What is “conformation,” and what deems a dog “best in show”? Each breed club wrote a “standard” for their breed; that is, a standard of perfection, of how that breed should ideally look, act and move. At that level, the group judge has the difficult task of comparing each dog not to other dogs, but to the breed standard. If a dog is determined to be lame, it is the judge’s duty to excuse that dog from any further competition by the club’s rules. People wonder why the judge seems to grasp a male dog by the testicles, as if they are inappropriately touching the dog.

Source: thestar April 30, 2019 19:41 UTC