Swapping dogs in a handling class??

Is it right??

I'm a fair Novice at this showing game and today I was entered into an adult handling class. It was my first one so I'm a little unsure of the rules. Can someone please tell me: If judging has already started and a competitior is having trouble handling the dog they came into the ring with, are they allowed to swap it for another more manageable dog??

The purpose of a handling class is to show how well you can handle a dog, so if the dog is difficult & you cope you are a better handler IMHO than one who has a compliant dog.

Some junior handlers used to handle my Beardies in handling classes & they used to take turns in handling the nortiest one :smt002 who wasn't really norty if given the right commands(no good girl for her )which they used to do after allowing her to misbehave a bit. LOL the one handling the norty one usually placed highest !

Thanks Dyane - I did think the handler who copes better proves a point more. But, should she have been allowed to swap in the first place??

not if the class is already started, no.

So, potentially I was robbed - the woman who swapped went on to win the class! Should I have complained at the time?

I made a mistake in my handling (did the triangle the wrong way - nerves I think), so probably shouldn't have come higher than I did. But, I am miffed that she proved herself unable to manage her first dog and won. As it is the dog she won with grumbled and growled every time she stood it for the judge!

Did the person physically exit the ring and swap dogs?

it really shouldnt have been allowed to happen (after all we could all skip in an out of the irng til we find a dog we'd like to handle)- although it is possible that the handler had already spoken with the steward (perhaps the dog they handle was in a breed class, and they were waiting for it to be freed up?) - had the person started to handle the (first) dog?

its diffiicult to say without havng seen what happened - but if you really feel very strongly that you were hard done to, you could have 'put your money down' - but the judges decision is final in general terms.

as regards complaining - personally I wouldnt, - just put it down to experience...you will see a lot of things, and will be robbed many times. Its just the nature of the beast!

Whilst I don't think generally that once judging has started in the class you should change dogs I think a lot would depend if the dog was named on the entry form.

Some shows where you enter in advance you have to specify the name of the dog - in which case she definately shouldn't have changed. However, if it was not a specified dog that she would be handling with then it really wouldn't matter.

Thanks for the comments. We did enter in advance and did have to specify our exhibit. The lady in question was running late for the class as she was stewarding in another ring, so borrowed a dog off a friend rather than going to get the one she'd entered. When she found she couldn't manage him, the judge told her she could go and get her own dog. She didn't leave the ring but her dog was brought to her and swapped for the friends!! Handling had started by this point.

I shall just chalk it all up to experience

I don't know the rules & regs but that seems grossly unfair to me, especially when the class had started.

To me if you have to name your dog and enter a class, she should have been disqualified for not having the correct dog entered?

I note that she was a steward at the show, smacks of favourtism to me!