The responses to this Judges Questionnaire will only be used to inform discussions during the meeting on Sunday 25th of September. We can all learn from each other and sharing our knowledge and experiences can only make us all wiser.
Whatever level of Bernese judge you are please try and complete at least some of the sections and even if you are not attending the meeting you can still make a contribution to it. There are no 'right or wrong' answers, it is completely about opinions.


Please fill in as much as you feel able to, names/identities will be NOT given out in any form, this is a safe environment to be honest with your thoughts.
Please complete your return before 8th September or your opinions may not be useable.

ABOUT YOU

1 Your Name

2 Your Home Country

3 Your Email Address (required)

4 Are you attending the International BMD Judges meeting in the UK on 25th of September?

YesNo

If not and you would like to attend even though bookings have closed, it may just still be possible. Please email the organisers on golden@bernese.co.uk as soon as possible.

YOUR BMD JUDGING STATUS

5 Your Judging interest

BMD Breed SpecialistJudge of many breedsBMD breed specialist AND judge of many breeds

6 Your Level of Expertise

CC/CAC levelStill developingNot yet judged but planning to

7 Number of Years judging Bernese Mountain Dogs AT THIS LEVEL

Less than a year1 to 5 years6 to 10 yearsMore than 10 yearsMore than 20 years

8 Number of Years judging Other breeds if applicable

Not ApplicableLess than a year1 to 5 years6 to 10 yearsMore than 10 yearsMore than 20 years

9 Spread of experience. Have you judged Bernese in...

Only your home countryAt least one other country

YOUR OPINIONS

BMD STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

10 In your experience of your own country, and any others you have judged in, or your most recent observations, what would you say are the two biggest strengths and the two biggest weaknesses of Bernese at the moment?

STRONGER WELFARE REGULATIONS

11 Many countries are experiencing increasing canine welfare regulations or restrictions on pedigree dogs and dog shows are being criticised for encouraging unhealthy or lame dogs. Unlike some breeds, Bernese are not directly mentioned in any specific legislation, but can we be sure this will remain the case? Of course, we should always judge to the standard but we all give stronger emphasis to different parts. What, if any, extra responsibility do these attacks on our dog world give us as breed judges?

Which ONE statement do you agree with the most?

1 Judging has no connection to this sort of situation2 Bernese Mountain Dogs will never be included in any criticism of unhealthy pedigree dogs3 This sort of situation makes soundness more important when considered against breed type4 Nothing to worry about now, but we can think about it IF Bernese ever become directly involved5 No Opinion on this

ADVICE TO NEW BMD JUDGES

12 From your experience what piece of advice would you give to a new judge of Bernese Mountain Dogs?

OTHER SUBJECTS

13 Finally, we already have some subjects on the agenda and some extra ideas in mind for the discussion session but, if time allows, is there any other specific subject you would suggest to be discussed at this meeting?

Thank you for your help with this opinion gathering.

I hope you can see this will give us some interesting opinions to report and stimulate discussions at the meeting on top of the already interesting agenda. We hope to see you there for a friendly, informative and enjoyable day where we will all learn from each other.

GDPR Data Use Statement
Depending on response levels a written summary of replies may be produced for use and distribution at the meeting. No individual contributor's name or country will be published or announced at the meeting. The data will only be stored on a secure club network accessed via a protected device and all personal data will be deleted after the meeting.