Judging – Grading Dogs in the Ring

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What are the advantages of a ‘grading’ system?

I believe that one of the changes that is long overdue in the UK is to bring in a system of grading dogs in the ring.  My experience has been that it focuses the mind of the judge.  They are forced to make a value judgement as to the quality of the dog in front them rather than using the relatively simplistic approach of deciding whether it is better or less good than the others in the class.  The other positive advantage about grading the dog is that the owner gets a real and open indication of the opinion of the judge which is independent of its placing or rejection with a group of others.
It also means that they can compare the assessments of the dog over a period of time with the awards given by other judges.  I have long suggested that the only criteria for a judge, a breeder or exhibitor is consistency over the long term and bringing in a grading system would, at one stroke, ensure that this consistency (or lack of it, of course) was public.  I think that it would make judges think very carefully before giving an award.  What judge would want to give an ‘Excellent’ if almost every other judge had given the dog a ‘Good’.
As things stand, the only measure of consistency we currently have is whether the dog has won high awards but we all know that there are many dogs who are worthy but do not achieve the highest positions.  I judged a breed recently and in the junior dog classes the quality was truly worrying but when I came to the Open Bitch class I was able to report that any of the first four dogs standing in line was deserving of a Challenge Certificate.  However the bitch standing fourth in the Open class only had a Reserve prize card whereas several of the young dogs got first prizes because they were either the only representative or were among a class of poor dogs, none of whom would have gained more than a ‘Good’ grade from me.
I judged at a show in Southern Ireland two years ago where there was a sheaf of what appeared to be a small prize cards in differing colours with the name of show and the date clearly show.  They were not exactly prize cards but indicated the grade that the judge had given. This meant that everybody went home with an indication of the quality of their dog however many were in the class.
The principal abroad is that only the dogs that gain the highest grade are judged and placed but thinking it through there is no reason at all why each class should not be judged as they are now.  Inevitably those dogs that gain the highest grades would be at the front.
When I talk to people there is a general consensus of opinion that grading is a good idea but there are, inevitably, the number of complications.
For instance, we must ask ourselves whether such a change would effect show entries in the long term.  At the moment, the poor quality dog under a judge who is not very knowledgeable (or under psychological pressure to do a particular person well), might occasionally get a first prize which is enough of an incentive to keep them coming back into the ring.  If judges are being much more cautious about their grading and quite a lot of dogs were consistently graded only ‘Good’, might their motivation to enter be affected?

How does the system work?

Classification abroad is often different to ours where we win our way out of the lower classes.  However, the principle is the same although the judging process is different.  The dogs come into the ring for their initial assessment.  When the first dog is called forward for full assessment the other exhibitors leave the ring so the judge does not have them in front of them for a direct comparison.  I think this is an excellent discipline and concentrates one’s mind on the breed standard.  Having gone over the dog the judge then dictates a report for the dog to the ring secretary.  At the end of the report the ring secretary asks what grade the dog should receive and, as I explained last week, these are Excellent, Very Good, Good and Untypical in most systems.  Those that are not graded Excellent are handed their report and a ribbon indicating their grade.  Most European exhibitors cheerfully accept their grades – they are used to the system.
Those that are graded Excellent come back into the ring and are placed in order 1 to 4.  The judge is then asked whether any of those standing in the line-up are worthy of a Challenge Certificate.  If they are they are given another colour ribbon and will appear at the end of the judging of their sex for the selection of the Challenge Certificate.  In many countries there is a Champions Class and this is judged in exactly the same way.  The judge is entitled to give a grade other than Excellent to champion if they so wish.
The final line-up, therefore, comprises only those who the judge believes are sufficient quality to gain a Challenge Certificate.  Those dogs are again judged as a class and are placed in order 1 to 4, the winner receiving the CC and the dog placed second the RCC.
As I have suggested, I believe that this system of judging focuses the mind of the judge and gives the exhibitor a better understanding of the quality of their dog but because of the requirement that the judge often has to dictate a written report for every dog I do not think this process would work satisfactorily in the UK.  Neither am I sure whether the exhibitors would be happy being dismissed from the ring immediately after their dog was judged on the grounds that it was not sufficient quality to continue to compete.  There is also the problem that in this country, dogs may be entered in more than one class and this simply does not happen in most other countries.

How could the system be adapted for the UK?

My suggestion is to that we modified our current system to include grading in a different way.  Each class is judged as usual with the dogs in the ring and moving after which each one is assessed.  As is often the case in large classes, the judge makes a first  ‘cut’ from which their winners will be selected.   Depending on the quality of the dogs in the ring the judge can then indicate whether those not in the ‘cut’ are entitled to a card indicating their grade (I think cards would be more expensive than ribbons but I think exhibitors would appreciate something printed with the name of the show rather than an anonymous narrow strip of coloured plastic).  One would expect that the ‘cut’ included all those dogs which the judge considered Excellent.  The remainder might then be divided into Very Good, Good or Untypical and they would receive their cards before leaving the ring and before the judge moves forward to place the dogs.  The remaining dogs would be placed as usual first to VHC with any remaining gaining cards showing them to be of Excellent quality.  The judge is then asked by the steward if any of the dogs that they have placed should be considered as worthy of a Challenge Certificate.  My experience is that one and sometimes two or three might well get an extra card but often none will qualify for that higher grade.  At the end of the judging of the sex, only those with the CC grade card would come into the ring and the judge then selects the Challenge Certificate and Reserve Challenging Certificate winner from those presented.
What happens when there are only one, two or three dogs in the class?  The same process and procedure applies.  It is possible that the only entry in the class is of poor quality and therefore only gets a ‘Good’ card.  But they do get something – a recognition that the dog has been formally assessed as ‘Good’ rather than nothing at all and  ‘thrown out with the rubbish’.  It might be that a  dog standing alone is considered by the judge to be Excellent and entitled to a Challenge Certificate quality ribbon or  is card and would therefore appear in the final line-up.
I think it unlikely that the Kennel Club Shows Executive Committee will seize upon these ideas as something they want to put into practice.  However, I am sure there is merit in this idea and I would hope that it is not dismissed out of hand.
I think there should first be a survey to see whether the idea is acceptable to exhibitors in general terms.  If there is general agreement that it is worth pursuing, is there any reason why the idea should not be tried out at, say, a breed championship show or even a General Championship show to see how, you, the exhibitors react.
Huge amounts of discussion on all sorts of topics go on around the benches,  in the bar during and after the show and, increasingly, in late evening discussions around caravan site barbecues.  I am anxious to know what you think, for there is no point in proposing changes that, however good I believe they are, are not going to be acceptable to those people who are most important to the success of any show – you, the exhibitors.  Do let me know what you think by e-mailing me at mail@davidcavill.co.uk.  If the responses a good and I will continue to press for what I consider to be an important reform of our system and perhaps be able to persuade Our Dogs to begin an initial survey.  If your responses are negative then I will drop the idea and write about other things – for a little while!  Perhaps somebody will be enthusiastic enough about the idea to begin a Facebook page calling on the Kennel Club to consider the idea – it seems to be the fashion!

Is grading complicated?

And I really cannot see the complexity of my ‘take’ on this idea: I have modified it so that it is considerably less complicated than the system used in many countries abroad and I am sure that applying the precise criteria of gradings would cause no difficulty for most judges.

What is complicated about:

• Excellent: may only be awarded to a dog which comes very close to the ideal standard of the breed, is presented in excellent condition, displays a harmonious, well-balanced temperament, and is of high class (standard) and has excellent posture. Its superior characteristics in respect of its breed permit that minor imperfections can be ignored; it must however have the typical features of its sex.
• Very Good: may only be awarded to a dog which possesses the typical features of its breed and which has well-balanced proportions and is in correct condition. A few minor faults may be tolerated, however none of a morphological (conformation) nature. This award can only be granted to a dog that ‘shows’ (i.e. can be handled and does not show ‘fear’ in the ring – not to be confused with ‘caution’ of course)
• Good: is to be awarded to a dog which possesses the main features of its breed but which has obvious faults. My italics

There are other gradings under FCI rules but I am not including them in my proposals at this stage and, in any case, our own KC regulations cover what happens when dogs are either aggressive, fundamentally physically flawed or lack merit.

Exhibitors – what are their views?

The most important element in all this is, of course, what exhibitors will be comfortable with.  I do not know the answer but we do know that more and more of our exhibitors from the UK are showing abroad and presumably they would not do so if they were unhappy with the system.
A survey and this will be coming your way very shortly with the Our Dogs Newsletter.  Please take part.