Analysing a season's results: looking beyond the podiums

Your results become more instructive when you put grades, placings, comments and presentation conditions side by side.

The aim: spot trends and choose what you want to work on next. Here are nine tips to make your season notebook speak.

Beginner — Gathering the right information

1. Keep a record of every show

Create one line per entry with:

The date and name of the show.
The dog's age and class.
The judge's name.
The grade.
The placing, if any.
The certificates or titles actually obtained.
The report, where available.

Your practical tip: add your notes as soon as you get back. A few minutes are enough to avoid hazy memories three months later.

2. Separate grade and placing

The grade expresses an assessment of the dog's quality according to the definitions in the regulations. The placing ranks it among the dogs in its class present that day.

At international CACIB shows, the FCI provides for the four best dogs in each class to be placed, provided they have obtained at least “Very Good”. [1, section 6]

Your practical tip: use two separate columns. “Excellent, unplaced” and “first Excellent” give different information.

3. Also note one concrete success

A season includes progress that doesn't show up on a trophy: an examination accepted calmly, a steadier trot or a better-held stand.

Your practical tip: after each show, complete this sentence: “Today we did better at…”

These observations will help you track your presentation work, even when the placing varies.

Intermediate — Spotting trends

1. Group the comments by theme

Sort the remarks into a few categories: head, proportions, construction, coat, gaits and behaviour during the presentation.

Your practical tip: keep the judge's exact words, then add your interpretation alongside. Two similar expressions don't necessarily describe the same point.

A remark that keeps coming up deserves a closer look. An isolated comment remains an observation to be put in context.

2. Compare situations that are close enough

Between the start and the end of the season, your dog may have changed age, class, condition or handler.

Your practical tip: separate the results when these changes are significant. Compare, for example, entries in the same class before studying the whole season.

If you know the number of dogs in the class, note that too. A first place won alone and a first place among several competitors don't tell the same story of a contest.

3. Use a few simple numbers

Count the entries and the spread of grades. You can also calculate how often a particular remark appears when you have the reports.

Fictional example: three mentions of “steady movement” in six reports represent 50% of those reports.

Your practical tip: always give the number behind the percentage. “Three out of six” says more than “50%” on its own.

The absence of a remark does not prove that the judge would have given the opposite assessment.

Advanced — Turning the review into decisions

1. Separate results, comments and presentation

Prepare three complementary reviews:

Results: grades, placings and awards.
Comments: qualities and reservations expressed.
Presentation: your observations on handling and the examination.

The FCI regulations define “Excellent” in particular by taking into account type, harmony, condition and temperament. The grade is therefore not just an assessment of your work as a handler. [1, section 6]

Your practical tip: look for links between these reviews without assuming that a better placing proves, on its own, a better presentation.

2. Form hypotheses rather than certainties

Did you get better results after changing your presentation speed? That is an interesting lead, but other things may have changed: competition, judge or the dog's condition.

Your practical tip: write: “More even handling seems to show off his gaits better”, then check that impression with videos and several observations.

A review is there to guide the work, not to automatically attribute each result to a single cause.

3. Choose two priorities for next season

A long list of goals is hard to follow. Keep one presentation point and one point to understand better.

For example:

Presentation: keep a steady trot on the up-and-back.
Understanding: clarify a recurring remark about the forehand.

Your practical tip: attach an action and a progress marker to each priority. “Do three steady runs in training” is more useful than “win more”.

For certificates, check their own rules: a “first Excellent” does not automatically lead to the award of the CACIB. [1, section 7]

Your season review sheet

Period analysed: …
Number of shows: …
Classes entered: …
Spread of grades: …
Placings and known class sizes: …
Certificates or titles obtained: …
Three qualities regularly mentioned: …
Two points to clarify: …
Progress seen in presentation: …
Important changes of context: …
Presentation priority for next season: …
Planned action: …
Progress criterion: …
Question to ask a judge or trainer: …
Date of next review: …

The habit to keep

Look at what repeats, what changes and what you can really work on.

A season offers chances to learn. Your review becomes useful when it lets you approach the next one with precise goals and a better understanding of your dog.