I had a tough airplane trip to judge the Sacramento Kennel Club show in California. My American Airlines flight was cancelled. My travel agent, who is with the Onofrio organization, scrambled around and got me a Delta flight out of the New Orleans airport which is seventy miles away. I cannot say enough about this travel agent as she always finds a way to fix things when they go bad. I can recommend her highly. I don’t know how many judges she represents but I believe quite a lot of them.

I got into the motel in Sacramento at 11:00 pm. Even though my wife had called and told them I would have a late arrival, and Mr. Rich Vida had guaranteed the rooms with his credit card, they had sold the room. I knew that Peter Green was staying at the same motel so I called him. He said he had an extra bed in his room and that I could stay with him. Pete is a very good friend.

I really enjoy judging dog shows, but the problem is getting there by air and getting home. All seem to agree with me and even the government is aware of the problems but, so far, there have been no real solutions.

The Sacramento show is held in a huge building called the Cal-Expo Pavilion. This building houses the rings and grooming areas easily with room to spare. There are not many venues in the country as large as this.

The first day, Saturday, a very good Gordon Setter was first in the Sporting Group. This is a dog I have seen before in other parts of the country. I believe him to be a topper. Theresa Hundt was the judge. She put a very good English Pointer second. This dog is new to my eyes, but from ringside looks to be a very good one. A good Weimaraner was third and a good Brittany was fourth.

The Working Group, that I considered one of the two best groups in the show, was won by a spectacular Giant Schnauzer bitch. I understand from her handler that she is in the running for top dog in the country and, so far, leading the pack. This Group was judged by Mrs. Doris Cozart. A good Alaskan Malamute was second and an outstanding Akita male was third. The Akita was also new to my eyes and made a very good impression on me. A good Siberian was fourth. The Schnauzer bitch has a beautiful outline and is good to watch on the go around. I was very impressed by the Working Group. There were some very good dogs who had to go without a ribbon.

I judged the Toy Group on one of the days. I put up a Smooth Chihuahua first, a Brussels Griffon second, a Toy Poodle third, and a good Havanese fourth. The Chi-huahua, to me, is one of the top dogs in the country. I have written about him before. He has the temperament of a fighting bull. This is typical of a Chihuahua male as they think they can rule the world. The rough Griffon is another new dog to my eyes. I was very impressed with him. He has type, size, and is handsomely presented. I believe this dog will go far.

The Non-Sporting Group was won by the Bichon Frise dog shown out of Florida. He won the Group under me and Richard Bauer. This dog also has exquisite type, size, movement, and is flawlessly presented. This group was another good one, with a good new Keeshond, a good Tibetan Terrier, and a good black Standard Poodle.

The Hound Group was won one day by a Rhodesian Ridgeback that impressed me, and a Basset Hound the next day that I also liked.

The Terrier Group was another with a great group of dogs that I think was tied with the Working Group for the best group of the two days. The first day was judged by Patrice Alcina of Buenos Aires who did a good job judging her groups. She has a different style and is refreshing to watch. She also did a terrific job of singing the Star Spangled Banner both days. She is a professional singer and a good one. She put up to first a very nice Australian Terrier, the outstanding Scottish Terrier bitch second, a Welsh Terrier bitch third, and a good Cairn fourth. The Giant Schnauzer was Best In Show the first day.

The Welsh Terrier bitch, who I had never seen before, was Best In Show the second day. I took one look at her and told her handler that I thought her to be a real one. She has the correct head, ear, eye, and expression for her breed. She has the correct body type and size, she is a show dog, and a good walker. She is beautiful to look at and I predict great things for her. Keke Kahn was the Best In Show judge the second day. I commend her for this decision.

A very nice Puli won the Herding Group the second day and an Australian Shepherd topped the first day.

I am a fairly fast judge of purebred dogs. I believe I have a talent for it. I usually start at the head checking shape of skull, eye placement and color, ear placement, check the teeth and check expression. All this is done in about five seconds. Next I go down the back of the neck to the withers and check the shoulder blades and layback which is different depending upon the breed of dog. This takes about five seconds. Next, I run my hand along the dog’s back and span the ribs with my hand to feel for general condition – a dog being too thin or too fat. This takes about five seconds. Next to the tail set; I feel for muscle tone and testicles on a male, this takes about five seconds. I check the turn of stifle, whether hocks turn in or out, or are sickle or open hocked. I then run the back of my hand under his chest to check depth of brisket and check forechest. This takes about five seconds. I feel for bone and look at feet. This takes about five seconds. I then take the dog down and back and around. This takes about eight seconds. The examination usually takes less than thirty seconds. Then I line the dogs up and look at general appearance. This takes about twenty seconds. I then put them in the order I want and take them around to their placements. I do not like standing like a soldier and staring at dogs or massaging dogs. Once in a while a rep (AKC representative) might come in and tell me to slow down and I will. I believe I have a trained eye to sort out dogs. I have looked at dogs from the age of twelve when I went to my first dog show with my own Airedale.

I have made it a ritual to study dogs of all breeds, not bad or mediocre dogs. I started out with a bad show dog and went out and got a good one when I was about fourteen years old. This Airedale bitch won the breed two years in a row at our big specialties in California. She placed in groups, and from there I went on.

I now breed Wire Fox Ter-riers which are a key breed in the Terrier Group. I still love the Airedales but I live in a residence and their litters are too big, usually ten to fourteen pups. Wire Fox Terriers usually have litters of three to five.

That’s it for now....Ric Chashoudian