I'm new to showing and very over exciteable at shows.  I'm in a breed with very small numbers so used to going away with a 3rd place rosette out of 3 or 2nd out of 3 if my girls litter sister is there.

I love talking to people in the breed and finding out about what makes a good dog and then I try and see if I can guess the placings of other dogs (always wrong). 

I love the fact you are paying for someones opinion and on different days dogs will have different moods, coats, might move differently and judges have different preferences.

The only time i have been upset was when my girl won Best Puppy in Breed and I was soooo happy.  She'd never beaten anything other than her litter sister before and i waited with excitement for a real critique about her.  What i got was - best of a bad bunch.  very poorly schooled and naughty in the ring - needs training.  The critique for her sister who came 2nd was - liked the head, nothing else.

I took down my most prized rosette when I read it as it now means nothing to me :(
What annoyed me the most was that he had lovely things to say about the dog puppy who I beat in the challenge for BP.

Oh well won't show under him again but to be honest I enjoy cheering my friends dogs on the most and getting excited for others when they win :)

Gosh, that was a mean critique! I've had a few, mostly in the beginning thank goodness, that have said either me or the dog needs to go to ringcraft, but they've not been that rude, and they've said nice things about the dog as well!!!

And they wonder why people are giving up !!! Honestly that is dreadful. :-(
The judge must have had an idea you were a novice, I'm all for constructive critisism (I don't like critiques where every dog is made to sound like a CC winner) but that was just plain nasty! There must have been something he liked to have given her the award, so why not write something a bit more useful!
If the judge felt that strongly about the lack of ring training it could have been mentioned gently in the ring, offering advice, not as a throw away comment in the critique. You say your breed has very small numbers, I sincerely hope the judge was not a breed specialist - with an attitude like that numbers will not get any bigger :-(

(Sorry to rant on a bit but crass comments like that to newcomers make me seethe!!)

My latest youngster hasn't been able to have much formal ring training due to a combination of me being ill and 'winter'  - he fooled about at his first show and did everything but turn cartwheels LOL! He'll settle down eventually I'm sure but I equally don't like seeing puppies - especially minor puppies - standing like statues and moving like robots. I always think they have extra 'fizz' when their personality is allowed to show too. Plenty of time for them to settle into the process.

CONGRATULATIONS on your Best Puppy award :-)
Please don't feel that it now means nothing, whatever the judge wrote, he felt she was deserving of the award over other dogs including one he thought was nice, it wasn't a default win after all. Put those comments out of your mind and be proud of what you achieved with her - remember how you felt when you got the rosette instead. ;-)
I'm sure you'll have many more rosettes to come with her, very best of luck!

Sounds like the Judge was critiquing his/her self.

When it came out several of my friends in the breed said "Sometimes a Critique says more about the judge than the dog their talking about".  I jsut bear that in mind.  He was very rude about several dogs oh well he was right she didn't behave at her best - i prefer to think of it as high spirited as you'd expect form a young gundog with too much energy but I'd rather that than schooled into boredom.

I'm considering entering under him again so that she can show him her full range of skills - walking on 2 legs, jumping up and hanging from the lead, sniffing the ground running sideways and maybe even the backflip if we can manage it in time! lol

We didn't give up but I was a bit upset as I'd never had a critique on her before and was keen to learn constructively what her positives were and what we'd need to work on both in schooling and in breeding in the future

>Don't show now but still go to show either as a steward or to watch

and to judge, LOL :)

At our very first show which happened to be a club show the chairman was effusive in his welcomes and what a nice dog etc, etc. We came second in our class and were delighted. We met the same man and his wife at a show a couple of months later and their dog and ours were the only two entered. Before we went in they were as nice as you like - then our dog took first! Well she chucked away her 2nd card and stormed out the ring voicing her opinion loudly that her dog should never have lost to 'that thing'.

At that point I made up my mind that I would NEVER voice my opinion about anyone else's dog in the class and would always congratulate anyone who was placed whether I thought my dog was better or not (and let's face it my opinion is not the judges opinion - and if we all liked the same things we would all marry the same man as my mother says :-D). When I'm at the ringside I applaud all the class placings, not just first. Everyone deserves a thank you for taking part in the class IMHO. 

If I ever get to the stage where I'm losing the rag over dog show placings then we will just give up showing - why be miserable over something that you are supposed to enjoy?

> If I ever get to the stage where I'm losing the rag over dog show placings then we will just give up showing - why be miserable over something that you are supposed to enjoy?

Applaud this and exactly what I say.... the day it is ONLY about the winning and nothing else will do then its time to stop...

I don't want to be one of those that has an excuse reason why my dog didn't place... I respect the judges decision on the day (sometimes I don't agree lol and my not bother next time with that judge) but most judges get one chance :)

Lol Dakkobear, good philosophy, and one I try to follow too. If only because if I do voice an opinion on a dog, I invariably find I'm chatting to the handler's husband or best friend!!! :-D

ohh your post just made me giggle:) im new to showing my boy is 4 mths, been attending ringcraft and doing what can.
but reading some posts just scares me !!

These horror stories really do put things into perspective, winning is everything to some people.
I'm quite new to showing, I love it (though I miss my weekend lie-ins dreadfully) and along with meeting a bunch of lovely people and learning the skill of how to groom I have also experienced how competitive it can be. Admittedly there have been times when I have come out of the ring feeling disappointed, with others coming up to me saying we should have been placed higher, but I totally understand that I paid for the judge's opinion and he/she has given it. I therefore make it a point not to slag the other dog off, I don't think it's fair and I always make it a case to congratulate them! We're happy for any placing, but most of all I love showing my little man off, seeing him strut his stuff!