Hi all,

I recently entered a mixed breed stakes class at open show for the first time.  The judge was a very well known Crufts judge and winner.

He whizzed through the comparatively large classes making seemingly instant decisions - we were placed so I am not complaining, but I'm curious to know if you get faster at judging with the more experience you have, does judging have to take time and are instant decisions, more often than not, good ones? 

I will add that we were moved collectively, examined, moved to and fro and finally 'round to the end' so he had all the information, but just seemed to be able to process it faster than the speed of light!!

I am not a judge and dont do showing, but is it the same as me pruning a rose????? I take 10 minutes as a proffesional at it, someone I saw the other day took 4 hours!!!!!
If you know what your looking for, you can feel/see it straight away?????
maybe I am wrong!!!!
Lea :)

I've never judged dogs BUT I have judged cats, hamsters, mice, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs. It's like everything else, you get quicker at it the more you do it, and you learn to spot the potential winners. That isn't to say you should rush through it, but there are definitely times when some exhibits catch your eye at once.

I think you're absolutely right, Lea. An inexperienced but conscientious judge will spend lots of time trying to understand what they're examining. An inexperienced but cocky judge will make flash judgements so as to appear knowledgeable. An experienced judge will make good judgements quickly.