In the Ring with Ms. Manners

There are rules of etiquette for every conceivable situation. One area where manners are sometimes overlooked, however, is the show ring. Ms. Manners would like to explore some situations, which can endear you to your fellow competitors, or put your name right at the top of their 'hit list'. Should Ms. Manners leave out your biggest gripe, please feel free to write her in care of this publication; perhaps she will then write a sequel!

Stifle yourself! We are not referring to your dog's knees, but to your mouth. Many competitors seem to believe that the individual examination is an opportunity to inform the judge that this win would finish this dog, that this dog is the son or daughter of BIS-winning Ch. Umpty-Ump, or any other tidbit of information that might influence the decision in their favor. This is not only extremely tacky, but is downright unethical! The individual examination is an opportunity for the judge to go over your dog . . . period! Restrict your comments to "Good morning/after-noon", unless the judge asks a specific question that requires an answer. In the ring or at ringside is also a very poor place to let the world in general, and your competitors in particular, know that the judge is an old buddy, shirttail relative, owner of a dog related to yours, or any type of "significant other". Remarks such as, "Gee, you look pretty good after our late party last night" is going to earn you zero brownie points. Should you choose to enter under a judge who falls in this category and make the relationship obvious, and should the judge then decide in favor of your entry, that decision will appear to be biased no matter how good your dog is! If in doubt, pretend the judge is a total stranger and you're totally mute.

We're all in this together! Now that you've kept quiet during the individual examination, it's time to show your dog with the group. When you take them around together, the animal ;n front of you is moving at a snail's pace. Your dog likes to go in front on a 6-foot lead and move right out; if you keep pulling him back he breaks gait and looks awful-What now? The most acceptable solution when it's possible is to make a larger circle than the exhibitor in front of you. With more ground to cover, your dog can move longer without being pulled in. If the judge is watching the dogs over one particular stretch, pull your dog back well before reaching that area, opening the gap, then let the dog move out over that area to "catch up". Letting your dog cover the dog in front of you is a no-no.

Conversely, if you constantly seem to be getting "run over", perhaps you should re-evaluate your dog's movement and/or training. Although a Corgi shouldn't have to be evaluated at a "flying trot", the animal who reluctantly drags himself around the ring certainly doesn't appear capable of doing a decent day's work of herding. If you're the plodder, encouraging the dog to move ahead of you instead of in a heel position will ensure that a "fast" dog behind will cover only you and not your exhibit. Making your circle smaller than the ring ropes will give extra room for the dog behind to take the evasive action discussed above.

Ear, Ears! Baiting your dog is practically a "necessity" in the Corgi ring, but how do you do it? Most people bait with food, and unless you're a "thrower" who doesn't pick up what he tosses, thereby causing all the dogs who pass that area to start "tracking", you're in good shape. Some folks use a noise-producing object, however, and here lies the possible problem. On an individual exam, you're home free ... stand on your head and sing opera if that's what it takes to get those ears up! In the line with the group, however, consideration is called for. Unless you're first in line, producing a noise will frequently (always, in the puppy classes!) cause the dog in front of you to turn around, inside-out, upside-down, or at best, will make him turn his head to check things out. For some strange reason, this can really upset the handler who had that dog set up and looking great! If yours is a "win at any cost" attitude, this is a great way to distract the competition while you maintain an innocent, "Who, me?" expression.

Squeeze Play! Occasionally you find a judge who rearranges the order of the exhibits while they're standing. If this is the case, you might find yourself being told to "go to third place" and upon arriving there, have to stack up your dog in the 14 inches left between dogs. It's perfectly acceptable to ask up or down the line for more room to show your dog (be nice!), but if the judge is back looking at the first dog, that handler isn't going to be anxious to move and restack that animal at that moment. In this case, you can always stack your dog at an angle, facing that 14 inches (make sure the front looks good!), and wait for a more opportune time to appropriate more working space. Usually the judge will ask that the dogs be moved further apart so he can continue to evaluate them properly ... judges have invariably been on the end of the lead, so they're not insensitive to your plight! Impatiently moving in front and covering other dogs isn't considered to be a nice thing to do!

We Won! You just got the nod, and you're supposed to be pleased, but is it really necessary to scream and grab at your dog, startling him and every other animal within three rings? It's a good way to make the judge wonder if this was a mistake, since you've obviously never won anything before! Retaining your composure, limiting any remarks to the not-yet-finished judge to "Thank you" and not distracting those people and dogs still in competition is a very nice way to "win with humility".

We Lost! If you're going to win with humility, it's also necessary to learn to lose with grace. Stalking out of the ring muttering under your breath is not particularly graceful, nor is snatching the 4th place ribbon from the judge's hand. Those who have been in this game for 10 years or so have not only lost many they shouldn't have lost, but in all honesty will have to admit that they've won some they shouldn't have won. Since I've never heard of anyone saying, "Thank you, but that Reserve dog really deserves these points so please credit his account" I have to assume that things tend to even out! And, even if you've "been robbed", the winner is delighted and you have no right to dampen his enthusiasm.

Congrats! Should you wish to congratulate the winners, by all means do so. However, when points are awarded, other class winners remain in the ring for Reserve and cannot be expected to stop showing their dogs to rush over to say nice things. When the Breed is awarded the judge is usually trying to get armband numbers and make awards ... this, too, can be an inconvenient time. If it's not convenient and "natural" to do so in the ring, save the congratulations till outside the ring. No one expects you to lie if you absolutely detest the animal and think it should live a long life as someone's pet and never see the show ring, but is it compromising your high morals to say something like, "Congratulations, you must really be excited to get such a nice win!"? There is no excuse, ever, for a nasty remark veiled in congratulations such as, "I know you're excited to finally get some points; after all, you've been dragging that dog to every show within 1,000 miles for three years now!" Remember what your mother always told you, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Better to be thought a bad sport than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!

Picture-Taking Time. NOW, and not until now, do you have the opportunity to say something to the judge (yes, I know you have to have won to reach this point - if you lost, continue the stifle yourself routine!). If you want to say something about what the dog's done or who she is, go ahead ... but keep it within reason. If you won the Breed and this judge is doing the Group, overkill is very easy! The big no-no here is when you won the points, and tell the judge sweetly, "Of course, she went on to the Breed over the Special you just put up every other day of this circuit." This not only insults the judge, but really endears you to the owner of the Breed winner standing a few feet away, who happens to think that THIS day was the only one with decent judging!

At Ringside. Ms. Manners has a Law that goes something like this, "Anytime you make an unfavorable comment about a dog while standing among strangers, the owner or breeder of that dog will be right next to you". People paid their money to get the opinion of the JUDGE; any private comments should be kept private and not broadcast for all to hear.

Now that you've all identified yourselves and are feeling somewhat shame-faced, Ms. Manners will confess that she writes under a pseudonym because, she, too, has been guilty of some of the above-mentioned sins! We all want to win, and sometimes we get engrossed in what we're doing and are not as thoughtful as we might be. There's a big difference between this, however, and being obnoxious and unethical. Where do you draw the line ... and how do your fellow exhibitors see you.