As an aspiring, newly approved or experienced dog show judge, you are an essential part of the fancy and the job of officiating dog shows carries enormous responsibilities. Before applying to judge or accepting an assignment, you should have read as much as possible about the breed, spent many hours ringside observing, and have done all you can to ensure that you have a good, all around knowledge of the Australian Shepherd. 

You need to examine your motives for wanting to judge. 

You should understand canine anatomy and proper gait so that you are able to differentiate between correct and incorrect structure and movement. You must have a thorough knowledge of breed type and be able to identify quality as opposed to mediocrity. You must be able to keep your nerve, maintain a clear purpose and put up only those dogs you feel are the best representative of the breed on that day.

This document has been developed for all ASCA and visiting judges. We hope it makes it easier for you to do your job. You should be thoroughly familiar with this guide, as well as all of ASCAs Rules and Policies if you:

  are an approved Non-Regular, Provisional, Breeder or Senior level ASCA judge, 
  have accepted match, sweepstakes or futurity judging assignments,
  are a visiting judge accepting assignments at ASCA events
  plan to apply for judging approval.

Please be aware that this document cannot cover all situations, nor can it substitute for common sense.

For the complete Judge's Education document to print, click here for the PDF file.