It’s Official

I am now UKC obedience judge #6679, licensed for all classes. Wow… Things are going to start happening to me now….

Actually, I was very impressed by the UKC’s judge approval process. Unlike some other huge registry that will remain nameless, it is actually possible to qualify to judge all 3 classes in a reasonable time. The written test was tricky, but not unfairly so, the prerequisites seemed fair, and the apprenticeship requirement turned out to be the best part of the whole exercise.

I had heard judges telling horror stories of shockingly unqualified apprentices and the like, but the current rules, requiring a UKC title at the level you are applying for, seem to have taken care of that.

Anyway, I was a bit concerned that as an apprentice I would be viewed as liability, but quite the opposite was true. The judges, trial officials, even the exhibitors were amazingly supportive and welcoming. The judges in particular bent over backwards to give as much advice as they could. Each of them wanted me to avoid the mistakes they had made. For that I thank them, but I’m afraid in the end it won’t really work. I probably wouldn’t have made their mistakes anyway, and I’m certain I’ll go and find my own mistakes to make.