Revisions to the Rules, Policies and Guidelines for Conformation Dog Show Judges By Judging Operations

 The AKC Board at its July 2021 meeting approved modifications to the Rules, Polices and Guidelines for Conformation Dog Show Judges to provide greater clarity and enhance understanding of AKC’s expectations to individuals who may be approved to judge AKC conformation events. 

Inserts for all affected areas have been added to the current Rules, Policies and Guidelines for Conformation Dog Show Judges, amended to October 2019 and may be viewed on the AKC website.  A revised booklet reflecting all revisions will be posted on the AKC website as soon as complete. 

Following is an summary of the revisions approved by the Board. However, all judges are strongly encouraged to take the time to review the individual inserts to see the exact language and to ensure understanding.

• Inserted language to provide clear direction that judges should not attend private functions with exhibitors who have exhibited or may exhibit to them on the same weekend, circuit or cluster.
• Addition of language to make clear judges should not promote or denigrate dogs they have or may judge, including commenting and/or posting photos of dogs judged in social media forums.
• Addition of language concerning the requirement for breeds to be called into the ring in the order published, consistent with direction provided to all judges in a 2015 memorandum.
• Addition of language to make clear the use of a second handler may impact eligibility in special attractions such as NOHS in addition to classes such as Bred by Exhibitor and Amateur-Owner Handler classes.
• Revision of wording pertaining to the allowance of late arrivals for enhanced clarity.
• Revision of the section pertaining to “Large Entries and Small Rings” to clarify administration of exhibitor protests.
• Revision of the section pertaining to “Individual Examination of Dogs” to include the addition of reference to the new Chapter 14 Section 6A of the Rules Applying to Dog Shows which addresses conditions of class other than height, weight, color or markings.
• Revised section pertaining to “Use of Ramps”, generalizing the language by removing the list of ramp mandatory breeds and inserting the URL address of the “Table-Ramp list” on the AKC website.
• Revised guidance concerning “Double Entries” to provide greater clarity to the proper procedures associated with the managing of dogs entered in multiple classes and their eligibility to compete in subsequent classes.
• Revised the section “Marking the Judge’s Book” by reorganizing a paragraph for enhanced understanding and the addition of special attraction winners as those which the armband number of the entry awarded is to be marked in the judge’s book.
• Inserted awards for special attraction into the list of items to be double-checked before turning in judge’s book.
• Modified language in section “Excusals and Disqualifications” to reflect applicable Chapters and Sections of the Rules associated with the judge’s authority concerning disqualifying or excusing entries.
• Modified language for clarity in section “Verbal Protests” and inserts reference to new Chapter 14 Section 6A of the Rules as conditions protestable by competing exhibitors in a class.

To further assist our judges in understanding the modifications approved by the Board, a webinar has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 27th at 5:00 PM EST. During the webinar, an overview of each individual revision will be provided with time to answer questions.

CLICK HERE to enroll to attend the webinar.