ON CONFORMATION......

                                   The Judges Speak

I look back on my very first time in the conformation ring. It was November, 1995, at the East Coast's (if not the Nation’s) very first American Bulldog show, the AB Bonanza in Manassas, Virginia. I’d owned ABs for a couple of years, but had just acquired my "prize" American Bulldog, Boo. She was four months old, just off John D.’s farm and in my (somewhat naive) opinion, perfect! I KNEW she was going to win in that ring!!

As I proudly gaited Boo around that conformation ring, I had stars in my eyes. After all, none of the other five puppies in that ring had Boo’s cute little face or her pretty blue brindle colored patches. I bet none of those other puppies were 100% Johnson either, which I knew from the ads in Dog World was important. We were sure to go home with that blue ribbon!!

My heart was sailing as the third place, then the second place ribbons were handed to the puppies around me. The judge approached with that glorious blue ribbon in his hand. I felt the tears of pride and joy well up in my eyes as I took a deep breath to accept my angel Boo’s ribbon.

Then NO!!! The judge passed us by and gave Boo’s ribbon to that, THAT all white puppy!!! She didn't have any of Boo’s pretty color!! She didn't have Boo’s enormous undershot bite, that made her look so cute!! I left that conformation ring tripping over my hopes and dreams that had crumbled on the ground around me. I left that ring not understanding, why? I left that ring with a big lesson to learn.

The next couple of years I spent studying the conformation of this breed. I hit every single American Bulldog show on the East Coast. From Florida to New Jersey and New York to Virginia and Ohio, I watched and studied the judge’s choices. What were the common factors of the dogs who won? Maybe more importantly, what were they for the dogs who didn't even place?

Running the conformation rings for several of the Virginia shows afforded me the ability to ask many questions of the judges....sort of an "insiders" view of the show ring. The pieces started to form a picture. I learned about structure and movement and why these things were important to the breed. In the spring of 1997 I began my formal ABA Conformation Judge Apprenticeship. I was tutored by Paul Pappalardo, Don Little, Al Joye and Pat McAteer. My education complete, I was the first ABA judge to successfully complete the ABA’s apprenticeship program and was pronounced official in the Fall of 1997.

I judged my first show last spring in Virginia, 125 dogs in 95 degree heat. Competition was fierce but as I handed out those blue ribbons my heart went out to those folks who left that ring empty-handed, not understanding why their beautiful American Bulldogs hadn’t won. I was approached by a few who, thankfully, were receptive to my advice. "Take 5-8 pounds off the dog" I advised, "get that shy gal socialized." My eyes searched the crowd for one participant on whose beautiful Johnson dog I could only find one testicle. "Both testicles CLEARLY descended" states our breed standard. Disqualified!! I wanted to explain!

From that experience, I made the decision to conduct this interview. Here are your ABA conformation judges to tell you, very simply, Why?

1. What is the first thing you look for as the dogs enter the ring and how important is that first impression?
 
 

Don Little: Just an overall Bulldog. The first impression is, without a doubt, is a very important aspect of it. Your looking for that complete bulldog, that gives the impression of speed, power and agility and just looking like an absolute performance dog.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: The first thing I look for is confidence in the dog coming in the ring. Then I would say balance as far as the topline and angulation. I want to see balance in the physical structure of the dog. Most importantly I’m looking at the dog and seeing if he’s confident coming in, and not being shy. The first impression plays a toll and gives me something to look at, but it’s not the telltale factor by any means.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: I think the first impressions are very important. Often as they enter the ring, one or two dogs or bitches stand out and set the criteria upon which the rest of the competitors are judged. The first thing I note is "type"--does it look like an American Bulldog. Basic good structure is common to all breeds. We manipulate that structure to fit our standard and "type" of dog. We work and show and judge accordingly. I also note the dog’s head, topline (neck, back and tail) and temperament. A bulldog should enter proudly and exude self-confidence, it should be good with people and glad to be where the "action" is.

2. As you get your close up look at the dog, what are your top three most important STRUCTURAL criteria?
 
 

Don Little: First I look at the body, if everything’s put together....length of back, just exactly how a dog is put together. Stifles, angulation....then a good feel for the body and then I go to head and from there I go to teeth.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: I would say definitely topline, angulation, rear angulation and the tracking in the dogs rear, in other words, cowhockness, I want to make sure the dog is not cowhock.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: I give top priority to the dog’s forequarters. I look for straight, upright pasterns, thick foot pads and the proper angulation to provide a broad foundation for good muscle attachment. The second thing I look for is a strong back. A resilient back and flexible (not loose) shoulders gives the dog the ability to absorb the shock of impact over and over without breaking down. Third I look for a rear which is equal to the front in height and angulation so it can provide the drive and thrust necessary for peak performance.

3. What are your top three items, that if you see even one, automatically eliminate the dog from the competition? Again, we’re speaking on structural terms.
 
 

Don Little: Would automatically eliminate it? I’d probably say--you can’t disqualify but--eliminate it from possibly being placed would be being cowhocked.

Patrick McAteer: The only thing that would really eliminate the dog structurally would be if I notice obvious movement obstruction in the dog. Also an extreme sway back would eliminate the dog for me.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: I think a poor front is especially detrimental to a dog’s working ability, pasterns weak or knuckled over, splayed toes, steep or loose shoulder blades, shoulders set too far forward, elbows pulled tightly into the chest or elbows pointing out cause a lack of stability and endurance. Second on my list for automatic elimination is a bad rear, too narrow across the hips and straight stifle joints which cause a stilted choppy gait where the rear is used as a rudder rather than a machine to push, drive or thrust the dog forward. Twisting hocks is also a problem with the rear which can cause serious damage or strain to the working dogs tendons, ligaments or muscles. Third would be a back which is weak either because it is swayed or excessively long.

4. What might you see in a dog’s movement that could send it to the first place spot or remove it from the competition?

Don Little: As far as removing it...if it has short, cobby steps, I’ve seen a lot of bulldogs with this, they move in real short choppy steps, almost like they’re too stiff in the rear. It almost gives the appearance like there’s not enough laxity like in the tendons or something, like they’re sore or stiff. That and being cowhocked will eliminate it in my book. What’ll send it to the front would be if I see a dog, as far as movement goes, with a very fluid movement , with a phenomenally smooth gait. Especially one that has good deep angulation and big back stifles.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: It would be fluidness and depth of gait and the tracking of the dog...that the rear and the front paws are in good tracking order.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: A dog which moves with a level steady gait totally in balance will get my vote for first place. A well-balanced dog is one which moves with a minimum of effort. His or her legs move with the help of gravity toward a center line of balance beneath their bodies. Balance depends on the proportion of head to neck, depth of chest to length of legs, overall length of body to height, and a front end that matches the rear. Like a fine-tuned racing machine, a dog’s body should work as a complete unit. Any severe movement fault will remove a dog from competition, bobbing, pacing, running downhill, or side-winding, to name a few things which will disqualify a dog.
 
 

A. Do you feel that there should be a difference in movement between the Bully type and the Standard type? How should that difference show itself?
 
 

Don Little: I don’t think there should be a real difference written in the standard, I would expect a less powerful movement out of the Bully type. I wouldn’t hold them to the same standard as the Standard type, I wouldn’t expect them to be as fluid moving or move with as much grace and power, but I wouldn’t re-write the standard to allow for short cobby steps or anything like that.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: No I don’t believe that there should be. Your striving for perfection. Good movement in the stride shouldn’t have a boundary. It could be said that a Standard, lighter boned dog should have possibly better stride, but no, absolutely not, I don’t think there should be a difference.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: Although or ABA standard does not call for a difference in movement, I think the "Bully" type is considered to be a somewhat larger dog with a broader chest, it may have a tendency toward rolling action. We should be aware of this and try not to exaggerate this feature.

5. How important do you feel temperament is in the conformation ring? What will you accept and what would cause you to disqualify? How heavily do you feel temperament should be weighed in a conformation ring?
 
 

Don Little: I think temperament should be considered. I don’t think it should be a deciding factor in a conformation ring. What shouldn’t be tolerated is shy dogs. Dogs that are overly nervous....whether that’s environmental or genetic is not up for us to decide, but if you bring a dog to the ring that’s shy or overly nervous, you can see the stress in the eyes and the tail is up between the legs, up on the belly and the dog won’t settle down. These dogs are more about temperament than anything. It is a conformation ring, therefore I don’t think it should be a deciding factor, but I think there are certain things that you just can’t tolerate and a shy or overly nervous dog with just really bad nerves shouldn’t be tolerated at all.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: I think it should be the upmost. The American Bulldog being a working breed, the temperament means everything. In my opinion it’s just as important as conformation. Extremely timid dogs or an overly aggressive dog can be an immediate ejection in my eyes. If I don’t ask them to remove the dog it’s still basically a write-off for the competition.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: I think temperament is very important in the show ring for the "Working" American Bulldog. The straight ahead, "no hold’s barred" attitude is exemplified in the ideal American Bulldog. Whether working in the field or offering protection and companionship to a family, the American Bulldog must have steady nerves, a good sense of humor, and be self-confident and courageous.

Because so many people come to shows as a way of getting to know the breed, to pick future pups or breeding stock, I really hate to choose any but the best, but I will accept a loving, submissive dog, not shy, but a follower of the pack. This dog will work into a wonderful companion/watchdog and will make an excellent candidate for obedience work. I will have to disqualify a dog with weak nerves, one who seems to be on the defensive at all times for no good reason. This dog, no matter how much training or socialization, will never be entirely trustworthy and is a liability to our breed. A good bulldog is adaptable and a very physical animal, it loves to wrestle, this is very hard to do if you find everyone and everything a threat. By now you may have guessed that I consider good temperament in the American Bulldog to be as important as a strong front or a powerful rear. It is an integral part of our dog’s character.

6. How heavily do you weight masculinity and femininity in the ring? For example, you have an excellent bitch in front of you. Very well proportioned, balanced with wonderful movement, but she’s very masculine....how do you place this female? What if it were the other way around and it was a bitchy male?
 
 

Don Little: I wouldn’t hold anything against a female with a masculine appearance. We should appreciate the bitches that have big heads and heavier bone, especially those that have phenomenal muscle tone. A bitchy male, on the other hand, can’t be disqualified for it, but if all things were equal and there’s a masculine male, he would go up in front of the bitchy male.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: It’s all depends on the individual dog, you have to go with the adherence to the standard.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: I think it is much easier for a doggy female to win in the ring then a bitchy looking male. Because we have a large muscular dog, a male with more feminine traits is going to stand out against the more masculine males of either type and be penalized accordingly. A female, on the other hand is often harder to classify as masculine when she may be considered a more "bully" type.

7. What is the biggest problem you’ve been seeing in the dogs in the conformation ring lately?
 
 

Don Little: I haven’t been seeing any dry hard dogs. Most of the dogs that have been coming in that I’ve seen look like they’ve just been couch potatoes rather than a working dog. The other problem that I have too, is that whenever you have a working breed people bring them in like a kennel dog, that’s just kind of fat and there. If you’re going to bring in a working breed, a working breed ought to come in 2 ribs showing, ripped up muscles, good tight back stifles, dogs that look like they’ve been working. If you see Shepherds at a Seiger show, they’re not coming in fat and overweight. That’s been the biggest disappointment to me that I’ve seen very few dogs come in that have been ripped up and look like they’re ready to work.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: The first thing that would come to mind are dogs that are overweight, dogs with lack of muscularity.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: The biggest problem I’ve seen has less to do with the dogs themselves, and more to do with handlers in the ring. I’ve had such a hard time trying to evaluate structure and movement because the dogs have never learned to walk on a loose lead. They lunge to the front, to the side, pull back and are impossible to judge with any accuracy. I know this is not an obedience contest, but it seems as if a little more effort could be put into getting a dog ready to go on display.

8. What improvements have you been seeing?
 
 

Don Little: A lot of improvement in movement. Eight years ago there were dogs with horrible movement. Especially in the standard type a lot of people are focusing on hips...I’m not saying that good hips mean good movement but it’s definitely improved. The dogs are better dogs.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: Consistency in breeding, Consistency in the types of dog. The standard type dogs are becoming more consistent along with the Johnson type dogs. There are a lot of dogs that are caught in the middle between here and there, but I have been seeing considerably a lot more consistency. Also there has been a good increase in the knowledge of the handlers inside the ring. The more shows that are coming around, the better the handlers are becoming.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: The improvements seem to be in the dogs themselves, which are becoming very recognizable as a distinctive breed.

9. Do you feel that the conformation ring is a breed ring? In other words, do you feel that by putting a dog up in first place you are recommending it for breeding? Why or why not?
 
 

Don Little: Absolutely not. The conformation tells you how a dog is put together. It speaks nothing of temperament and it speaks nothing of lineage. People sometimes don’t want to admit it, but good dogs are not where you find them, good dogs are where they’re bred. And temperament always has to come first.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: I’d say absolutely not. I think that dogs need to be health tested and there has to be some kind of working test for the dogs. They have to prove themselves to be breed worthy and the conformation ring isn’t the only place, I believe, that should be done. Further health tests, Penn Hip, OFA, elbows, heart cerfs, eye cerfs a lot of things should be done before a dog should be bred. I mean just because a dog is pretty that doesn’t mean it has the heart of a champion.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: Yes, I feel the conformation ring is definitely used by many people to test and promote the dogs they are going to breed. We must always realize that our shows attract a lot of new comers to the breed who will choose a particular stud dog or brood bitch to get a puppy from based on our conclusions. Therefore, we as judges have an obligation to our breed to make knowledgeable decisions, to choose objectively and with as little prejudice as possible.

10. At any German style German Shepherd show, each dog is rated and placed accordingly. As the placements are being assigned, the judge critiques the dog, pointing out each dog’s strengths and weaknesses and giving his reason for the placement. Do you think this is a good idea for the American Bulldog as it educates folks on how the breed standard applies to the dog? Do you think AB judges should incorporate something similar? Do you think it’s worth the time it would consume?
 
 

Don Little: I definitely think it’s something that’s worthwhile looking into. I don’t know if the American Bulldog has advanced enough to be there quite yet, but as the American Bulldog goes forward I think it should start off like at a specialty show, where you would take and, not just conformation, but also temperament. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be like the BST or the WST where you’re actually working the dog and your scoring them on the training. In other words the dog may score poorly in obedience and hat may not be the dogs fault, it could be a handler error. If you were to temperament test you could score the dog in the conformation ring and make a recommendation as far as what that dog would enhance and what that dog should be bred to and you could also make mention of his temperament just through a moderate temperament test that would basically just speak about nerve and drives, whether the dog was basically a prey dog or a defensive dog and whether not he appeared to be a nervous dog and whether or not he appeared to have good solid nerves.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: Yes, absolutely, I think that’s a fantastic idea. It gives the people a point blank, hit in the face exactly what is right and what is wrong with their dog. There’s no scurrying around after the competition, with the judge trying to remember what exactly happened in the competition that put this particular dog in the first place, second place or third place positions, I think it’s a great idea.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: It is a good idea, however, I do think it would consume too much time. I think it would be a better idea to develop a form for judging with assigned points for all the different parts of the dog. Then after the judging, anyone who has any questions about the judging or their dog’s placement could approach the judge and get answers without causing undo confusion. It is very hard for a judge to remember every dog which didn't place. If a person has decided to show and work their dogs they should educate themselves first about canine structure, movement and temperament before they ever bring their dogs to the ring. It is not up to the judge to provide that education. Once a person has a basic understanding of good structure, they should be able to apply it to the breed standard. (Sheila recommends the following books: The Dog in Action by McDowell Lyon and The New Dogsteps by Rachel Page Elliott, who also has a video on this subject). Another idea might be to hold separate owner/handler/breeder seminars where people who are interested could ask questions concerning structure and temperament and how it applies to our breed and it’s standard.

11. What items in the breed standard to you feel are critical to the working ability of the breed and why?
 
 

Don Little: I think as far as the working ability, the overall body because you have to have a dog that’s going to generate power. Movement is phenomenally important for any dog that’s going to claim to be a working dog and also in the head, just from the dogs that I’ve seen, dogs that have in muzzle length and the way that the muzzle is put together, you can tell dogs that have soft pallets. In how the head is put together and how the muzzle is formed. I think that if you’re judging a Standard type dog and he has a muzzle that doesn’t coincide with a working dog, and that’s not necessarily in length, just in the way that it’s built. There are a lot of dogs out there that are parrot jaw mouthed. Their muzzles are long enough, they are 3 inches, so they’re long enough to be in the Standard class, but they’re parrot jawed. I think that’s important when you’re talking about a working dog.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: The standard gives the physical traits that the working dog needs to be functional as far as angulation, topline and the working muzzle. I mean it basically lays out what a good working American Bulldog should look like.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: Sound temperament, a firm resilient front, a flexible strong back and a powerful rear, equal to the front in height and angulation to provide proper balance.

12. What do you think handlers should do to increase their dog’s chances of placing at a show?
 
 

Don Little: Most important thing, have the dog looking sharp when he comes in, have him looking like a working dog. And then just have the dog comfortable enough on lead. It doesn’t have to be stacked like an AKC dog, just comfortable enough on lead where he’ll sit still and judge can get a good look at him. Walking on lead and get him used to trotting on lead so a judge can see his gait without the dog flipping around.
 
 

Patrick McAteer: Kiss the judges ass (Laughs), no I’m kidding. Conditioning....definitely conditioning the dog to make sure the muscularity is there along with the overall weight. The dog has to be in the right weight bracket for it’s size. There are people coming in the ring with dogs that they want to be over 100 pounds that honestly could be 87 to 90 pounds and would look much better at that weight. But a lot of people wish to have a larger dog and it really doesn’t help them in the ring.
 
 

Sheila Couturier: First they need to study the breed, the organizations involved with the breed, and the different breeders. They should read a few books on the dynamics of canine gait, study the breed standard and attend a few shows to apply the knowledge they’ve gained. At this time they should feel relatively confident to approach the breeder of their choice to inquire about purchasing a puppy, young adult, or adult dog depending on their preference. Of course, the best bet is a dog who has matured so you know what you are getting, but they are also harder to find then puppies.

As you can see from these interviews, although not every judge looks for exactly the same things in the conformation ring, there are several criteria that these judges agree must be correct for your American Bulldog to go home with a ribbon. Temperament, movement and muscularity are all critical to the stability and working ability of the breed. Socialization is key to a dog’s success in the show ring as well. Many dog training facilities conduct breed handling classes. Attend them to learn how to stack (stand) your dog and what gait shows your dog’s movement at it’s best. Read books on showing dogs and ask questions of the judges (but NEVER in the show ring itself). Educate yourself and your dog’s chances of winning will be vastly improved. But most of all, HAVE FUN!!!!! American Bulldog shows are a great place to meet terrific people who share your passion for this breed. Maybe your dog doesn’t have what it takes to be a champion in the conformation ring, SO WHAT? There are lots of other things you can do at shows to have fun with your dogs. Agility, catch dog work, protection work and weight pulling are just a few ways you can prove that your dog has the stuff that great American Bulldogs are made of !

I’d like to thank Don, Patrick and Sheila for taking time out of their busy schedules to assist me, whether by phone or post, with these interviews. You are truly knowledgeable and dedicated American Bulldoggers!

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