The Breed Council website and the Kennel Club websites both have information on judging Chows. There are numerous stages of training enabling a Judge to give challenge certificates. This page regards some of my thoughts on the judging process in general and for Chows more specifically.

Firstly I would recommend an individual being an exhibitor and a breeder of chows before considering becoming a Judge. Through exhibiting you will become accustomed to the ring procedure, you should also be watching how the judge assesses the other classes you are not in/ comparing your dog against the others in your class, sit watch and take in this procedure. Take note of what different judges enjoy and look for in a dog, do you agree with their opinion, do you agree with other judges? Can you honestly assess and critique your dog, finding their faults along with their attributes? From here I see breeding as an important aspect of becoming a Judge/ a step on the road to being a judge.

Can you plan a successful mating? Are the puppies better than the adult/ do they improve on the fault you know of? One year on have these puppies turned out how you expected them to? If not think what did you miss? Once you have been able to plan a successful mating and have been able to show to a reasonable level, it could be appropriate to start to think about stewarding/ judging. Stewarding will give you more knowledge and experience of the show ring in general.

My personal process of judging, I imagine being different to other judges as we all slightly different opinions when it comes to an interpretation of a breed standard. When judging this breed, I think the colour could be deceiving; we should be judging to the dog under the coat (presuming it is a recognised colour), I do this by ignoring the colours represented to be, a blue or a fawn shouldn’t be penalised or given preference over a red. Health and welfare of the dog is always of utmost importance, and the dogs you judge should stand, move and be gone over with ease. Movement should be free and easy, although at times dogs may stop/ prefer to walk in a specific direction as a judge you can move to assist this. Going over the dog I tend to keep one hand on the dog at all times, and this can reassure and relax the dog. Judging on the ramp can make this process more comfortable, but the temperament of the dog should be assessed on the floor also.

When judging think about what is best for the breed in your opinion, what moves well, with ease and comfort, is their temperament with others and people what you expect, and how do they conform to the standard in other aspects?