BE NOTICED IMMEDIATELY.

You hear sometimes the saying “for the little moment a Judge spends looking and going over a dog the fee for entering a dog at the show is to much". There is some truth in this saying you should think. Although this is not quite right. It is not only the moment of going over the dog and executing patrons where a good judge has an eye for. It starts already when entering the ring that a competent Judge will get his first impression what quality will be entering the ring. Therefore it is important that you show your dog optimal from the first step you enter the ring.
Don’t go in the ring and just stand passive on you place and wait until the Judge ask you to come. From the moment you enter the ring until you leave the ring a good Show Handler should not lose his concentration at all.

How can you deal with it?

The competitors of the next class should be lined up in numbering order at the entrance of the ring. This means that the Show Handler carefully keep an eye on the Judging. When finally the ring steward ask you to come into the ring see to it that you have enough space to move the dog at its correct pace around the ring to the line-up position without distracting the Judge from the dog, don’t show yourself. It means wait a few seconds till the Show Handler in front of you has gone before you enter the ring, then you can move your dog at a correct pace. Overtaking a slower Show Handler gives a untidy impression and the judge can be unconscious be distracted when you overtake a slower Handler. Be sure to use the good technique to lead your dog so its your dog that is noted and not you.
When you have arrived at the line-up, you present your dog. Do this even if the Judge is not looking at your dog at the moment. Don’t stack dogs mishmash through each other. To give the whole a good impression the Show Handlers should be lined-up in one line. If the other Show Handlers don’t pay attention to this matter just concentrate your dog on the first best placed dog. Let the dog stand at ease but not resting (not sitting or lying down).Keep an eye on the Judge and be prepared to stack your dog in prefect presentation when the Judges looks your way.
When its your turn and the Judge asks you to present your dog on or in front of the table be sure to do it the correct way. Right in front and at a sufficient space in front of the table and the dog in correct balance. Be care full that you are not standing between the dog and Judge. Care for it that the Judge can see and go over the dog easily. Don’t block the Judges view by staying between dog and Judge. Go and stand at the other side so the Judge has space to look and go over your dog.
When the Judge wants to see the teeth/bite do this your self. Many dogs have bad mouth and teeth hygiene and when the Judge does it he can easily carry the microbes from one dog to another.
After going over the dog the Judge will ask to execute a pattern. The most common patterns asked are “straight up and down” and a “ triangle”.

Why patterns are asked?

"Up and down" is asked to judge the gating of the dog behind and in front. The triangle is been asked to judge the gating of the dog behind, one side sideways and in front. Try to move these patterns correctly. Give the Judge a chance to judge the movements. Don’t move zigzag but straight lines. Don’t move between the Judge and the dog, do exercise at home to move smoothly to the other side if necessary. Move a perfect triangle and not an circuit or oval. The Judge gets a bad impression when he sees a Show Handler who is not capable to execute a perfect pattern. It is of great interest that the right techniques is used to guide the dog. After executing the patterns the Judge will ask you to go back to the line-up. Don’t think that you are finished yet, you just present your dog in the line-up and wait patiently until the judging is finished in your class. Be aware when the Judge is going over the other dogs he may constantly look over to the other dogs in the ring. If you are observant watching the judging you will not be surprised when he takes suddenly a look at the other dogs in the line-up. He surely will have a better impression of the dogs which presented neatly and attentive in the line-up. After the individual judging it sometimes happens that the Judge asks to move all the dogs around in the ring. Normally this should be discouraged because a lot of dogs moving around in the ring gives an obscure, confused and chaotic impression. If it has been asked keep enough space between the dog in front of you, so your dog can gait smoothly and correct through the ring in the perfect rhythm. Do not overtake a slower moving dog. You can then better stop and create enough space and start again your moving so the dog is then noticed by the Judge.
After the placing has been made there will be only one happy person and that’s the one that has won. Don’t show your disappointment in the ring. Leave the ring with dignity and show your dog for the last time at it’s best. You never know who’s watching beside the ring.

Now that you have read this maybe many questions will arise:

“When there are more than ten Show Handlers standing in the ring it is impossible to keep the dog under control all the time”?
Here it is the duty of the ring steward or the Judge when there are more than ten Show Handlers in the ring to split them up in two groups. A Judge with enough sense of duty will do so.
“Why should I work myself to the bone to have the dog constantly in presentation position even when the Judge does not pay any attention at all”?
As everyone already know that some judges do not pay much attention on Judging. These are in fact not competent to do a good judging although they know the breed standard from A – Z.

“Well in this case it is pure nonsense to make an effort”?
In case the Judge is incompetent, just do it for the people who are standing around de ring. As I mentioned earlier you never know who’s standing and looking at the side of the ring.

“What is meant by line-up?
The meaning is that all dogs line-up behind each other and presented with their head all to one side. This has different reasons It gives a neat impression of the ring. The Judge is presented with a beautiful image of all the dogs in the line-up.

“May I not show the perfect front of the dog to the Judge?
Of coarse this will be noticed by a good Judge. The Judge will have noticed it already when you where judged individual and if the Judge goes to the front of the line-up he than again see the fronts of the dogs.

“My dog has on one side a better color marks than on the other side”. “May I then not show the side of my dog with the better color marks”?
If the Judge knows the standard he will pay enough attention to see the dog on all his sides.

“How can my dog be attend full when there is no Double Handling.”?
This is reprehensible when someone attracts attention of the dog from the outside of the ring. This is really a sample of laziness. Everybody must be confirmed that his dog will do anything for his boss. It is the boss who has to do an effort to communicate with his dog and show what he expects of his dog. This takes time, patience and a lot of training with his dog. I compare this with people when one is going through a fire for the other. The one (the dog) speaks only Chinese and is prepare to do anything for the other one (the show handler) who speaks only English so by using body language and a gentle hand and training it just will click. By the way it is forbidden in Belgium to Double Handle.

As you can read above it is not true that the judging of the dog takes only a few minutes. There is a lot more to it than only the few moments a Judge is going over the dog. But it is you and you alone who has to put the dog in the spot-light.

But there are a lot more things to know before you can get good results in the ring. It does not only start by entering the ring but a lot earlier. It starts by teaching: how do I bring it over on the dog. He has to stay in the right balance. He has to move the correct pace. When moving he has to take the right turns when doing the patterns.

There are still different aspects which also are very important and have not been handled. All these aspects are bundled in a standard (Guidelines). The standard (guidelines) are published by the J. & S. Show Handling Club.

This article proves that the standard is not only for the J.& S Show Handling Competitions. The standard that the J&S Show Handling Club has published is originated by close co-operation with English people who also have years of experience in Dog Shows. It is a good foundation for the Show Handler so he can show his dog at the best possible way.

Roger Dictus.

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