in the ring and judged and the winners from the boys and girls are put back in the ring to determine best of breed.

The dog who wins the breed or Best of Breed is then moved into the Group Competition which you do see on tv. The dogs are not judged against each other but against their breed standard. So the judge who is in charge of determining the winner at the Group level must be an expert in all dogs in that Group be it Herding Dogs or Toy Dogs etc. The dog that most closely resembles the ideal dog in that breed is chosen as Group 1 and then send on to the Best in Show Competition.

By the time a dog is sent to the Best In Show ring it has to be assumed that the dog very closely meets its breed standard so the judge is looking for gait, personality, and pretty much grace under pressure (how the dog behaves in the spotlight does it turn on the charm or shrink back and become shy when it is an outgoing breed etc.) You also have to realize that at a televised competition that the Group Judges and Best in Show Judge in the ring has not only seen pictures of the dogs in front of them week after week in dog show magazine advertisements but most likely has seen them in other competitions throughout the year. Maybe multiple years. At this level most people taking their dog into the Group Ring and Best in Show ring are seasoned dog breeders or paid handlers who the judges see year after year traveling around the country with their dogs and know the type of dogs they bring to shows any hiding of faults they might be known for and probably even the kennels the dog in front of them comes from.

The judges invited to be in the ring at televised shows have been in dogs probably for the majority of their lifetimes often growing up going to dog shows as junior handlers or with their parents who bred dogs and can spot a misstep or limp or missing tooth or incorrect coat when the dog walks into the ring. So while there is a certain amount of politics involved and also the added pressure that knowing any dog they put up at a televised competition will be the breed dejour for the coming year (which might or might not be an appropriate family dog or apartment dog or be a good breed for a novice dog owner) the winner is a very solid specimen of the breed it comes from and most likely a top 5 dog in its breed in the country as well as having won numerous Best in Shows throughout the year.

Any dog that places as at a major event like this as Best of Breed or Best of Opposite sex, Reserved Winner, or gets an Award of Merit during the breed judging are solid representations of their breed and deserved to be recognized.

What dog where you sitting at home cheering on hoping it would win?