Conformation Dog Shows
With a background in animal welfare and having worked at an animal shelter for 11 years, I have very strong and definite opinions on breeding dogs and cats. I will NEVER believe that any mixed breed dog should be bred and I firmly believe that only dogs that have been judged to be the ideals of their breed standards should be bred. I have been lectured, harangued and harrassed for those beliefs for many years and I have not changed them one bit.
First, let's define a few terms.
PUREBRED means that a dog has kennel club papers that SAY both his parents were purebred and of the same breed.
WELL-BRED carries that one step farther and means that the dog looks like the breed he is supposed to be representing.
A THOROUGHBRED is a breed of horse and FULL-BLOODED means the animal is not aenemic.
One of the most eye-opening experiences I have ever had was watching a gorgeous Norwegian elkhound walk into my shelter and complimenting the owner only to be told that the dog was a purebred chow chow. She had the papers to prove it and gave them to me. I relate this story because it shows that papers mean NOTHING. Find yourself a picture of a chow chow and one of an elkhound. They are similar, but not that much. Same coat, same tail; different face, different carriage.
This dog was purchased from a pet shop and was probably the result of an accidental breeding between an elkhound and a chow. It could also have been the result of mixed up paperwork or intentional incorrect registry. If I have a male and female wolhound AND a male and female poodle. I could register poodle puppies as wolfhounds. Who would know? The American Kennel Club (AKC) cannot visit every kennel and verify the breeding of each puppy. They rely on the breeder's HONOR in registering puppies. Some breeders have no honor. UPDATE: The AKC now has kits for DNA testing and they use them.
American Kennel Club conformation shows are the way we weed out poorly bred animals. The judges have studied the breeds with a great intensity and know what the perfect specimens of their breeds should look like. They put the animals into a ring and pick the ones they deem to be the best at upholding their breed standard.
In order to be awarded an AKC championship a dog must win points. Those points are awarded according to how many dogs of their breed they have beaten. Some breeds in some areas may have to beat 4 dogs to get one point, other breeds in other areas may have to beat 30 dogs to get one point. It depends on how popular that breed is in that area and how many of that breed are registered. The dog awarded a "Best of Show" has not only beaten all the dogs of his breed, but also in his group (hound, terrier, working dog, etc.) and then he has beaten all the other winners of groups.
Once a dog wins his championship, he can go on in competition. He earns points again but this time he is awarded one point for each dog he beats. At a good sized dog show, the best of show can earn 1000 points. Five such wins and the dog has 5000 points. These are the dogs which should be bred. They have been deemed by certified judges to match their breed standards.
Conformation shows weed out the dogs which have not been bred to their standard. For example, the breed standard for rottweilers states than the ideal dog is about 25-26 inches at the shoulder. Unfortunately, there are many breeders who think that bigger is better and are breeding these dogs to be much taller and to weigh as much as 180 pounds. There is absolutely NO REASON to breed a dog OUTSIDE his standard.