Choosing the Best Judge for Your Border Collie

Some judges know the breed standard, place a Border Collie according to merit, give each Border Collie a fair and equal opportunity, others have no idea , they flaunt the rules and judge favorably towards their peers or judge to be politically correct or judge with the flavor or fashion of the month in mind.

So before entering ANY competition with your Border Collie and parting with your hard earned money.

Research your judge before entering your Border Collie under them. (Please note not necessarily in this order)

  1. Research a judges past show results
  2. Compare their judging patterns
  3. Research the Border Collies that have been put up, find out if the owner is connected to the judge, either by progeny or partnerships.
  4. Research the Border Collies themselves observe how they compare to the breed standard
  5. Has the judge put any local person up already and why?
  6. What does this judge look for in a Border Collie?
  7. What physical attribute do they judge in favor off? Specialist breed judges known for this and this has nothing to do with improving the breed itself. eg He's looking for necks, if your Border Collie has a good neck you may have a chance.
  8. Talk to your breeder about a judge your considering going under
  9. Talk to other showing people of your breed and others, it's amazing what people may tell you about a judge. Be sure that it is not biased information as some may want to not have you compete against them or others may want you to compete so they can get more points.
  10. Be aware of the unscrupulous judge who says that they love your Border Collie, as this may be a ploy to get a larger number of persons to enter under them in the hope of winning only to be dumped on the day.
  11. Observe who a judge engages with socially, people they compete and play with. As this may affect whether or not you go under them.
  12. Trainee judges, you can test them out by entering under them in an open show environment, also you can observe their behavior when they are competing,stewarding and who they hang out with.
  13. Will the judge have a conflict of interest that will hinder the judges opinion on the day? Thus award you with a biased opinion.

Always research thoroughly so you have an idea of what to expect and what may prevail.