Obedience Regulations - American Kennel Club

CHAPTER 1
THE OBEDIENCE JUDGE
Remember, You Make it Work! As an obedience judge, you are an
essential part of the fancy. the obedience trial system needs your dedication
and expertise in order to function properly.
this booklet is designed as an easy-to-use guide for all AKc and visiting
judges. We believe it will make it easier for you to do your job and
contribute to the sport of obedience.
You should be thoroughly familiar with this guide, as well as all of the
AKc rules, regulations and policies if you:
• Are an approved or provisional judge
• Have accepted match or non-regular class judging assignments
• Are a visiting judge accepting assignments at AKC events
• Plan to apply for provisional judging approval.
this booklet cannot cover all situations; nor can it substitute for common
sense.
Whenever you have a question about judging procedure or conduct,
remember that an AKc Field representative is present at almost every
all-breed show. When at a trial, the field representative is the first person
to whom you should turn to discuss questions having to do with your
judging. Also, please do not hesitate to contact the AKc companion
events Department.
Your resPonsibilities As A JuDGe
Judges must understand their responsibilities to the sport.
Responsibility to Exhibitors. each exhibitor has paid an entry fee for
the purpose of competing and having their dog’s performance evaluated.
Judges are expected to be friendly and courteous to all who enter the
ring. Without exhibitors, there would be no trials. For every experienced
exhibitor there are many newcomers. the future of this sport is in the
hands of the novice.
After a judge completes an assignment and has turned in the judge’s
book, it is appropriate for the judge to discuss an individual dog’s
performance with the handler, if the handler requests this information.
However, a judge should never continue a conversation with an angry
or aggressive person.
Responsibility to Spectators. spectators form their opinion of the sport
through seeing the actions of the judge, the handler and the dog. care must
be taken to avoid any action that might reflect poorly on the sport. Judges
should work to maintain spectator appeal in the sport while keeping foremost
in mind the welfare and convenience of the exhibitor and the dog.
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Obedience Judges’
Guidelines