Did You Know – Critics Can Be Critically Critical Criticizing Critiques!

Click here to read the complete article
92 – April, 2025

By Michael Canalizo

Having just returned from my Crufts Breed assignment, the experience has prompted this month’s article. Being asked to judge at/for the Royal Kennel Club in England at their most famous event is/was “Bucket List”-worthy. One of their requests is to provide a written report on the top placements of each class and the “ticket” winners. I understand this is the expectation of judges at all “Championship” shows in the UK. (For those interested, here is the link to every breed critique on the RKC website: Critique Listing – Judges Critiques by Kennel Club – https://kcjudgescritiques.org.uk/critique-listing/)

For a few reasons, the request can be a bit daunting if you’re not from a country where the written critique isn’t SOP (Standard Operating Procedure).

One is time management. I had 140 dogs to judge and was advised not to waste any time if I wanted my breed winner to make it to the Hound Group that evening. They (actually) won’t wait for a breed to be finished before the group begins. I clearly remember the outcry when John Oulton was still competing in Best Of Breed with a top-winning USA Papillon, only to find out the Toy Group was done and dusted as he was handed the Breed ticket.

Another challenge can be preparing the winners for your note-taking. After many years of practice, I have come up with a procedure that works for me. I take a quick photo of the placements BEFORE I hand out any ribbons. (being a visual person, It helps me see what I will be writing about; most times I can recall their virtues or flaws). Then comes getting some words about the placements noted. I start by saying the class and the number entered in that class and briefly describe each placement. Then, I give out the ribbons. I have to mention that due to advancements in our hand-held electronics (IPhone or IPad) there is a useful app for taking notes. You need to know how to click on a microphone in the phone to speak your thoughts into the phone. After the fact, you can send the spoken words into a Word document, which can be edited as needed. It sounds far more complicated than it is, and it sure beats trying to decipher your hand-scratched notes on little pieces of paper.

In the UK, the RKC posts these critiques online, and the popular Our Dogs magazine prints them in each issue as they are sent.

Click here to read the complete article
92 – April, 2025

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=322876

Posted by AnthonyA on Apr 7 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.