A Judges Perspective
By Faye Strauss

(Learning is a process, not an event. An effective teaching experience combines the written and the interactive, refined by live observation.

The judge’s first impression is the overall dog. Our Doberman handlers are some of the best in the world. They can make almost any dog look perfect in a stack, even to an experienced judge. The judge has only two and a half minutes to look at each dog so the well-presented dog has the advantage. Look for a square dog of medium size who is balanced. Does he have as much leg as depth of body? Is he deep to the elbows? Do his front angles match his rear angles? Is the length of the neck in proportion to the body and the head? Does his head look long but is it in proportion to the rest of the dog? Does he have heavy bone? Is he powerful, elegant, alert, determined, muscular, noble and is he compactly built? Many dogs have longer underlines than toplines. This can be caused by a straight upper arm which may cause a dog to look longer in length (more rectangular) than he actually is.

Having finished the initial observation the dogs are moved as a group. Is anyone limping? Search for a fluid, powerful efficient gait that is balanced. Balance is very important and means that the gait generated by the rear drive is compatible with an equally angulated front to produce enough reach so the rear foot lands in the same spot as the front foot of the opposite side. Is the topline straight and smooth and does it hold while gaiting. Does the dog appear square or is it long in back or short in leg? Does it lack body? Is the tail carried only slightly above the horizontal? Is the gaiting carriage proud? At this point observe the dogs standing and moving from the side.

Next is the individual examination. Condition, attitude and show training come into play. Now is the time to reconfirm your initial side view impression with the overall dog. Approach the front, look at the head, breadth and depth of chest, and size and color of markings. Are the legs muscular and sinewy with heavy bone? Are the feet cat like? Place the head between your hands and look at expression. Is he stable, alert and confident? Feel the underjaw. Is the line from the skull to the muzzle unbroken and is it wedge shaped? Note the eyes for correct placement, shape, color and size. Are the ears set high? Is the skull too wide or too narrow, or just right? Looking from the side, view parallel planes and check for a slight stop, and depth of muzzle. Is the muzzle strong? Common deviations are snippy, pointy muzzles lacking underjaw, narrow heads that are not wedge shaped and round and/or light eyes.

The hands on examination is next. Check for muscle tone, placement and width of shoulders, snuggness of elbows to body, and coat texture. Then, look at the rear, checking turn of stifle, equal length of upper and lower thigh, slightly rounded muscular croup, perpendicular hocks, and tailset. Look for a muscular rear, both on the inside and the outside of the legs, with parallel hocks set wide enough so the front feet can be seen just inside the rear feet. Is the rear cow hocked or bowed? Is the width of the hips equal to the width of the rib cage and shoulders? Is the dog slab sided (lack of rib spring) or barrel ribbed (too wide)? Are pasterns firm and almost perpendicular to the ground? Common deviations would be: shoulders that are set too far forward, straight shoulders, short upper arms, straight upper arms, lack of angulation – front or rear, long lower thigh, flat croup, high tail set, long loin, and lack of muscle in the upper thigh either on the inside or outside, as well as lack of muscle on the lower thigh.

The handler shows the mouth, or, if necessary, it may be checked by the judge. Count the teeth in groups, noting 42 correctly placed, strongly developed, white, teeth. The first group is the 6 incisors, the next group is the four premolars on the bottom and top of each side, and the final group is the three top molars and two molars on the bottom of each side. Four or more missing teeth is a disqualification. The bite is checked. It should be a true scissors bite. Is it level, over or undershot? Overshot more than 3/16 inch and undershot more than 1/8 inch are disqualifications. Deviations are level bites, extra premolars, missing incisors, premolars and/or back molars, and poor occlusion.

The handler is asked to move the dog down and back on a loose lead, at a moderate pace. A good handler can lessen faults. A cow-hocked dog is moved quickly going away. Conversely a dog close in rear is walked away at a slower pace. Front deviations can also be obscured. Crossovers are minimized moving quickly at the judge and not in a straight line. These are nuances of handling and require years of experience. Some judges require a triangle but the down and back seems more efficient. Watch the dog going around to assess side movement. Coming and going check for legs moving in a straight line. In the sound mover the front legs are an extension of the shoulder and gradually converge towards the center as speed increases. Common deviations are moving too wide in front, too close in rear, side-winding, paddling, high stepping, loose elbows, flipping pasterns, and other inefficient gaits that prevent the dog from tireless, ground covering movement. Many times dogs do not move as well as they could because they are not in condition or are poorly trained. It is also difficult to evaluate a dog who is looking up at his handler or sniffing the ground. The well-conditioned and trained dog moves in a straight line down and back, with drive and determination. Many handlers cause their dogs to move inefficiently by using a tight lead. The dog on a loose lead moves best.

The dog is returned and free stacked. Here is where the temperament and attitude meet with the judge’s toughest evaluation. In the free stack look for a dog who stands his ground confidently. As the judge moves around him he may flick an ear or turn his head to see who is there, but he remains calm and composed. The dog should be aware of the judge moving around him and not just fixed on the liver. At this point it can readily be seen where he naturally puts his feet. The true topline, tailset, head and neck carriage are apparent. Put a lot of stock in dogs that exude energy, are alert and show fearlessness.

Upon completion of individual examinations the final group is determined. If the class is eight or more, place the dogs in their tentative order. Then the class is moved once or twice around and watch them stop. At this point another down and back may be done with the top contenders, watching carefully how they stop. Then the class is placed. Many times exhibitors ask why the last down and back didn’t result in a change of placement. The reason is, in the final analysis, he moves well enough to confirm his win.

Many times a beautiful dog doesn’t win. This can be due to deviations. As an exhibitor or spectator you may not be seeing the dog toeing in or out, or flat feet in the grass. You definitely won’t see missing teeth or an incorrect bite. In Europe judges must dictate critiques that are posted so everyone knows why the judge did what he did. American judges are spared this exercise.

This is what a judge does in two and a half minutes in front of a partisan audience. No one ever said it was easy. Common sense indicates all judges have a specialty breed. All knowledge of other breeds is acquired knowledge, sometimes in the face of angry exhibitors.

What does this say about exhibiting purebred dogs? There is no perfect dog. The one picked at a particular show is the dog closest to the standard the judge has pictured in his mind of the ideal Doberman. A judge can only judge what is presented to him. The exhibitor must be patient. If he has a good dog his time will come.

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