Question of the Week
Angie Diehl
Los Angeles, California
When choosing a judge for our national specialty, more important than where they're from is their depth of knowledge about our specific breed, and their experience in the nuances of our dog's form and function. Judges from the U.S. and abroad who have owned and bred multiple generations will have experienced and know of the best examples in our dogs, as well as issues that may need improvement. Our three-time national-specialty winner took the top honor under both U.S. and foreign judges.
Alice Lawrence
Stafford Springs, Connecticut
Only on a very selective basis do I ever choose to show my dogs to foreign judges. Many foreign judges are not intimately familiar with the nuances of our standards. I breed and present my dogs according to the standards of my parent breed clubs, approved by the AKC. It is pointless for me to show dogs to judges who follow different standards. Many foreign judges come here approved as “all rounders” never having judged my breeds in their country, much less in the U.S.
Linda Rowell
Dublin, Georgia
I always liked showing to foreign judges. I felt, win or lose, you would get an opinion from one you most likely had never shown to! Seldom did we have one for nationals, though.
Kerri Murphy
Winfield, Kansas
At my national specialty, I prefer to show under BREEDER judges. I don't care if they are from here or any place else in the world, as long as they are breeders first and foremost.
Frank Murphy
Belton, South Carolina
In my breed, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, this is such an important question. The truth is the best Ridgebacks in the world are bred here in the U.S. To oversimplify it, here we breed a thoroughbred whereas in many other countries they lean toward a quarterhorse. Our Ridgebacks have more style, more reach and drive, longer necks, and more angles than the working-dog look bred in Europe, Australia and South Africa. The last time a South African judged our national, he said, “You people shouldn’t call these Rhodesian Ridgebacks, you should call them American Ridgebacks.” Before the club hires a national judge, a little research should be done. It might be as simple as going through the photos on their Facebook. If their dogs are long bodied, short legged, no tuck-up, silhouettes that we couldn’t win an Open bitch class with, how happy are you going to be with their judging? I don’t think you can expect a foreign judge to do a great job if his or her idea of a Ridgeback is different from ours. When I started in this breed in the early ’80s, there were virtually no breeder-judges. Now there are many. Before voting for one of them, you must ask yourself if you like the dogs they breed. If not, how happy are you going to be with their judging? If you vote for one of the many people who judge the Hound Group, how often do they place Ridgebacks in the group? It amazes me when the club votes for someone who doesn’t even like the breed. The club used to produce a list of judges who have placed Ridgebacks in the group and how often. This is important information. There are many American judges who have a good grasp of the breed and LIKE the breed who haven’t been asked. There are enough points throughout the year now where the national-specialty winner isn’t necessarily the number-one dog at the end of the year, but of course we still want to have the best national possible — not one where half the fanciers want to stay home because of who the judge is.
Inge Semenschin
Richmond, California
Definitely breeder-judges. They know our DQ and breed type. I have seen a few exceptions who amazed me, so it depends on who it is.
Nancy Troyer
Mora, Minnesota
Where they are from is of no importance to me. What is of importance is whether or not they are breed specialists: breeder-judges or former handlers who specialized in showing the breed and thus should be intimately knowledgeable of the standard.
Larry Payne
Easley, South Carolina
National specialties are AMERICAN Kennel Club sponsored events. NOT FOREIGN sponsored events. A national-specialty event is too important to the breed to turn the judging over to a foreign judge who probably does not judge as many shows or has an opportunity to see as many breed specimens as an American judge who may be a member of that AKC breed club and actively involved in setting the breed standard.
Bill Stebbins
Port St. Lucie, Florida
My breed is Great Danes. The problem with selecting a foreign judge is that not many of them are known to the exhibitors in the States. A few years ago we did have a foreign judge as one of our three judges on our panel. Another foreign judge has also made the short list (second ballot). Our membership votes using mailed-in ballots for our national judges. The first ballot asks the parent club member for three names to judge the specialty itself and two names to judge our futurity. Our futurity is a major part of our national since it usually has more than 300 entries and requires two full days of judging. In recent years we have had some of our most recognized members who are not judges fill one of the three judging slots at our national. These are individuals whose contributions to our breed as well as their in-depth knowledge has proven them worthy of this honor. The nominees in this category are often professional handlers who specialize in the breed. The initial ballots are mailed to a CPA who tallies the votes. The top 10 vote-getters make up the second (final) ballot, which is handled in the same manner as the original one. If more knowledge of foreign judges were available, I don’t know if it would change the current preferences since most people want to have seen the person actually judge.
Janice M. Leonard
Denver, Colorado
We have had foreign judges judge our Shetland Sheepdog national, but they have been from a country where the Sheltie standard is quite similar to the American standard. If a foreign judge has demonstrated through other assignments that he or she truly applies our standard in judging, I would enter. However, we have so many excellent breeder-judges in the U.S. that I definitely prefer a judge from the States.
Joan Zielinski
Olympia, Washington
In the Saint Bernard Club of America, SBCA, we have a very restrictive way of choosing our national-specialty judges. In order to be put on the list, the candidate must have St. Bernards as his/her first breed, and must be a member of the parent club along with a few other requirements. This has caused our list to become smaller with each passing year.
I personally would choose to open up the list allowing judges’ names to be added without the above restrictions and voted upon by the members. Those with the highest number of votes would be on a final list to be voted upon.
Susan Shephard
Deltona, Florida
I'd prefer to exhibit under a breed authority regardless of where they're from.