Costumes have become an important part of the performance but there are some factors that need to be taken into consideration when picking your costume. Firstly it is important to say that this is after all a dog sport also it is the dog that everyone should be looking at. The handler is just there as a member of the team to show off the dogs skills, a useful quote I once heard was that “ the handler is the frame and the dog is the picture” this I think epitomises what the sport is all about. So it is very important that the costume does not over power the dog. When deciding on a costume it is always important to take into consideration what colour your dog is. If you have a dark dog then you want to be wearing lighter coloured trousers as otherwise the dog will be lost when it goes through your legs. Make sure that the costume does not have anything hanging down at dogs head level as this might be tempting for the dog to have a tug on and also can distract the dog. Check that the dog has a clear path through your legs as the width of your normal trouser leg compared to your costumes might be narrower so the dog will find it harder to find the gap through when wearing your costume.

In the end the costume is only a very small part of what freestyle is about and my best advice to pupils is if in doubt calm the costume down as the judges would rather see a dog performing well with the handler than a outlandish costume but the dog doing nothing.

Handler movements are another thing that can just add the finishing touches to a routine. These do not have to be big dramatic gestures but simply a movement that might lend itself well the routine. Many handlers that have done some obedience get stuck in the habit of holding their hands in the heelwork position, so by just getting the handler to relax their arms and move them I time with the music helps greatly. Certain types of music will also give you an idea of handler movements which will aid the routine appearance. For example if you were doing a country type track just be holding your thumbs into the top of your belt can give the appearance of a country type track.

Sometimes handlers have natural movements or ways in which they carry themselves which can be picked up on when choosing a type of music. For instance a person who is very upright in there stance and precise in there movement might suit a tango or Latin track where this would fit better than having to be relaxed and bouncy in a country track.

Don’t forget that the audience can be a very powerful tool in your routine try and get them on your side and you can be halfway there!! How can you do this well you could involve the crowd by getting them to join in and clap to the beat of the music. Also you can put in moves that are crowd favourites like long reverses and up on the back. If you can do put in some cute moves like paw over face or distance paw wave these are almost certain to get an ahhhhh form the audience.

When you step into that ring you should know the routine like the back of your hand so that you can almost go on auto pilot and concentrate on the dog rather than what moves is coming up next. To achieve this you need to go out and perform it without the dog again and again plus do it at home by listening to the track and imagining what is happening. In a future article I will discuss the build up to the competition and what can be done to make it an easier process

Having judged widely since I started in the sport I often get asked by those that are just starting out judging if I can give them hints about where to start.

At present there are a couple of systems that various clubs use, the one the I prefer is where each judge gives a score for all of the three sections.

Firstly when you are asked to judge, ask yourself if you feel ready to be able to do the task. It is important that you are  able to give an unbiased mark no matter who is on the end of the lead or how well the dog has won before.

Before you attend the show that you are judging at it is a good tip to sit down and watch past videos of competitions. This will allow you to formulate a "benchmark dog" for each of the divisions, this imaginary dog should reflect what in your mind is the ideal amount of content, accuracy and interpretation you require. Also if you are judging Heelwork to music you must have the ideal amount of heelwork in the various positions you require in the routine.

Now you are sitting at the judges desk and you are probably wondering why you got talked into doing this!!!! This is the time to remind yourself of what you expect of the competitors that you are about to see and make sure you confirm with yourself that you judging HTM or Freestyle. The marks of the first dog you judge is very important and this is where your benchmark dog come into effect. This first dog might be the BEST or worst dog that you are going to see and unlike the ones that follow it, you do not have a dog before this first dog to compare it to. So after watching it ask yourself how far from your benchmark dog is the routine you have just seen. Depending on how far away from this ideal dog the routine is this should be reflected in your marks.

As the saying goes practice makes perfect and the more judging you do the more comfortable you will be with making decisions. I find that I tend to have a gut feeling about the marks a routine will generate now I have judged so many routines. I do find that I tend to have higher standards that I am looking for when judging a class perhaps than others, but its important that you do not just give high scores because of the class or because others are scoring high. It all comes back to that preparation of the "benchmark dog" for each class, if you have this then you should be ok.

Jazz performing her Thriller routine in 2004