The American Beagler Forum

Do you think there is an expectation that the 15" class will run a little rougher therefore the judges will tolerate more? I can place or sometimes win with a conservative 13" female, but I have a super nice 15" bitch that's little conservative and can't seem to make winners pack with her. She is much more complete dog that the 13" females I've had that always make winners pack and normally place.....can't figure this one out ?

Dogs are as rough as the judges let them be.

mybeagles wrote:Do you think there is an expectation that the 15" class will run a little rougher therefore the judges will tolerate more? I can place or sometimes win with a conservative 13" female, but I have a super nice 15" bitch that's little conservative and can't seem to make winners pack with her. She is much more complete dog that the 13" females I've had that always make winners pack and normally place.....can't figure this one out ?

I think its what the judges want and what certain judges allow!!! If a judge doesn't mind a rougher dog then that's what will do good that day, if a judge likes a conservative dog then that's the kind of dog that will do good that day, in my opinion if a dog is good eenough it doesn't matter what judge is out there that day as long as that dog is kicking behind and taking names. As a judge I like a dog that can score but remain as close to the AKC rules as possible, I want to see what dog out there wants to win and wants to be what I call a Ass kicker!! The dog that wants to kick your butt is the type of dog I like but it has to do it right no matter what size it is.

There are guys here in NY that seem to place a hound at every trial. When you take a closer look you realize that they are picking there judges. If they are running a conservative dog they will attend trials that are being judged by that type of judge, if a trial is being judged by a those that like a harder hitting dog they just don't go to those trials. There is nothing wrong with what they are doing. They are simply trialing a dog smarter......DH

Too many judge what they like, not what rules state.

Mapel Valley Kennels LLC. wrote:Too many judge what they like, not what rules state.

THAT'S NOT FAIR!

Most of the judges for the 13 inch glass run a 15 inch hound and most of the judges for the 15 inch class run a 13 in dog....

I have Judged both classes of dogs with the same judges and they seem to be more tolerant of rough running in the 15 inch class.

I'm not trying to make a huge deal out of this just a recent observation that seems to be playing out week after week

Mapel Valley Kennels LLC. wrote:Too many judge what they like, not what rules state.

Yes, it's nearly impossible to take the human element out of judging anything. Look at the US supreme court which is supposed to be the authority on the rule of law of the land. Normally split by political affiliation or bias for what they personally like.

I'm no field trialer, but I always heard them complaining about the numbers entered in different classes, for many many yrs. Seemed there were always more big hounds than small hounds entered in the classes. So if it's still the same, it stands to reason that a small one would finish easier than a big one.
Of course politics and human preference are elements always involved.
The important thing is your hound make you happy.
I never could get in the click at work cause I never owned a harley or rubicon. Sometimes it hard to fight the establishment...

S.R.Patch wrote:I'm no field trialer, but I always heard them complaining about the numbers entered in different classes, for many many yrs. Seemed there were always more big hounds than small hounds entered in the classes. So if it's still the same, it stands to reason that a small one would finish easier than a big one.
Of course politics and human preference are elements always involved.
The important thing is your hound make you happy.
I never could get in the click at work cause I never owned a harley or rubicon. Sometimes it hard to fight the establishment...

Cant fix Stupid.

What your problem now Jimmy?

S.R.Patch wrote:What your problem now Jimmy?

Now patch nothing towards you, just stating its so funny how clicks form. I belong to my own Lou Ka Raw Raw.

I think you are correct.. Bigger faster heavier normally equals a little further past the turns...

Yes. But I think that a lot of the rougher 15" bitches that are decent seem to fix their own mistakes and take the line out even after they tounge over a bit. I think the taking the line out is what the judges are seeing. Some judges out of self preservation try to cut the pack off and while the dogs are fresh early in the day they see the bitch take the line out that ran the pack over to begin with. My guess is if this bitch is decent and in shape and makes it out of the first series she will get seen and start to make rougher dogs look as they are later in the day as judges seem to watch closer. This seems true with the big male class as well. This is not a slam on judges and I have seen a lot of rougher dogs stay out in front of a pack and keep a rabbit up for a long time so it isn't a slam on rougher dogs either just my observation of my limited trialing experience.

I think it's really hard to judge mid west type hounds. They run hard and its hard to stay on a pack. I feel a lot of judges, judge check to check, and there is nothing wrong with that, sometimes that' all you can see. I like a dog that gobbles up checks long checks, but love a dog that carves the pack from the middle or back and that is easy to miss when your running to keep up. A dog can just get by with more fault when the judges can't keep up.