How Do Judges Score Dogs at The National Dog Show

The place is so quiet you can hear a Milk Bone drop. The National Dog Show is in process and the crowd is hushed, expectant. Impeccably groomed dogs wait in line with handlers for their big moment in the center of the show ring. Their turn to run, walk, prance, and then hear the roar of the crowd's approval. The judge, resplendent in a tux, issues a command, makes a request, glides over to a certain dog to take a closer look at ear or flank or tail. Uses skillful hands that know how the texture of a coat should feel, how the bone structure beneath it should be proportioned. He looks into a dog's mouth, into its soulful eyes. Then in what seems like an instant, points and nods to announce a winner. Just like that.

How does he do it? What calculations can be done so quickly they tell a judge that this beautiful canine specimen is superior to the other beautiful specimens at the National Dog Show? Those lightning-fast judgments come from years of experience, but also from a thorough knowledge of the breed standard. That's what the judge is looking for: The dog that most closely matches the standard for its breed.

Sharon L. Peters of USA Today asked judge Desmond J. Murphy of Monroe, N.Y. if judging dog shows is as easy as he makes it look. Yes and no. It doesn't take long to spot the "top six or eight" dogs in any class, he says.. But then you have to start "splitting hairs." "Your mind is racing overtime," he adds, as you consider color and carriage and conformation to the breed standards.

That is why the rough coat of one breed is as excellent as the smooth coat of another breed. Why the eagle-eyed gaze of a sight hound is necessary to meet its breed's standard, and big soulful eyes and pleasing expression are required for another breed.

Here in the conformation ring of the National Dog Show dogs compete in what amounts to a "canine beauty pageant," says Adrian Woodfork , licensed American Kennel Club judge of show dogs. The list of traits and features a National Dog Show judge has to take into consideration and compare to the breed standard are mostly obvious:

Proportion
Weight
Size
Eyes: color, size, shape
Ears: shape, length, position
Head: shape
Muzzle: shape, length
Whiskers: thickness
Teeth: kind of bite, condition of teeth, deduction for a missing tooth
Tail: how high or low is the arch and position
Shoulders: bone, muscle
Legs: muscles, stance, proportionality
Coat: texture, length
Color: accepted breed colors

But there is more to it than these physical characteristics. The judge is also noting the dog's attitude, its presence, its gait.

Can you spot the Best of Show at the National Dog Show? When all the winners have been chosen in every class or group, only one will be Best of Show. Yet at this point, you already know that every dog in the final running is as nearly perfect a specimen of its breed as it can be. What then makes one the champion? It can come down to the dog's performance on the day of the show, as well as its attitude and even, shall we say, charisma. A champion Papillon I once saw at a dog show trotted across the ring with such exuberance and pure delight, I just knew I was watching the winner. The dog knew it too!

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/pets/2010-02-02-pettalk03_ST_N.htm
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/dog-show.htm/printable
http://web.mac.com/dabneydobes/Our_Road_Trips/National_Dog_Show.html
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/33929567/?ta=y