If you are interested in becoming a judge of ANY AKC events, it is critical that you first understand the requirements for becoming a judge. The AKC website at http://www.akc.org/judges/ describes the qualifications, requirements, applications, and various policies that determine whether someone may be licensed to judge any of the various types of AKC events.
If you are interested in becoming a Conformation judge for Frenchies, then you must be familiar with the breed standard as well as with the AKC rules and regulations. To begin, study the French Bulldog Breed Standard . You can also download a compressed pdf summary of the Judging the French Bulldog seminar that the FBDCA Judges Education Committee presents at specialty shows and other venues. Or you can obtain a copy of the Judges Education CD “Judging the French Bulldog” (which includes a high-resolution copy of the pdf) by contacting Virginia Rowland, at BLACKSLATE[at]AOL[dot]COM or 978/939-5300. (Note: the downloadable pdf is a compressed file with images that are not as sharp as the ones on the CD’s pdf version.)
The FBDCA Judges Education Committee has written for judges a clarification of our Breed Standard’s statement on color in the French Bulldog. This was unanimously approved by the FBDCA Board of Directors in July 2008, and may be read here: color clarification.
The dates and locations of judges seminars are also listed on the AKC website at http://www.akc.org/clubs/seminars/seminars.cfm?page=3. If you are unable to download and view the Judging the French Bulldog pdf presentation (it’s a large file and takes a while to download), or are unable to locate a seminar, please contact the FBDCA Judges Education Chair, Virginia Rowland, at BLACKSLATE[at]AOL[dot]COM or 978/939-5300. She can send you a copy of the CD presentation or tell you where to find a seminar.
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In 1997, an Illustrated Guide to the Standard was produced in order to clarify the standard. This has been supplanted by the Judging the French Bulldog slide show mentioned above but as a point of historical interest it is still available as a pdf here: Illustrated Guide to the Standard. Note that in the Illustrated Standard, the AKC Breed Standard is printed in bold type, with explanatory clarification in plain type, and with illustrations added.
