So there were 105 entries in the conformation show yesterday
And an extremely impressive standard
Two rings operating with puppies then boys in Ring 1 and girls in Ring 2.
For the very few people that don't attend dog shows regularly
it kinda goes like this.. each breed competes in different classes (eg baby puppy, puppy, junior, etc and in this case working dogs, open, champion and veterans) for each sex. Then the winners of each class compete for best of sex.. then the winners of each sex compete for Best of Breed. Each country is a bit different but hopefully you get the I idea.. it's not that they run 105 dogs around at once and get a judge to pick one
It's the handlers job to try to make sure the dog looks as much like the breed standard as possible.. and provide the dog with leadership and keep them interested while the judge critiques them. In Breed Shows like this one each dog gets a written critique at the time of judging so it can take some time.
Judges take a number of things into consideration.. mainly appearance (curly coat is usually the most important feature for this breed), conformation, movement and temperament (the judge needs to be able to look in the dogs mouth, feel them all over and then the dog should look like it's happy to be there lol).
It's funny.. in Australia, USA and UK handlers dress in suits to show their dogs.. in Europe it's all about the dog.. people run bare foot, in jeans and shorts.. they look much more practical