...all the rubbish judges seem to come around every other year and all the good ones hardly ever seem to judge?

I think it's called  "Sods Law".
Karen.

Hear hear, my boy's first year of showing was fantastic, then last year was crap, we only got 2 decent results all year at Champ shows, and so far this year is pretty good again!

Snap last year we only had two firsts one with a RCC granted but generally I wondered why I was bothering.  This year only done half a dozen shows a RCC and a CC.  Unforuntely all off lasts year lot are coming again next year so guess who is having puppies again :)

How comes any time I decide to enter a Champ show either (1) dogs start blowing coats or (2) bitches come into season ???

Margot

Know what you mean TTS. We have 1 very rude old fart who gave CC's in our breed for 5 years running, has a year off from us and is now I see down for doing them next year. If he was judging in my back garden I still wouldn't give him an entry !

Margaret

Hey use dont be moaning, i thought it was a lovely day out and a bonus if use got placed.  He he

Warm regards Susan

But you do like to think that you are going with at least a chance. We have no CC still after 20 years

Lynn

Yeah thats what we are led to believe Susan me I go to win I think if somebody says they dont mind losing they might be telling porkies !!! ;)

Or at least to be placed!!! Actually with my new puppy who isn't brilliant (yet!) I am reasonably satisfied if the judge gives her a proper look - one judge didnt even let us finish moving before she was on to the next dog!

We got to get a knowledgeable opinion and if our dogs are of equal merit to their competiiton we hope that we will win.  We would expect to win over dogs that are obviously inferior to our own, and expect to be beaten by those obviously better than ours.

It is when the opinion is not worth having, or the judge is rude, or rough on the dogs, or obviously treats us and our dogs with disdain or has lost the plot completely if ever they were a decent judge, that is when I would be unhappy.

Thankfully this odesn't happen very often.  I am saddened though when good breed specialist judges who have taken years to get to that level only get to judge once every five years (and not being all rounders that is all the judging they wil do). 

You get the same allrounders turning up every year or two, even if they are good judges.  This is no good in a bred like ours where the turnover in exhibits is slow, and dogs are shown well into veteran and still capable of CCs at 12 years old.

My Champion bitch is now 5 1/2 and a;ready I am having to avoid judges who have given her a CC in the past, and have gone under several judges with her twice, and I only do around half the 18 CC shows for my breed.

Just to add to the Sod's Law theme, I've just got back from stewarding at Chesham show. I had thought of entering my 2 Cavs, but by the time I'd dithered about it I'd lost the schedule. When I turned up, there were no puppy entries, 2 in Junior, 2 in Graduate and none in Open. So I would have got BPIB, 1st in Open, and had a good chance at BOB. OK it would have been BP out of the only one there, but still! Just my luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :-)

Ditto, Brainless, except in our case yes we have specialists who only seem to judge every 4 or 5 years, but we have other specialists who get appointments evey 14 months! I would rather have an all rounder who we havent seen judge for 3 years than the same specialists year in and year out.

I am afraid I am a lover of all rounders.  My dogs always do well under them I can only think of two occassions when I have not done well.  The ones that hack me off which keep coming up is a batch of breed specialists who seem to constantly have a love triangle where they take it in turns to love each others dogs and it feels like they turn up every year to 18 months.  It wouldnt be so bad but it prevents me going to the show which is mega annoying especially if it is a show I like.

I've got the problem that although the allrounders are less likely to be 'facey' than the specialists, my boy is so very typy that he's almost too much for the allrounders. So I have to look for fair specialists. My new girl on the other hand is a bit plain headed, so I will have to look for allrounders for her, as they will be less obsessed with heads and more interested in general body and movement than the specialists are in my breed.

That is why I gave up showing my Dally.  He did great under allrounders, then we came to a year where the majority of the judges were in the 'triangle' (know exactly what you mean) and thought it wasn't worth the petrol and entry money as much as we enjoyed showing him.