With Crufts now just a week away there will many people, both exhibitors and judges who will be getting maybe just a tad nervous as the show approaches. As an exhibitor in previous years, I know that with such a lot of planning and with such high hopes hinging on the show there can be a tendency to almost wrap your dog up in cotton wool for the last few days.  The last thing that you want to happen is for your dog to suffer a last minute injury or illness that will make him unfit for the show and with so much planning beforehand you don’t want anything to go wrong at the last minute.

So every time your dogs jumps off the sofa or runs up and down the garden you tend to hold your breath a little and hope that he doesn’t  twist a foot or maybe even eat something that he shouldn’t, or do anything that may affect being completely fit and well for Crufts. The truth is of course that your dog will more than likely be perfectly fine come the day and the best advice is to carry on a completely normal routine right up until the final day before the show when you dog has his final bath brush or trim.

So do dogs know that they are going to a show? You bet they do! Some will know as soon as they have a bath or a brush or maybe when the show bag comes out,  that it will soon be time for them to strut their stuff. Dogs will pick up the most subtle of signals and I know that I have often gone to enormous lengths to try and disguise the fact that we will soon be heading off. More often than not this is done for the sake of the dogs which will not being going to the show and will be left in the care of someone at home. Most dogs love going to shows and some will often get upset when they realise that this year is not their turn. A bribe of a few biscuits will often bring them round however, and there is always great excitement when we return as there are often presents or goodies to share; with so much stuff for sale at Crufts It’s very difficult to come home empty handed.

So how do I feel as a judge, on the threshold of what will be the most important show that I have officiated at? I occasionally wonder which dogs will be there on the day. I have been to a few shows recently and quite honestly whilst I try and put Crufts to the back of my mind I cant help wondering if some of the dogs that I am looking at from the ringside will be entered and shown under me. The one thing that I definitely try not to do is to make any “ringside comment” or offer any opinion about any dogs that I see. Exhibitors often attempt to “predict” the results and any remark made by a forthcoming judge will be seized upon hungrily as they try and get the inside track on how the judge is likely to place their dog. Throwaway lines and innocent comments will be enlarged in the retelling and once repeated a number of times will become statements of fact to be misconstrued at will.

In actual fact any comment made by a Judge prior to the show will usually be superfluous as dogs will look different from day to day. A dog may look off colour one week and superb the next and it is a very foolish judge that will try and predict what he may or may not do at any given time. I know from previous experience that dogs which may look impressive from a distance may not be quite as good when under the microscope and others that many not immediately catch the attention can be so much better when gone over with a fine toothcomb.

It’s all about judging the dogs how they look “on the day” and it is only then, on that day that even the judge, will know which one will win first place!

Author:

Bill Lambert

Publisher:

The Kennel Club

Date:

28-Feb-08

Last updated on:

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