Meet 3 suburbanites who will judge at the Westminster dog show

It's the dog show to end all dogs shows, and the Westminster Kennel Club's 30 or so judges are considered the most experienced and capable you will find. Judging is all about knowing the standards for each breed, down to the most minute detail. That means examining each dog's qualities - temperament, appearance, physical movement - and measuring how it all holds up against breed standards. “These folks really know dogs,” show chairman Dave Helming said.

A committee selects the Westminster judges from about 3,500 judges listed in the American Kennel Club book, Helming said. Three suburbanites are among those chosen for the nationally televised show's 141st edition on Feb. 13, 2017. Here are their views on judging dogs at the highest level.

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Jay Richardson, Elgin

A fifth-time judge next year, Richardson is nonchalant about any pressure he might feel. The trick is to act as if the cameras weren't there - even if their angle highlights your bald spot, he jokes.

“When you first start, you tend to be really serious. You really want to do the right thing, you really want to do a good job. After a while, you get more comfortable,” he said. “My advice to a first-time judge was, 'There are going to be a whole bunch of critics out there. Just judge the dogs the way you always do.'”

Richardson will be judging Norwegian elkhounds, Dalmatians, terriers and other breeds at the show, held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is the second-longest continuously running sporting event in the nation, trailing only the Kentucky Derby.

Breed standards approved by the American Kennel Club use terms such as “moderate size,” which are prone to subjective interpretation, said Richardson, a dog show judge since 1993. He also has extensive experience as a professional dog handler.

The key is to truly understand each breed and its original function, thereby evaluating physical characteristics and behavior, he said.

For example, Rhodesian ridgebacks were bred to hunt lions, so they didn't need to run fast but had to cover ground efficiently; salukis and whippets, on the other hand, were meant to be speed dogs, he said.

Some dogs are high-maintenance and require a lot of coaxing, while others are naturally inclined to do well at showtime, he said.

“Dogs are no different from athletes, when their desire to be successful, their desire to get the job done overcomes their physical limitations,” he said.

And even show dogs sometimes misbehave, Richardson said, but never to the point of biting. “Ninety-nine percent of dogs are wonderful temperament dogs,” he said. “And virtually 100 percent of them are somebody's pet.”

What about the dogs' owners? Are they well-behaved?

“Most of the time, yes,” he says with a chuckle.

Owners certainly are entitled to get an explanation from judges about their assessment, Richardson said.

“I should be able to justify to you why I put this dog first and this dog second,” he said. “What you don't want to do is get into an argument, because what it still comes down to, it's subjective.”

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Anne Riba, Old Mill Creek

It will be Riba's first time judging the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, but she's no rookie to working with canines.

She'll judge the fourth annual Masters Agility Championship at Westminster, but she's judged dog agility since 2001 and at competitions throughout the world, including the American Kennel Club National Championships and the European Open Tryouts.

She also owns Apex Agility in Wadsworth, where she teaches agility to dogs and their handlers.

“Agility is the sport of dogs running through obstacle courses, and, basically, you teach the dog how to work through the equipment quickly while at the same time having fun,” Riba said.

Agility is a fairly new addition to the Westminster show, but it has already become one of the most-loved events.

With dogs jumping over hurdles, running through tunnels and weaving through poles, it can be a showstopper.

While training can be extensive, Riba said, it is all positive.

“You first teach them how to do each obstacle by itself. How to watch their (handler's) hands, their feet, the cues to tell them what obstacle to go through,” Riba said. “When they get it correctly, it's just a celebration. Lots of cookies. So for them, when they get to do an agility course, not only is it fun to do, but there's a lot of rewards - so it's self motivating.”

Riba says the one thing a handler should never do is to let the dog know something went wrong.

“They don't care about the ribbon, the award. The dog has no understanding of that whatsoever,” Riba said. “When they're done, all they want to do is celebrate with you.”

For Riba, the key to judging agility is to be fair, consistent and, most important, “be sure that the dogs are safe.”

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Julie Felten, Wauconda

To Felten, who will judge terrier breeds, it's far more difficult than just picking the most attractive dog.

The American Kennel Club terrier breed “has an AKC breed standard that you have to know inside and out,” she said. “You have to know all the little nuances like what makes a wire fox terrier different from a Parson Russell terrier. That's your job as a judge.”

These nuances can range from eye shape to coat color to even the position of the upper and lower teeth when the jaws are closed.

Felten will judge eight types of the terrier breed: Kerry blue terriers, Lakeland terriers, Parson Russell terriers, rat terriers, Russell terriers, Sealyham terriers, standard Manchester terriers and Welsh terriers.

She specializes in Parson Russell terriers and breeds some of her own.

“I've actually bred dogs that have won (at Westminster) three or four times,” Felten said.

Her passion for dogs started at a young age.

“When I was a little girl, I grew up with dogs and horses,” she said. “In my late 20s, I started focusing on the dogs more and then I eventually got into judging and showing.”

As a breeder, Felten knows how much work goes into creating a winning show dog.

“It takes lots of time and commitment. It's a full-time job, 24 hours a day, and the expense is definitely there,” Felten said. “I would come back to work on Monday after I'd be showing at a dog show, and the first question everybody would ask me was, 'How much money did you win?'

“There's really no money to be won. Those are expensive ribbons when you factor in your hotel, travel, gas and everything else involved in it. I figured it a long time ago - when I have a litter of puppies, I make a penny an hour.”

Judges can evaluate up to 175 dogs a day. While it can get tiring, Felten said judges can't get cranky, because people pay a lot of money to show their dogs to them. “You have to make sure you have good shoes,” Felten said. “It's just like athletes prep for training to do their job; judges do the same.”