“It is very fortunate if one is able to be a judge of dogs, it is even more fortunate if one is able to judge internationally. Judging in one’s own back yard has its own challenges, judging the same dogs week after week, judging dogs that your dogs have competed against, are but two. However, the challenges of judging internationally is that you have to adapt to the needs and ways of the place that you are visiting, even before you judge the dogs. The total experience is excellent for anyone, but it must be seen as a total experience – otherwise it will be your  only experience!”

Introduction

The travel is unique but getting there is only one of the joys of judging dogs internationally. Many judges regularly travel to dog shows throughout the world. In the “good old days” a judge would need to travel for up to six weeks by boat to go from England to Australia. Today, it is matter of 36 hours in a Jumbo. This part of the website www.robertdawson.org is to allow international judges to share their experiences of judging in different parts of the world; and to provide feedback to exhibitors and clubs about what they see and what they feel.
 

What can we contribute to the website?

Many judges have experienced the delight of finding a really great dog – they take a picture – and maybe it will end up in an album. What I would like is for judges to share these photographs with others. Some judges, including myself have travelled to the homes of many top breeders of some breeds that exist only in a limited number of countries. I personally have been to Tibetan Mastiff breeders in India; Thai Ridgebacks in Thailand, and Taiwan Dogs in Taiwan. I have been able to record many great specimens of the breeds, and I will share these with you in this website. Perhaps you can do the same.

At the same time many judges make long trips and they meet some great people. Perhaps you have stories that you would like to share with your other judges and exhibitors. To do so will greatly enhance the way we look at each other in the dog world. This can only help us in the future.

If each of you contributes just one story, one experience, I am sure that we will be able to build upon the experience and make the world of dog showing that much better.