Conformation Showing for Irish Wolfhounds
What it is . . .
By A. I. (Nina) Gottsch
Conformation showing was originally intended for breeders to publicly display their breeding stock to fellow breeders and fanciers. The easiest way to explain conformation showing is to compare it to the dreaded beauty pageants.
There are many different kinds of beauty pageants as there are many different kinds of conformation shows. They can range from fun matches that are informal and often educational, to all-breed shows to sanctioned national specialties.
All-breed shows or matches are just that; shows and matches where all recognized breeds can compete. Specialties target a specific group or breed of dogs. There several hound specialties in which only dogs in the hound group are exhibited. There are also several regional specialties and matches where only wolfhounds may be entered.
The dogs are brought into the ring before a judge by their owner, breeder or a handler and the judge examines the dog to determine, in his or her opinion, how well the dog"conforms" to its breed's standard. The dogs' structure, characteristics, and temperament are evaluated by the judge and compared to the standard that has been written for that breed. This is the "beauty" part.
The dog is also gaited (trotted around the ring) and the judge watches its movement. Not only does the dog have to be built correctly, it must be able to move properly for its breed to do the job it was bred to do. This is the "talent" part.
The judge then decides which dog most closely meets its standard in structure, appearance and movement, and places the dogs accordingly. The dog awarded Best of Breed, should be the one that is the most "beautiful" with the best "talent".
Since we don't live in a perfect world, there is some give and take. The best looking dog may not have the best movement and vice-versa. As are many things, judging is subjective and each judge determines what aspects of the breed they feel must be rock solid and what they can forgive. Perhaps Judge A will forgive flat feet, but not a straight shoulder. Perhaps Judge B will forgive wide front movement, but not crabbing in the rear.
All dog matches or shows are a particular judge's opinion on that day. Much depends on what else is presented on any given day. The same dog under the same judge may do differently with different entrants.
Each dog should be judged on the day. This means that whatever the dog has or hasn't accomplished before this day is irrelevant. The dog is being judged on how it looks and moves TODAY.
A national specialty winner that is moving poorly can easily be defeated by a comparable dog that is moving well on the day. The best moving puppy that keeps rolling over for belly rubs, may not do well simply because the judge can't examine it on the day. The next day it behaves perfectly and wins its class.
These are some of the things that make conformation showing interesting, exciting and even frustrating. No two days are ever alike. If they were, what would we learn and would we still have fun learning it?
Conformation showing is how championship titles are earned.
The next segment will discuss how conformation showing actually works.
