Dear Newbie,
The answer is Yes and No. It is between the club and the judge.
All breed judges get paid. Some of the older judges live off their judging money and their social security.
Breeder judges usually get paid a flat fee for all-breed shows, but it is usually only $3-$4 per dog. That may have to cover all of your travel, hotel, etc. so you are lucky if you break even, since it is based on the entry. Even if you get 100 labs = $300, it doesn't cover very much, does it? Not when you figure airfare or gasoline, hotel room and meals.
Most Breeder Judges will judge Labradors at Specialties for expenses only, as a courtesy to the Lab club and community, and because we care about our breed. Covered expenses are travel, hotel and meals. We don't make any money but, hopefully, we haven't lost TOO much money to judge the show. Clubs don't cover your dog sitter, vacation days taken from work, etc. so there is usually a personal cost for the judge.
Please keep in mind the next time you enter, that the breeder judge has given up a couple of days of their time, many hours traveling to/from airports and hotels, long hours on airplanes, used vacation days from work they could have used for other things, and paid out of pocket for dog sitters, new judging outfits and a host of other expenses, and have disrupted the lives of their spouse and family.
You asked if AKC judges get paid for their assignments. The judges at all-breed shows get paid a fee, generally anywhere from $350 to $500 per day. The more breeds they can judge, groups, the higher their fee. They also get all their travel expenses, hotel, and food expenses paid. It is very expensive to hold an all-breed show when you consider paying for your site, judges expenses, and all the other expenses involved in putting on a show. The provisional judges are the ones who get paid $3 to $4 per dog to judge at an all-breed show.
Yes, we get paid, but it normally does not cover all of our expenses (if we only judge a few breeds). I am judging at a specialty and am totaly thrilled to judge for them, but they can only pay x for airfare. My airfare is going to be x+, so I am paying to judge.
Do I mind, yes and no. I love judging and if I ever get a group, I should break even. For now I can afford to pay to judge and am honored to do so.
You asked if AKC judges get paid for their assignments. The judges at all-breed shows get paid a fee, generally anywhere from $350 to $500 per day. The more breeds they can judge, groups, the higher their fee. They also get all their travel expenses, hotel, and food expenses paid. It is very expensive to hold an all-breed show when you consider paying for your site, judges expenses, and all the other expenses involved in putting on a show. The provisional judges are the ones who get paid $3 to $4 per dog to judge at an all-breed show.
As Laura said, that is apparently up to the club. I am licensed in Labs, and provisional in one additional breed. I still get $3-4 per dog entered under me, even if a club "hires" me for Labs only. This is one of the reasons people don't judge. If your club will pay travel, hotel, and meals to judges who only have a breed or two you are the exception. I've even had clubs refuse to help out by covering 1 night of my hotel.
Entries have been down at a lot of all breed shows. So much so that some are going broke. There are more bills to be paid when holding a show then those who do not belong to a club can even imagine. The clubs who have lost money on their shows have to look at ways to economize by hiring some judges more local to them whose expenses are less. Or, hire judges who can cover a lot of breeds to cut down on judges traveling expenses. It can be difficult to decide how to balance pulling entries with good, well liked judges, and also cutting expenses. I know that some clubs have moved their venues to less expensive locations, because of the lower entries and loss of show revenue.
