I've been asked to write a bit about what ferret judges look for in a show. I'll go with generalities that should apply to all show systems rather than key in too much specifically on a single standard. I'll also do it installments rather than fill an entire FML. Part of the AFA licensing agreement with judges is to not teach judging to those not in the judging program. I will deal with what judges look for not how I as a judge do the judging process and how it is scored in detail. First I'll talk about the head. There are often described two body shapes for ferrets; whippets and bulldogs. I personally don't buy into the two styles for body shape. It is more a matter of healthy mature for what is sometimes called bulldog and not fully mature for the whippet. Judges are not supposed to prefer one shape over the other but that really applies to altered animals only. Breeder hobs should be fully matured in shape. Now there is a bulldog head shape. The two preferred main head shapes are the bulldog and what is sometimes called a sculpted face. The difference is the snout. A bulldog shape has no real snout. What a judge looks for in any ferret head is left right symmetry. All features should be the same on both sides. Also desired is balance. The eye should be midway between the nose and ears. And further the eye should be in line with the nostrils and the top edge of the ear where it attaches to the head. Another point in balance should be the width to length of the head. The most desired head should be equal in width and length. If you drew a 'T' connecting across the two ears and then down to the nose. The width and height of the 'T' should be the same. On the underside you look at the alignment of the teeth. Again it should be symmetrical and balanced. Left teeth should exactly match right teeth. A judge however should not in most systems take off for broken canines - way too common to break teeth on wire cages. The lengths of the jaws should match. The lower canines should fit into the gaps behind the upper lip. The upper canines should protrude just a bit. The color of the teeth will depend upon the age of the ferret. A young ferrets should have beautifully white teeth. As a ferret ages the white gives way to a translucent appearance. It is possible to guess the age of a ferret by the teeth. There was one show that I was assisting a judge (the job is calle steward) when a kit came through that did not appear to be the right age by the teeth (and other factors) This was noted on the judging sheet. Later when the scores were being recorded into Vickie McKimmey's database the age of this ferret was checked against previous entries. When they were seen to vary by each show entered the owner was notified and suspended from enterring shows for a while. Its a shame some folks have to try to ruin it for others. The left-right axis of symmetry of the teeth should match the left-right axis of symmetry of the rest of the head. The head shows signs of disease and quality of care. I'll return to the mouth and ears when I discuss maintenance. bill and diane killian zen and the art of ferrets [Posted in FML issue 1432]