A Westminster Dog Show Judge Tells Us What They’re Looking For

NEW YORK — On day one of the Westminster Dog Show, the Westminster Kennel Club hosted a Judging Insider program, where longtime judge Michael Faulkner helpfully pulled back the curtain on what actually goes into judging dogs and bitches (a strict technical term in the dog show world, and one which is used with a regularity that is startling if you're not used to it). How do you decide which of 33 seemingly identical Pomeranians is the best Pomeranian?

Faulkner emphasized that the dogs in the Best in Group or Best in Show categories, which feature multiple breeds, are not judged against each other, but are judged on which dog comes closest to its individual breed standard on that day. Barring disqualification for flaws such as signs of aggression or incorrect size or coloring, judging should always be on the positives of the dog, rather than the negatives. 

In order for a breeder to become a judge, the American Kennel Club requires 12 years experience in the sport at all levels, and at least four champions bred across five litters. As Faulkner, who breeds Golden Retrievers, riffed, "it takes longer to become a dog judge than a brain surgeon." But for all of the education and the standards and the rigamarole, the supposed quality of a dog is undoubtedly subjective. Faulkner’s descriptions of dog standards conveyed the, idiomatic importance of, say, an Australian Cattle Dog’s head and jaw shape for surviving the potential consequences of "get[ting] kicked by a cow." He offered rapturous remembrances of the dogs that spoke to him in the ring, like a German Shepherd that "gave me goosebumps; when she went around the ring, I felt every muscle in her heart pound." It's an art and a science.