Hi there,

Apologies if this  has been asked umpteen times before, but I'm trying to get to grips with this whole critique lark!! From reading previous threads I understand there are some differences between the papers Dog World and Our Dogs. I've subscribed to Our Dogs and on looking through my first copy which arrived yesterday there were reports and critiques from e.g. Manchester which was a few months back now if memory serves..?

Please can anyone tell me how the critique printing system works! Obviously at the all-breed champ shows there are a lot of dogs to print critiques about - so do they appear in stages over a number of weeks?

I also wondered if critiques from open shows ever get printed? We won our puppy class and BPIB at an open show recently and I'd be really interested to read the judges comments. If they don't  make it into the dog press is there any other way of getting hold of them, e.g. via the club that hosted the show?

And finally (sorry for all these Q's on a friday morning..!) do all critiques appear in both papers? I've noticed that some people subscribe to both DW and OD so that made me wonder whether what appears in one may not necessarily feature in the other..??

Thanks in advance for your help!

Vin x

Hi Vinnie, it is part of a judges contract, to agree to write and provide a critique to both Our Dogs and Dog World. In fact there are addressed envelopes included in the judges pack on show day, so everything possible is done, to encourage a judge to do a critique. However some don't do them. From an exhibitors point of view, it is very disappointing, because we all look forward to seeing the judges opinion, and hope it is favourable.

The dog press print as many critiques as they have, and due to judges sending them in at variable intervals, sometimes the show is reported on in stages. It is up to us exhibitors to scour the papers week by week to be sure of finding our long awaited write up.

Some say that their critiques appear in only one or other of the papers, so all in all, it's a pretty hit and miss affair.

Dawn R.

Judging recently I did not get an envelope for Dog World only Our dogs provided an envelope.

Having said that I always write critique, but have found over the years that open show critiques don't always get printed despite what the papers claim! I now send in mine by email, post and fax just to make sure they get it one way or another. so far the only paper to not print a critique I have sent is Dog World, but I am sure you will find other people here saying the same about Our Dogs.

Judges have an amount of time to send in the critiques, I think it's around a month. Then the paper will do their best to get it printed as soon as. I have had critiques printed months after the actual show. Unfortunately critiques sometimes do not turn up in the paper. You can then contact the show secretarys to check if they have a copy. Also you can check with the papers to see if they have received them.
You can then contact the Judges, show awards, office at the Kennel Club. You have to write to them with the details and they will investigate. I have done this recently and sent the letter over a month ago. I checked back with the KC last week and although they have received my letter. Letters have not gone out to the judges yet. Think it's a case of the workforce not being big enough to deal with the demand. I have now sent letters to the judges via the Show Secretary of the show I attended who has kindly addressed them to the judges to forward on.
In regards of what paper, judges only have to send to one. So it's hit and miss again. You might get one paper printing your critiques or both can print them.

It seems that DW (I dont get OD so cant comment) can be v slow to print critiques, especially for open shows. It seems to be a case of the same week or weeks later. Luckily I have always had mine printed, but the delay can feel embarrasing - I always send them in within a week at the latest of the show. Some judges do only send to one of the papers for their own reasons.
Having said all that I do wonder what value they actually are - apart from filling up pages in the dog press.

Having said all that I do wonder what value they actually are - apart from filling up pages in the dog press.

I know what you mean babz.  I've often been told my critiques aren't good because they point out some bad things about the dogs!!  I was told by the late Bobby James that the critique should describe the dog in front of you and that's what I try to do - paint a picture of the dog (good or bad) and explain why you put one in front of two etc.  What I can't stand is the "nice head moved well" type of critique or the "all the dogs were fabulous" ones (unless they actually WERE!) - it serves no purpose whatsoever and in my opinion shows the judge knows nothing about the breed they were judging.

Debs

Debs totally agree, but they are in the majority.

This post is SOOO spooky. I have just been talking to a friend of mine, trying to decide whether to order OD or DW!! Any help or advice please?

I get both because, as people have said, but OD for the critique's mainly - a critique can sometimes pop up in one paper and not the other, and quicker in one than the other.  But DW is a more interesting read overall, this week for example DW doesn't have any critiques for a particular open show but OD has it and for my breed too!  So if I didn't get OD then I may have missed it as sometimes it won't appear at all in DW!

Sorry doesn't really help you choose does it!!

Ah they often tell you more about teh judge than the dogs :D

Hiya,

Thanks for your all your comments. As I've already subscribed to DW, in the end I decided in for a penny..in for a pound and have subscribed to the online version of OD as this was cheaper than having the news paper delivered and at least if I've got access to both publications, if one of our crits makes it to press, I wont miss it! I also find it easier to click around the site in search of what I'm looking for rather than looking at page upon page of tiny weeny text! (But that's just me). :rolleyes:

Ta muchley x

I keep meaning to do that since I stopped taking both the papers.