Does The Best Dog Always Win?

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160 – March, 2025

By Will Alexander

In what percentage of instances does the best dog actually win? We have all been there, standing dumbfounded when a certain dog consistently beats your perfect dog! Not that ego or unbiased opinion ever comes into play.

Our sport is a subjective one, meaning its determinations are based on opinions. In essence, it is basically canine figure skating. Sometimes this realization is enough to keep things in perspective, and one soon learns to which judges they prefer to exhibit. Remember, it is only one person’s opinion, and it’s your choice as to from whom you want an opinion. Trial and error is a way, but you also need to have an educated and open mind to be able to take a good look at the dog or dogs that are defeating yours. A dog that comes out and wins groups and Best In Shows cannot be all bad, but beware the old adage, “familiarity breeds contempt”.

When we always see the same dogs win, it’s only natural to stop seeing their virtues and start choosing their downfalls to describe them. When you start doing this, you’re not giving your dog education the credit it deserves. Almost anyone, even the crowd watching, can pick out faults. And even their uneducated eye may be right, but they could not tell you the virtues of certain dogs. They know they like them but they’re not sure why. They cannot tell you whether they have correct breed type, or a tail carriage that breed has been lacking. They just know they like them. It could be performance; it could be condition. It could even be they have a certain star presence. When judges start weighing their decisions by such attributes and overlook dogs in the ring with breed virtues, that’s when trouble can begin. Sometimes that trouble doesn’t show up in a breed for a few generations.

Click here to read the complete article
160 – March, 2025

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