>Very good point, and yes Christine, the AKC allows prospective judges to >"observe" other judges in the ring. There is a definite protocol for this >program. We should all look into taking advantage of this, since specialty >matches >are become part of our history. It is my understanding that only AKC judges are allowed to observe other judges from inside the AKC ring. For example, if I were approved to judge GSD's and wanted to add shelties, then I could observe a sheltie judge from inside the ring. But, if I were not approved to judge any breeds, than I wouldn't be allowed inside the ring to observe. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I do think we could set up a ringside mentoring program for prospective futurity judges where a breeder/judge would sit with a prospective judge and comment on ring procedure. A couple of sessions like that could substitute for a specialty match assignment (or two). Laurie ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================