Is Italian Greyhound Judging Really Bad?

by Lilian S. Barber

I'd like to have a dollar for every time someone has told me in all earnestness that Italian Greyhound judging in this country really stinks. Usually this statement is made by someone who hasn't won "on the day" - but many times it just crops up in ordinary conversation. Some breeders and exhibitors feel that judges do not sufficiently understand our breed, are overlooking the good dogs and putting up inferior ones. There have been times when I have gone along with this, but those times have been increasingly infrequent since I have been approved to judge a number of breeds. I am not yet a group judge, so I don't fall into the category of "Big Time Judge." I am still far more frequently an exhibitor than an adjudicator, but this status probably puts me into a fairly good position to evaluate the validity of some of these complaints.

I would like to stay with breed-level judging in this article, since the group situation is entirely different. After all, it takes an exemplary connoisseur to determine whether the peach is a better peach than the apricot is an apricot.

So, what are the complaints?

Roughly, they fall into four categories.

1. Judges don't understand our breed or its standard. That really isn't too likely. The American Kennel Club has spelled out some very clear educational requirements for judging applicants. The applicant for a breed must pass a written test, which is actually an open book type of examination. That means the book - in this case the breed standard will be well perused in order to find the correct answers or to confirm that the answers the future judge already has in mind are correct. Then there is a verbal interview in which an AKC representative virtually picks the brain of the applicant in order to confirm that the applicant not only knows the standard but understands why the breed is supposed to be this way. The first five assignments are then monitored to make sure that the performance of the fledgling judge is up to par. I have personally mentored several dozen people who sought to apply for approval to judge Italian Greyhounds, and most of them had a good grasp of the basics of the breed before undertaking their first assignment. In fact, quite a few have shown impressive understanding of what makes a superior specimen. A few didn't, but every profession has its levels of proficiency.

2. He always puts up a Blank Kennel dog. He must be friends with Blank. This is a variation on the old "He always puts up his friends" wail. Yes, of course some judges will give the edge to a friend. Turn this one around, and a judge who puts up the complainer's dogs immediately acquires sainthood. It is eminently possible that Blank Kennels produce consistently high quality, typey dogs. It is also likely that, at a given show, all or nearly all of the good dogs came from Blank Kennels.

3. Toy judges don't care about soundness. We'd do better in the Hound group. A handful of the old-timers may still espouse this philosophy, but for the most part this is no longer the common belief. What is definitely true is that movement is a very significant part of breed type in Italian Greyhounds. Any judge who fails to realize this and factor it into his judging is doing the breed and his profession a great injustice. As for Italian Greyhounds doing better in the Hound group -personally, I don't think so. In other countries the Hound group is divided into sight hounds and scent hounds, which might make more sense than to throw us in with ALL of the hounds. In any case, if such a change were to occur, it would not be long before there would be exhibitors bemoaning the fact that the IG is too small and is becoming lost among all those tall, swift, glamorous hounds.

4. The granddaddy of all laments, of course, is that judges always put up handlers. Well, I suppose some judges do; but human nature is human nature. Some judges were once handlers themselves and understand the difficulties of making a living in that profession. The complaint may be justified if the professionally-handled winning dog is decidedly inferior. It happens. However, a Judge who was a true professional as a handler may also go completely the other way when a supposed pro brings a really second-rate dog into the ring solely because he is being paid to show it. Some of what appears to be favoritism to handlers, involves the plain fact that the Italian Greyhound is a difficult breed to show; and many owner handlers simply do not possess the grace and coordination to present these dogs at their very best. This is a poetically-moving breed and needs a smooth handler who can bring out that feature to its fullest.

Then there are some specific complaints:

So and so is an "ear freak." Yes, I've seen some of those. It started out very innocently. An Italian Greyhound's ears were alerted at the end of the "down and back" or whatever pattern the judge chose to use in order to show that those ears would alert to the sides without "unrosing" and standing up straight. That's the way it was when I first started showing IGs. However, somewhere along the line it became fashionable, perhaps due to the ingenuity of some very deft professional handlers, to almost constantly bait the dog, whether the judge was looking or not -just in CASE the judge might look -to make the dog appear animated and to "ask for it" -"it" referring to the win. That happens to be one of my pet peeve trite expressions all too commonly used in the dog sport. If a dog were indeed asking for it, "it" would be a food treat. No dog - not even an Italian Greyhound - has much use for a scrap of ribbon. Some judges have started to put far too much weight on that little ear performance. Once is enough. There is no need to repeatedly ask for ears nor to expect a dog to be "up" and wired the entire time he is in the ring. This is not the IG's typical nature, so it should not be a requirement in the show ring.

He is hung up on size and will put up a very unsound dog just because it's small. Conversely, "Judges don't see my 13" bitch because she isn't big enough." We ask only that judges read the standard. The exact wording is that 13" to 15" at the withers is ideal. There is nothing that says 13" is better than 15" and there is no size disqualification. It should be pretty obvious that if 13" to 15" is ideal, anything over or under those measurements is NOT ideal and should be taken into consideration when evaluating the total picture. Judging on size alone is as undesirable as fault judging. The owner of a 13" dog that consistently winds up out of the ribbons should examine the dog for any apparent faults and acknowledge them if they are found rather than blame the judges for never putting up a "little one." So and so thinks they're supposed to hackney and looks for that kind of movement. There are many factors that make up correct movement in an Italian Greyhound, and this may be a difficult thing for judges who come from other breeds to understand. Before attempting to evaluate IG gait it is necessary to learn what true hackney movement is. Once that is understood, it should become quite plain that "high stepping and FREE" is not a hackney gait. Nor is a goose step desirable no matter how high it is. Beyond high stepping and free, the IG has a normal, sound, strong, forward propelling movement. The unique gait is one of the breed's identifying features.

He thinks good movement means the faster they go, the better they move. I think we have all read and heard almost ad nauseam about the "generic showdog." Racing around the ring at breakneck speed is one of those generic characteristics. An Italian Greyhound's show ring gait is a trot, not a run. Running with these dogs negates the beauty of their correct natural movement (and is also sometimes used to hide a deficiency in that movement.)

So and so always puts up a big klutzy dog. The line between substance and coarseness is a fine one in a breed that calls for "ideal elegance and grace," and judges more accustomed to the larger, sturdier breeds may have a little trouble making the transition. One need only read the first paragraph of the standard to know what the breed should be. So, is the Italian Greyhound judging at AKC shows really consistently awful? No, I don't believe it is. Is there room for improvement? Yes, of course. Is there anything perfect in this world? Probably not --not even a perfect judge ---nor a perfect Italian Greyhound.

reprinted courtesy of Top Notch Toys July 2001

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