All the dog (male) classes are judged first and separately from the bitch (female) classes. In a voice loud enough to penetrate the conversations exhibitors are having with one another instead of paying attention to what's going on, the steward calls the first class into the ring with the class and armband numbers. It sounds something like this, "Newfoundlands, 9-12 Month Puppy Dogs 7, 9, and 13. Catalog order, please."
The dogs and their handlers come into the ring and line up where the judge indicates, with the left side of the dog presented to the judge in profile. The judge and steward check their books and note if any of the dogs are absent. About a quarter of the dogs entered don't show up. They might be sick, their coats may have fallen out and they look terrible, the exhibitor may not have gotten to the show or the ring, the dog may be entered at more than one show that day, or lots of other reasons.
Usually the judge asks the exhibitors to take their dogs around the ring together. The pace should be faster than a walk and slower than a gallop. This gives the judge an opportunity to get a first impression and to see if any of the dogs are lame, in which case they would be excused.
The judge then examines the dogs individually. What he is looking for is how well the dogs stack up to his interpretation of the perfect dog of that breed according to the breed standard. The standard is a written description of what the dog should look like - the structure of the head, eyes, neck, forequarters and hindquarters, legs, feet, tail, as well as coat color and texture - and how it should move. The judge goes over the the structure of the dog while it is standing still, checking the bite, looking at the head, feeling the body under the coat. The males are also checked to see whether both testicles are present.
Examination of movement is done in two parts. The judge will ask the exhibitor to take the dog "down and back" to the opposite corner of the ring. This gives him the opportunity to check the movement from the front and rear. Then he will ask the exhibitor to "take him around" the perimeter of the ring, in order that the side movement can be examined.
Examination for each dog takes less than two minutes. The judge examines the rest of the dogs in the class in the same manner, then makes placements from first to fourth place, noting the armband numbers in his book. The steward will also mark these armband numbers in his book, making sure they agree with those of the judge. A blue ribbon is awarded for first place, a red ribbon for second place, a yellow ribbon for third place, and a white ribbon for fourth place. Regardless of how stupid the exhibitors feel the decision was, they'd better keep their mouths shut and say, "Thank you" when given their ribbon. The steward then calls the next class in.
The judge repeats the process for the rest of the classes in the order: 6-9 Month Puppy, 9-12 Month Puppy, 12-18 Month, Novice, Bred-by-Exhibitor, American-Bred, and Open. If the Open class is divided (by coat color or length; height, or weight), the various divisions are judged as separate classes
Of course, not all of these classes will have entries and not all classes have four dogs in them to give ribbons to. Even if a dog is the only one in its class, the judge does not have to give it a first-place ribbon; it may be so lacking in merit that the judge may give it a second, third, or fourth place ribbon, in which case it cannot compete further.
The entire idea is that only dogs not yet defeated by any other dog can continue in competition. When the judge finishes judging Open class, the first-place winners of all the classes come back into the ring for Winners Dog. They line up with the Open dog (or dogs if the class is divided) at the front of the line and the Puppy at the back. The judge will usually ask them to go around once individually. He then will name one of them Winners Dog, that is, the best non-champion male. Of all the non-champion males competing, only this one receives championship points. The award for Winners Dog is a purple ribbon.
The other dogs remain in the ring and the second place dog from the class from which the Winners Dog came returns to the ring for Reserve Winners Dog competition. Again, the judge will ask the exhibitors to take the dogs around before making the award. Reserve Winners Dog receives a blue and white ribbon. He gets no championship points and cannot compete further, but if for some reason the Winners Dog is later disqualified (entered in wrong class, ineligible, or, amazingly, the wrong dog is shown) the Reserve Winners Dog becomes Winners Dog.
The process is not subject to change. If there's only two class dogs entered, one in Bred-by-Exhibitor class and one in Open, the judge can't combine the two classes to save time. He must examine them and make awards individually in each class, then bring both of them back for Winners Dog.
The bitches are judged separately and in the same way so that the judge can make awards of Winners Bitch and Reserve Winners Bitch. Again, Winners Bitch is the only one eligible for championship points and only Winners Dog and Winners Bitch are the only non-champion dogs eligible to continue to Best of Breed competition.