84 THE OLD ENGLISH SHEEP DOG 



animal against animal as you further reduce them to their 

 final order. 



Pick out two of them, and judge them side by side, 

 comparing them most carefully according to your ideal 

 standard, remembering always the relative values of the 

 points laid down by the club for your guidance. 



Your object now is to weigh their respective faults, 

 and balance them one against the other often an 

 extremely difficult task. But if you bear in mind the 

 maximum number of points allowable for each portion of 

 the dog's anatomy, you have at least a practical working 

 standard by which to institute comparisons. 



If you make No. i better than No. 2, discard the latter 

 for the moment, and pit No. i against No. 3. If he still 

 holds his own, judge him against No. 4, if necessary, until 

 you are absolutely certain that he is the best dog in the 

 ring. Now proceed on the same lines with No. 2, and so 

 on until the first four animals stand out clearly in your 

 mind in their relative order of merit. 



Produce your judging book and pencil, and mark them 

 off, according to their numbers, first, second, third, and 

 reserve, and allot the necessary "Very highly commended," 

 " Highly commended," and " Commended " cards accord- 

 ing to your judgment. The judging book contains three 

 duplicate slips one for yourself, one for the secretary, and 

 one for the award board in the ring. Hand these latter to 

 the ring steward, and proceed to your next class. 



If you are dealing with a mixed class of dogs and 



