Opinion on Standing in Class Number Order

At the last few Crufts shows we have been asked to stand in number order which is something that is a requirement in Europe.  I can understand that with the size of classes, there were 29 entries in Open Dog and that it is a show where there are a large number of spectators that this may be justified.  I wonder if it was a Kennel Club directive?  It stopped a made rush to be first in the ring at Crufts but at a normal show I am very much against it for the following reasons.

 At Crufts in the Open Dog we were required to stand in closer proximity to the dogs than some were comfortable with, when being boxed in one of the corners the dog behind had a go at mine which resulted in him waking up (for which I was grateful) but he had obviously taken affront to the bad manners of the other dog.  If they were to have to stand closely to each other, time after time at consequent shows then the situation could escalate.  Lets face it some dogs just don’t like each other!

 Sometimes if you are unlucky you find yourself next to an unthoughtful handler who crackles the plastic from the bait packet behind you, it will distract your dog, especially if it is a youngster (this has happened to me once).  There are others that cannot move their dogs at a decent pace, caught out once the exhibitor can ensure that they are not positioned behind them next time.

 If an exhibitor has a dog of similar type to others it is, in my opinion much better to stand with others of a similar type rather than be in a section of the class which has a group of dogs of totally different type.

 Some dogs need time to settle while others need to be the first or second in the ring and it is the exhibitors job to place them where they will perform best.   Sometimes when exhibiting dogs in consecutive classes if the exhibitor had a dog in the next class it will not give the next dog a chance to show to its full potential.  Last year I was in Open Dog and a few times I also had my puppy bitch in the minor puppy bitch class.  If you are lucky to win the CC, even putting the minor puppy on the end of the class will not give her time to settle before her turn.  In the end I decided to show her at Open Shows where I could give her the time to learn her job.

I feel that it is the exhibitors right to show their dogs to show them off to the best of their ability.  It is not their job to make the judges, stewards or spectators life easy, after all who pays for the entry fees?  I have no objection to the Judge having the exhibitors stand where-ever he or she wants if he paid for the privilege!  Any judge or steward worth his salt should be able to sort them out and their paperwork without have to resort to having them in number order.

Lindsey Barnes©

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