Comments on: Conflicts of Interest and Impropriety

By: Sherry Shivley

Sherry Shivley — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 14:20:51 +0000

Dog Shows are full of such shenanigans. Whether it’s showing to a Judge you fed the night before, or an exhibitor who sends gifts as Thank yous. The Best Dog seldom wins. At Westminster the dog or handler retiring wins, and mentors train new Judges to place dogs with their faults. Save your money, skip the big shows unless you have an IN with your Judge.

By: Janet Oppedal

Janet Oppedal — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 21:02:14 +0000

I have seen this happening more often than not.
I have been told to my face I had a better bitch BUT the judge had to put up the hander they needed the bonus money.
I have seen so much political CRAP going on. I still do health tests and breed show-quality dogs.~ One of my puppies finished today. BUT I Will never EVER step into the ring again. The judges are choosing handlers over better-quality dogs. AND are blatant about it because we can not do anything. Even supplying AKC with videos of dogs pacing? or moving like an egg beater in the front?? Because a judge was on the lead? HORRID and now there are offspring from that dog doing the same thing in the ring with (a handler at the helm) winning? BEST IN SHOW? Really? No thank you. This has become not what you show but a who you know sport. Good breeders who breed to the standard, produce what their dogs are supposed to be cannot compete with the faces on the end of the leads showing dogs that look deer-like? how is that a working dog that should be able to take down a person? heavy boned and square has become a thing of the past. My dream is to have AKC judges fill out some kind of 1-5 scale for the breed standard and the dog in front of them… That way they are held to the standard of being a licensed judge.

By: Helena Benson

Helena Benson — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 20:35:54 +0000

I have always understood the rule to be – that a dog/exhibitor should not be entered IF there was a possibility of the judge being assigned to their ring — as in the case of the Westminster dog: Whoever dreams that they will make it to Best in Show where there breeder is judging?

By: Monica Kipp

Monica Kipp — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 20:28:31 +0000

The rule is there and the AKC didn’t follow it. You felt it was improper, therefore it should be considered as improper and effectively dealt with. I personally believe that this would be agreed to ina court of law. I am not a lawyer. I agree with you completely but I have found the AKC doesn’t follow its own guielines and constitution and by laws. It does in your opinion show a conflict of interest. I have had two new to the dog show world show puppies I bred under my mother in law who has no clue about my breeding program. She is an AKC judge. They both won under her and had points taken away. I am not certain why this is any different then your situation.

By: Cheryl J Roach

Cheryl J Roach — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 18:27:11 +0000

When we were first starting out in the sport fifteen years ago, I asked someone why they wanted to be a judge. They were very honest with me. They told me it was so their dogs would win. Period. They would get to know other judges, who would show them favoritism. They might get the chance to judge and advance their own breedings too even if they did not own the dogs in the ring. I was gobsmacked – but then have seen it many times in the ring since.

By: Bonnie Clarke

Bonnie Clarke — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 17:47:15 +0000

I have no knowledge of the breed or the players in this scenario. If the facts as provided are accurate, as a Judge and former Asst. Director of Judging Operations, I believe this meets the definition of Conflict of Interest. However, my opinion is no longer relevant.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 15:06:15 +0000

This is an on-going occurrence in different variations. The funny thing is that these, generally narcissistic, people think that people don’t see it or know about it. Heard of many judges that “own” dogs, but their name is not on it. Saw a judge show their dog in one ring to a former AKC rep at a prestigious show with their significant other judging in the ring next to it. Guess who won? Was it the best dog? I don’t know. I wasn’t even there, saw it on the AKC video. Did it influence how exhibitors thought about all of those judges, yes. I wrote AKC, they did not care about it. No rules broken, they did not reside in the same home. Then you have the ones that call themselves “professional” handlers that as soon as they lose one day start talking to every judge and professional handler they can so everyone knows they lost to a “bad” dog. Then show up at the ring the next day with their pro-handler friends there to support them, so that judge cannot make the wrong decision. Is it okay to show to judges that you were paid to show their dogs in the past. Would that influence a judge? The fact is that the unscrupulous will always be unscrupulous. The advertising and social media influence the wins, it will always be that way. The sport relies on the honesty of the judges that are judging the dogs. The problem lies in that when this type of questionable situation occurs, the judge actually in the ring judging dogs gets their reputation damaged also because people wonder if they were “in on it”. Then if someone does speak up, you are called a trouble maker and your rep gets damaged. So you are told to shut up and just deal with it, don’t show to that judge again. Some of us cannot afford a $5,000 plus advertising budget. We cannot drive cross country each week. We can afford to get to the shows, generally the local ones, a few times a month and that already puts us behind. Some can only attend two days of a five day cluster because we have a job outside the dog show world. So all that we can rely on is the judges judging with integrity and honesty. Do not rely on what you saw in the group the night before. You do not know who was in the ring that day. Judge what is in your ring. I was once told that I needed to advertise my dog in order to get that last BIS to break the record. My reply was that I would advertise after he broke the record, if he ever did, because I didn’t want sny judge influenced by advertising. He got that BIS and broke the record and the sweetest words I heard the judge say was that they did not know there was a record to be broken. The fact is that the future of the sport is in the hands of the judges. Do not think us less known people in the dog show world do not see and hear stuff. And the more it occurs, the more people lost to this sport. It is late February now, I have yet to go to or enter a show this year and who knows when I will.