An American in Zagreb

Arriving at the World Dog Show on the first day at 5 a.m., you realized you were somewhere special.

There was huge WDS signage everywhere, provided by the show’s sponsor, Farmina Dog Food, and large line-ups of people and vehicles waiting to access either the reserved inside parking or the walk-in gates. The start seemed to be on Euro Time and not Harry Miller Time, as the gates didn’t open until about 5:50.

Next was a treat: If you had reserved parking, you found a spot close to the building that had your ring. People proceeded to unload and find a suitable grooming spot that was neither reserved nor marked out. Magically, everyone seemed to know where they needed to be, and set their crates and equipment up with no marked-out aisles or grooming areas. There did not seem to be any fighting over space and/or electric, and it became obvious that a lot of the grooming had been done prior to the show, and dogs were mostly just spiffed up for their rings. There did not seem to be a bathing area, which was not missed by these exhibitors.

This World Dog Show had more than 15,000 entries and was spread over multiple buildings with good-sized rings and ample grooming space for all. In many areas, grooming space bordered right up to ringside, so some dogs were groomed almost in the ring. Rings are very different, as there are a few seating benches placed in a square that define the outside perimeter of the rings, and you can sit on them with your feet literally in the ring. It certainly gives you a close-up and clear view of the judging.

Getting your dog in the ring for competition is also quite different. You receive your number online, and it is your responsibility to print it and bring with you. The ring steward then walks around the ring with a placard with the dogs’ numbers printed on it for the dogs needed in each class. There is no way to count dogs that are going to be absent prior to each class/breed, which can make calculating when you actually need to be there in a large entry extremely difficult, so best just to show up on time and wait. They must have a system figured out, but I can’t imagine how difficult it is for handlers of multiple breeds to know exactly when and where to best manage their time.

Judging is judging, but the procedure is very different. As in our system, males and females are divided, and there are different age groups for baby puppies; young puppies similar to our 6-9 month class; Juniors class, which covers up to 18 months; Open class, which is the same as ours, and lastly the champion class. The judge then brings in his or her winners from the Intermediate, Open, Working and Champion classes — no puppies or Juniors are eligible — and picks a best male and female. Each earns the coveted CACIB, which goes toward achieving the FCI International championship. Then for Best of Breed judging, the best male and female are brought in along with the best Junior and Veteran of both sexes.

The breed winner can come from any of these six dogs and bitches, and it happens with some regularity. I found it to be a much more level playing field: Instead of a giant ring of champions and just a couple of class dogs that can get lost amid the numbers, non-champions stood a much better chance of getting recognized, and I found it refreshing.

As for the dogs themselves, most of the entries were very substantial in almost every breed and in some cases huge. Some examples: Goldens, 280; Bulldogs, 160; Chinese Cresteds, 250; Cavaliers more than 200, and on and on. It was a great pleasure to watch all the breeds not recognized by the AKC, some with big entries and very high quality. The overall quality of most entries was very high and amazingly consistent.

As an example, I watched 280 Goldens being judged by four different judges. When the line-up of dogs came in for the breed, they all looked basically the same. Type seemed to stay strong in almost every large entry — again, very refreshing. I was truly impressed with the quality of what we call “Northern Breeds,” consistent and very strong. I am not saying that individual dogs are any better than the dogs we have here in assorted breeds, but, yes, they are more consistent in terms of their breed type and overall quality in huge numbers.

Once again, the process is different. When adjudicating a class, large or small, if a judge feels that a particular dog is not up to their standard, they can shake the exhibitor’s hand and ask them to vacate the ring no longer in competition. This is the result of their grading system, as each dog is graded on a scale of “Excellent/Very Good/Good/Sufficient/Disqualified.” If a judge does not grade your dog as Excellent, there is not much reason to carry on. This enabled judges to greatly reduce the dogs in some of the very large classes, which really sped up the process for them.

When I asked some of the American judges I saw at the show if they wish they could do the same in the States, most said absolutely yes. It speeds up the process and the judges are better able to focus on the ones they really want. Makes sense to me.

That brings up sportsmanship. I spent four days watching a lot of dogs, and not once did I see a case of bad sportsmanship toward a judge or other exhibitor. Disappointment, yes, but usually followed by acceptance. What I did see was lots of cheering, jumping up and down, and tears from and for the winners — and it was from breed to breed, ring to ring, and in the Group ring and Best in Show. A little personal experience: When our dog won the breed in a smaller entry of 17, every exhibitor, breeder and connected spectator congratulated us and shook the handler’s hand.

The groups are an interesting experience. There are 10 groups in FCI; three are judged the first two days, and then two on the last two. There are also many unofficial classes judged in each group: Minor Puppies, Puppies, Junior Dog Groups, Veterans, Couples and Breeder’s groups. These are all judged in the main group ring with all the same fanfare and recognition as the main groups. This does take up a fair amount of time, so it does start to get a bit late when regular groups start.

There is actually a pre-judging group ring in addition to the regular group ring. In the pre-judging ring, the judge moves each dog up and back (usually) and visually examines them. The dogs are then moved into the main group ring, where they are lined up and the judge moves around and picks out six breeds as a cut. The judge then moves those dogs individually and picks three to place in the group. There is not a lot of hands-on investigation like teeth, testicles, etc., done at this level. When I inquired about this, it was explained to me that there is a lot of respect and expectation that the previous judges would have dealt with it. One has to remember there is an immense number of dogs to be judged each evening, and efficiency is critical. It took some getting used to, but made sense after a while.

The group/Best in Show ring was large and spectacular. A beautiful blue color matched the main sponsor’s colors, and the ring was very well lit, with spotlight spots for the six contenders in each group and the 10 group winners for Best, very similar to our own Westminster and AKC National Championship.

I am not sure exactly how many Americans there were at the WDS; my estimate would be around 25. There were some judges, exhibitors with dogs and folks simply coming to enjoy the show. I would wish more Americans would bring their dogs to compete. As a whole, I believe almost every American did something with their dogs at least one of the three days, with three dogs doing really well in groups and Best in Show: The Kuvasz of Caroline Clegg won a Group 3rd  in the Pastoral Group, the Scottish Terrier of Rebecca Cross won Terriers, and a fabulous 3rd in Best in Show, and of course the Queen — the Afghan Hound shown by Willy Santiago — won Best in Show at the World Dog Show and Best in Show at the International Spring Show the first day. Doesn’t get any better than that.

So, final thoughts: a great experience not to be missed if at all possible and a great dog show, but at the end of the day very similar to our own incredible Westminster and AKC National Championship.

Now on to Helsinki in 2025 …