to think the charity 'fun dog show' was a BEASTLY SWIZZ

[QueenOfFeckingEverything]

Took the DC and The Dog to a charity fun dog show today at DD's request. The Dog, who is beautiful even if I do say so myself, is a 12 yr old GSD/Lab/Newfie cross. DD groomed him and made him look all shiny and nice, and he wore his best bandanna

Seeing as it was meant to be a FUN dog show in aid of a local rescue, I think its a real arse to then have a judge who gives about 80% of the prizes to pedigree dogs/dogs that were clearly a specific breed, and only about 3 in the whole show (6 prizes in each of 10 heats, so 60 in total) to dogs bigger than a border collie!

The Dog was entered in the 'veterans' class, and was the oldest in it by 4 bloody years! 1st prize went to an 8yo dog that tried to start a fight with the one stood next to it , the next four rosettes to dogs the size of cats, and Dog came 6th.

Anyway. I am not a bad loser but AIBU to think its Not On to have a clearly biased judge who only likes pedigree lapdogs??

Humph.

YANBU

Poor Dog. As long as he knows you're his biggest fan! They should have ALL got rosette....just for turning up. YANBU. Swizz.

YANBU. A beastly swizz indeed.

You was stiched up good and proper.

I bet the judges had been bunged sweeteners from the winners, home made wine and cakes cleverly concealed under blankets on the back seats of cars.

You just need to learn the ropes

Oh dear, these things do get very competitive... was at one once where the judge (elderly male) only gave prizes to dogs that were shown by little girls... 10 classes, all of which ended with four smiling little girls holding rosettes, there were loads of adults showing who were getting a bit pissed off by the end.

I once saw a woman shouting at a judge that she was discriminated against because her dog wasn't a rare breed..

I think these fun shows can be just as fraught as the real thing, don't get me started on the 'waggiest tail' class three years ago, and still smarting about 'dog the judge would most like to take home

I feel your pain. DD and me went to one a couple of years ago. We put the dog's name down for a few classes and paid the fee for each class. Firstly they had 2 rings on the go - so bitches and dogs were in opposite rings and at the same time, then vetrans and pups, etc.

We've been before and the third round of classes aren't atarted till both previous classes finished. Well this year they got out of synch so DD missed some classes that we'd paid for. DH informed the organisers, not complaining, but just to make them aware so they could sort it out. The woman went bonkers at him and told us to leave!

Oh and just prior to that DD had been in a child handler class. The judge was someone from the fire and recue service who knew nothing about dogs. He told all the kids to get their dogs to sit - we have a greyhound and they should never be told to sit. So obviously ours didn't. The boy who won it was some 6yo thug who'd been kicking his dog while waiting for the class to start!

I think we are actually now banned from the local fun dog show.

Oh dear, oh dear. I am doing my first judging at a charity dog show in a few weeks time. Now I see what I have to look forward to.

Actually, being bunged cakes and wine sounds great (nobody mentioned that).

I'm really surprised - lots of charity dog shows do two classes for seniors - 8 - 11 year olds and Super Seniors who are over 12. Plus a lot of shows do a class at the end for dogs who haven't won a prize in any of the other classes. And in the charity I volunteer for, ALL the children in the child handler class come out with a rosette.

And any dog that tries to bite the one standing next to them shouldn't be getting prizes

But your dog sounds lovely.

I enter local flower shows (think village) and everything is judged to National standards. Everything has to be perfect, etc. etc. Our local village flower and veg show closed because they couldn't get it through their heads that ordinary people didn't understand things like 'hybrid roses', or how to tie their onions and put them in sand!

So YANBU that all these Judges have their favourites and it shows (excuse the pun)!

YANBU. I think that The Dog (poor sod, what a nickname, can't you call him DarlingDog or summat?!) sounds adorable. Ok, I'm a Lab and GSD owner so admittedly a bit biased but nonetheless he sounds like my kinda pooch. :)

Tell him that he's top dog IMO and give him a hug and a biscuit from me please!

I wouldn't have needed the sweeteners tbh, our dog has put great effort into perfecting her needy/vulnerable expression which you can feel boring into you at twenty paces, usually when I have the cheese out now I think of it...

Why don't you tell greyhounds to sit? (genuinely curious)

I feel your pain. Years ago, my beautiful honey-coloured Retriever X was described, scornfully as "that brown dog". As in "You, with That Brown Dog, you've been eliminated". This at a "fun" dog show.

Same sort of thing happens in the village where I live in when the summer fete organisers are daft misguided enough to think that they should invite people who have some sort connection to the terrifying world that is Showing of Dogs to judge the glorious chaos that is our Dog Show.

Given that most people have some sort of working (ish) breeds that the Kennel Club refuse to recognise (thankfully) all of us with Jack Russells are immediately ignored. Next to go will be terriers of the non Jack Russell persuasion and the winners tend to be the dogs of people Down From London. It's not a lot of fun.

Peeling, just try asking a Grey to sit next time you meet one... g'wan, please, just try... you'll see why. :o

Apparantly its physically impossible for most greyhounds to sit. Their legs are too long and muscular to be able to get into the position or if they can its very uncomfortable.

My girl can get in a sitting position as I have seen her do it once or twice but only for a few seconds before getting into her normal position of flat out on her side.

The flipping fire bloke was repeatedly telling dd to tell the dog to sit and I was shouting at dd to tell him that she can't sit. So dd told him but he misunderstood and thought that dd meant that the dog wouldn't sit. Big fat fail on the obedience part of it for them!

You have my commiserations, I do have the most beautiful golden retriever and entered him for a fun competitition when he was a year old. Everyone there asked me if I was entering him because he was so handsome and I was convinced we would win.....he wasn't even placed and I was very pissed off. I suppose pride comes before a fall but to this day I don't understand why he didn't win.

Ohhh! Viva! You spoilsport!

I wanted Peeling to experience that famous look-down-their-long-nose haughty Greyhound stare!

If ever a dog can signal "Are you sure?" with his eyes alone, it's a Greyhound!

Ha! I have a GSD cross and 2 Westies. We go to a charity dog show once a year as the kids love it.

My Westies win all the badges and they just run off, don't walk on a lead (we live in huge grounds where they never ever need leads so have no idea how to behave on one). Poor GSD cross just gets overlooked, and she is exceptionally well trained (rescue dog).

The best was in the races. The smaller Westie was entered, when the gun went off the dogs all ran ahead, apart from her who ran back into the holding "cage". Quite embarrassing wandering off to retrieve her.

Not quite a dog show story, but I once read a crime report where the perpetrators were allegedly accompanied by 'a small beige dog'. I could imagine the dog being very at being described as beige.

Stone me, DBF, we have more in common every day. I don't keep a dog but if I did and I had the space it would be a Lab.