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I know that Goldens vary quite a bit from individual to individual. A few years back, there was quite an effort to breed them down in size. Personally, I like the big ones. There is a local kennel here whose Goldens all look like their legs have been chopped short, and they all have very thick, very abundant, very blond fur. Honey Lane is their name. I can spot a oney Lane dog walking down the street.

My Golden was a rescue, on the tall side, red flat coat, does not shed as much as my previous curly coated Golden did. Those are just the obvious differences. I’m sure that the judges are also looking for bone structure, etc. — all those traits that we cannot see readily.

But, with the number of Goldens that are registered and the number that compete in shows, you’d think that at least a few would get to the BIS ring. But, they never seem to. I used to watch the dog shows on Animal Planet every Sat. morning. (They don’t seem to be on anymore.) The Golden you see in the Group ring has defeated probably at least a couple of hundred other dogs to get there. But, somehow he is NEVER judged worthy to continue to BIS.

Other breeds seem always to be in the BIS ring — poodles, for example. I’ve seen shows where there are 2 poodles in BIS — a toy and a standard, both black! And I’ve seen those ugly Pekes win more than I’d like. They say that it has been a while that a Peke has won at the Westminster, but they’ve won the Eukanuba in recent years.

My brother in law used to handle and show professionally, but he is no longer with us so that I can ask these questions. I suspect that the judging is highly political, however.

>Other breeds seem always to be in the BIS ring — poodles, for example. I’ve seen shows where there are 2 poodles in BIS — a toy and a standard, both black!<

There was a recent story in Slate titled, “How To Win the Westminster Dog Show”
“Step 1: Find a poodle. Step 2: Get a big-money backer.”

I am not posting a link because if memory serves we can’t post their links(?) You can search for it though.

In order to become #1 in your breed, you have to defeat more dogs than your opponents. This takes being at shows every weekend. So, you need money, lots and lots of it.

Dog shows are unique in that there are many levels on which one can compete. It depends on how deep your pockets go and if you can either breed or purchase a dog that exceeds the others of its breed in quality. Sometimes, a dog is not for sale to anyone but those with the right connections and experience in the sport. The very top handlers have an enormous advantage over me, for example, because they have their pick of the dogs with top show potential.

I either have to breed a very good dog, or depend on my contacts in a few breeds (I was just offered a pup I’m having a blast with - she’ll get her championship easily. We’ll see about her ability to compete at breed level at a later date). I can’t go all over the country after breed points, so I am content to exhibit at relatively local shows.

Yeah, there's not a thing involving people without politics, is there. Whenever I win I'm sure there were no politics involved! LOL Of course, most of the people showing at that level all know each other because the show world (as you may know since your brother in law was a handler) is like a little town that travels around. That's what always struck me, I would walk into a show site and for the most part, it was the same people (with a few others thrown in) every weekend. If I didn't show for awhile I might see a crop of new faces, but still, the same old regulars would be there. And most of the judges came up from the ranks as handlers, the rest were breeders, and so they do all know each other.

That doesn't mean I don't think they are judging the dogs, it just means it's easy to call politics. And who knows. They DO know each other. But I've beaten people who are known and I'm no one. So, it's not always political.

As for goldens, there's a written standard, but it's open to interpretation. A lot of what you see out there does not fit the standard, so it's possible that when you see a dog that does they look odd to your, OR it's possible that the dogs you were seeing WERE short on leg. I've seen that. A golden should not be very large, however, as they are hunting and water dogs, and they should be able to work tirelessly AND you don't want to lift a 100 lb wet dog into a boat. I cringe when people tell me about the 100 lb goldens they breed. The standard calls for a male to be 23 to 24 inches (at the withers) females 21 1/2 to 22 1/2. My girls generally are about 55 lbs, I think boys about 70 or 75, but I have not lived with a boy in a long time.

This is Pauli, she is currently the only one living with me, altho her sister will be back with me after this summer. Obviously not a show picture, she's just a very expensive, spoiled pet who never went to Westminster.