What Are Group  Specials? We are looking for a Best Exhibit in Group winner and a Runner up in Group winner plus Class in Group winners for each age group. To determine this all the Best of Breed winners will come back to be judged against all the other breeds in your group. after all the individual breed winners have been determined.  This is called Group specials.  The winner of the Group Special is called "Best Exhibit in Group" (BIG).  Once the winner of BIG is determined the R/up dog to that one comes back into the ring for R/Up Best Exhibit in Group.  The BIG and R/Up winners are again automatically the Best in their age Group.  So a dog may be BIG + Best Intermediate in Group.  What we are ultimately looking for is a Best Exhibit in Group winner for each group thru 1 - 7 and a Runner Up in Group winner.  All BIG's  winners go against each other at the end of the day, to determine a "Best in Show" (BIS) winner the Runner Up BIG winner then comes back in the ring and a R/UP Best in Show winner is determined.   Each Best Exhibit in Group winner receives bonus points towards their Australian Champion title. In addition to this we need all the breed class elimination winners to come back in the ring for each class to determine the  winner of each age group within the Group.  So for example we determine "Best Baby Puppy in Group 2" and so on.  We ultimately then bring all these age group winners (1 from each group 1 thru to 7) back in against each other at the end of the day, to determine the best in show classes, ie "Best Baby Puppy in Show".  Again remember BIS and R/Up in Show are automatically best of their age group. You are probably now totally confused but you should start to see what the format is:  We judge within our breed to start with to determine Best of Breed winners and age class winners. We then put all these breed winners together to come up with Group winners. Finally all the Group winners go against each other to win the final Best in Show and Class in Show winners at the end of the day. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR SHOWING The Art of Handling & Ring Presentation By Johanna Vos It is an accepted fact that no dog is perfect and the art of handling consists of highlighting your dog's virtues and to make him appear faultless in the eyes of the judge.  Many wonder what the difference is between a handler who breaks their dog's gait, stumbles and fidgets all the time and the technique of being able to work in complete unison with their dog.  This is an ability that is acquired through experience, study and observation. Good handling can also be described as common sense.  Know your own dog, and know his faults so you can disguise his weaknesses to the best of your ability.  Being able to communicate with your dog through body language, tone of voice and leash control is important too.  The more you practice with your dog the more familiar you will become and the better you will understand each other.  A trained dog that shows well can make an otherwise poor handler look like a good one.  Wear contrasting colours that complement your exhibit. The five "Golden Rules of the Ring", which should be retained by all handlers, and which are promulgated in the PAL Junior Dog Handlers Manual are: 1. Never position yourself or move between the judge and your dog. 2. Always be polite to the judge and other competitors. 3. Be neat and clean in appearance, your dress should be suited to your sort of dog. 4. Above all concentrate, but enjoy yourself and then your dog will. 5. Know all about the breed you are handling: size, conformation, weight and age CONTINUED NEXT PAGE