Some Differences in Dalmatian Shows in the UK, Europe & USA
By Chris Pickup, Roadcoach Dalmatians, UK
I read Aase’s Jakobsennulls article in last month’s E Dalmatians with interest. I too have attended and enjoyed several DCA
Specialties and all breed shows in the USA. The first Speciality being in Fort Collins, Co in the 1980’s. Unlike Aase, I have
not been lucky enough to live in the USA although I do visit frequently. Like her I am also a DCA member and I also
judge the breed in the UK, USA and in Europe.
The breed standards are, as one would expect, similar. We are after all describing the same breed! For example, in both
standards the descriptions require a strong muscular dog with a symmetrical outline. The AKC standard provides much
greater detail in describing each aspect of the dog. There are clear descriptions of a Dalmatians’ overall
appearance and particular attention is paid to height. In both standards the maximum height is 24 inches at the with-
ers. In the AKC standard, if an exhibit exceeds this height the dog will be disqualified. Height is not a disqualification in
the UK and we do not use the wicket. Generally speaking judges using the UK standard will look for overall balance, so
you can expect to see slightly larger Dalmatians in the UK. This can be true in some European countries although size
varies from country to country. There are more distinctions between the different breed standards between countries
for example; Danish Dalmatians’ will be exhibited with dew claws on as it is illegal to remove them.
The reason I wanted to write this short piece was to make a couple of other observations. I, too am always delighted
to see large numbers of Dalmatians in the ring! We have average entries at Championship Shows in the UK of between
80 and 180 . Crufts in usually the largest at around 200-220. Our class sizes here are therefore larger and we have to
judge fairly rapidly at all breed shows to make the group judging. We also have to provide a written critique, which is
published in the national weekly dog newspapers over here. We must critique the first two dogs in each class and most
judges make some notes, or dictate notes and many (myself included) now take photographs as an aide memoire. If we
do not have a critique published, then we are fined by the Kennel Club. Of course the quality of the critique depends
on what the judge has assessed.
The vast majority of judges do a very good job of explaining why they have placed certain dogs and are usually careful
to avoid making any comments which are detrimental to a dog’s career. In fact they will often provide a general note
at the beginning of their critique making general observations and judgements about the whole entry e.g. poor coats or
badly trimmed nails or whatever.
Here’s an example printed about an exhibit placed first in a junior class (6-18months):
“Very good black, lovely head, good eye colour, clean front, strong bone, good feet, well developed body, strong
quarters, quality spotted coat, moved out well’.
Sometimes when a judge finds the quality so good that there is little difference between the first and second place the
remarks will point to other reasons why the dog has not been placed first, for example, “Just did not settle as
confidently as 1’ ( i.e. would not stand still for long enough) or”Unlucky to meet the 1 “- the exhibitor who was placed
first!
As Aase says in Europe, each dog is judged against the standard and each dog must have a critique from the judge which
is typed up after the initial examination and then the dog is awarded a grade. This critique is then given to the
exhibitor, who may ask the judge questions after the show. You can imagine that sometimes the translation can be
difficult to make into another language. A friend told me that she had said “old fashioned spotting” which had to be
explained.
The thought of writing individual critiques for a class of 64 – is interesting! After judging each exhibit, then certain
grades such as excellent make their way back in for the class places and this continues on to Best of Breed.
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