we are campaigning for the current #1 dog in manila. last saturday, the judge from australia picked the wrong winner from the pomeranian class. the following day, sunday, we went back to the show bec our dog was competing for best in show in the other ring. after the show, the australian judge approached us and apologized. He said he made a terrible mistake and that our dog should have won. monday night, there was a seminar in judging and he was the guest speaker, he said he was very particular about the legs. my god! the dog he chose was cowhocked, and its front 2 legs were swimming east and west! to add insult to injury, 9 of the top 10 dog contenders did not place even as RUBOB!

in your country, what do u do when a judge admits his mistake?

It would be a fool kind of judge to admit it, maybe they were just trying to be kind by saying so?

The judges decison is final, so unless you can prove corruption then their opinion and interpretation of the faults and virtues of one dog against the standard compared to anothr is his decison.

In the UK judges do not make mistakes, they make choices. They may make the wrong choice but that is a different matter. Can't see how a judge could make such an error, they may have reconsidered afterwards and wondered it they should have moved the last couple of dogs once more to be sure. To say they have made a mistake seems very odd, may be having some sort of breakdown.

In the UK you hope the judge will place the dogs as they see on that day and that they have enough knowledge of your breed to be able to give your exhibit it's due. If the judge does not like your dog or puts up another dog you don't like then that's life and in most cases you walk away and consider if you will show under that judge again. Not because of the way they placed the dogs but because they did not like yours. Mind you if you came second on another day you may well change places so no problems.

i dont think the judge was just being kind. in fact, he pointed out the faults of the dog he chose after seeing him again in the best in show competiton his ring. he said he was overwhelmed by the quality of the poms here. ugh! and a good judge will never choose a pom with bad legs.

Well you were there and we were not. Thing is a judge could always point out the faults in the dog they put up, it is just that in their view it had more good points then those they did not place. As Brainless said the judge must be very odd if they told you they made a mistake, no one in their right mind would say that even if they thought it, which I would doubt. You may see a dog differently on a different day, but not that different.

Judges don't make mistakes in the eyes of the winner!
It is a case of opinions and on the day the judge obviously thought the dog that won was the best....
At times we all think that the judge has not chosen what we would have but then we are not in the ring are we!.I often stand at the ringside and pick out my 1,2,3...sometimes its right ,sometimes its not..but a already said the judges decision is final.
If the judge had said to me that he had made a mistake I wouldn't be showing under him again...to gossip about another dogs faults to another owner is unproffessional!
Archer

Better remember that Archer ;)

" The judge picked the wrong winner ..............."

Bet the winner didn't think so !!!

Sorry Wunderkind but that's showing - you've paid for that judges decision and that's what you got - if you don't agree with it then don't show under them again. In your eyes the winning dog did not deserve the top place but the judge on the day thought differently. We all have a tendancy to see our own dogs as 'the best' but sometimes we just have to accept that the judge may not agree !!.

Yvonne

It seems to me that the judge only decided he "picked the wrong winner" once he learned another dog was winning more than the one he picked! :(  I would never again enter under him - he seems to be a typical "faces" judge, but in this case was in a pickle because he didnt know the faces and had to judge the dogs.

You are entitled to your own opinion and to withhold your entry under any judge you do not trust, so that is that sorted :)

Have to say I always put up my choice and it matters not one hoot to me if I have ignored the one that had been doing all the winning, I just do what I see fit no matter who is handling. May be this judge was the same and judging the dogs and not the faces, else he would have made sure he studded the form and got the same result as everyone else. But why on earth he felt the need to apologise I can't imagine and I would not be showing under him for that reason and not because he did not like my dog because they is up to him, and if we knew the result before the show there would be know point in showing.

Exactly, Jackie - what decent judge would apologise for picking the dog he liked best on the day? He either thought his winning dog was best or thought he was picking the top winner without particularly liking the dog. Me being cynical, I would now wonder if he also went round all the other exhibitors with the same apology just to make sure they enter next time?
As for the losers, they lost for whatever reason, and now it is up to them whether they enter under him again or not, and no amount of moaning will alter the fact that the winner will still be the winner. In situations like this, a thought should be given to the owners of the winning dog, as their big day is being ruined for them by sore losers, and after all they are only guilty of entering their dog. Leave it for them to enjoy.