Bulldogsworld.com presents
We welcome Judge Chris Neilson to the site for some "ask a judge questions". Chris is a licensed all breed judge and a Bulldog Breeder..
Among his accomplishments and under the kennel prefix Comepatabull Bulldogs, he has shown, bred and handled bulldogs to #1 in Canada,
1991,1992,1997,1998,1999,2000,2006.
He is also the President of The Confederation Bulldog Club in Ontario as well as President of The Ontario Breeders Association. He has agreed to generously offer to this site views for you all and can offer two opinions to bulldoggers, one as an all breed judge, and one as a Bulldog breeder judge. Chris has judged The New Jersey Bulldog Specialty, The Forth Worth Bulldog Club Specialty, all breed shows in Dallas, Bloomsburg, PA, Lansing, Michigan, Wisconsin, every province in Canada except Newfoundland, Australia including a Bulldog Specialty, and China. So please feel free to ask any serious question you may have. So ask your question as it relates to showing and a judges point of view.
Please feel free to click here and ask your question for the Judge to answer. You will remain fully Anonymous. Check back at a later date to see if your question is posted.
Volume 1 - Nov - Dec 2008
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Past (archive) issues link at bottom of this page
Q- As a neophyte to showing, how important are straight teeth? If the jaw, head are good but the teeth are not straight as the standard dictates.
In your experience, have you not pointed a dog, if all things being sound, whose teeth aren't straight?
A- I wouldn't worry about that at all. I've always said that most bulldogs look like they should have had braces when they were young.....lol.
The main thing is that the lower front teeth are all there and are in a straight line from one canine to another. This is the sign of a good jaw. When the lower teeth are in a kind of semi circle it always means the dog has a narrow jaw.
This being said, this is a minor fault in the breed. With so many other points to look at, the importance of the teeth is minimal. And yes, I have have pointed many bulldogs with teeth that are not straight.
Q- When the judge ask you to "walk your dog individually should the walk be more of a trot or just a brisk walk?
A- The speed is very important in this breed. One of the most common mistakes exhibitors make is to take the bulldog down and back too quickly, This causes the dog to lose it's 'roll', a very important feature in the breed. Also, by going too fast, most dogs lose their topline as well as it tends to level out the quicker they gait. Occasionnally, a judge will ask you to do the down and back a second time 'only this time slowly'.
Make sure you do, this is probably your last chance to show this judge the correctness of your dog. Most judges won't tell you to go a second time, so make sure you do it right the first.
Q- I have always heard that the speciality shows are very political. Some states are worse than others. I wanted to decide for myself and went to my first speciality. Needless to say I thought it was very political. I saw one judge not speak to anyone during the sweeps judging and then a pretty lady put her bitch on the ramp and he asked her how she was. I knew then that she was going to win and she got BOS. Do you find that specialities are worse than all breed shows? What can be done other than not showing to that judge again?
A- No I don't think they are worse. Politics are at dog shows and anyone saying different is only fooling themselves. It is very bad for the sport, but I don't know the solution other than avoiding judges like this with your entries. It happens all the time, too often in my opinion. There are two kinds of judges: those that judge dogs and those that judge people. Only experience will tell which is which and by talking to other exhibitors.
A judge should have very limited conversations with exhibitors so they cannot be misinterpreted.
Q- Do you see more dogs or bitch showing. Has bitches increased in entries over the last 10 years.
A- I think there are more bitches at the shows. I think it has been this way for over 10 years.
Q- What happens if no judge shows up for an assignment?
A- Speaking in Canada now. When this happens, and it does occasionally, the club first 'por another judge at the show (possibly exhibiting or spectating) to take the place of the absent judge. If an alternate judge cannot be found, they then look for a 'permit' judge or 'provisional' as you call them in the u.s.
If the club had no notice of the judge being absent, it is classified as 'emergency' and the club is allowed to even have an exhibitor judge the show as a last resort. This is assuming of course that the club is not able to get in touch with the CKC (office closed perhaps), or a CKC representative.
WE NEED MORE QUESTIONS for the next edition! click link above!
