Hi.
The question of whether attendance at conformation shows is mandatory to be a good breeder-
is a great one to ask yourself.
But there isn't one good answer.
But there is one good maxim:
BREEDERS DO NOT BREED ALONE IN A VACUUM.
Dog breeding is a group endeavor - each breeder being one of the stewards of the breed in question and they all need to be connected to other breeders.
Also, breeding is as much about the dogs you DON'T breed as it is about the dogs you do. How does one eliminate breeding prospects? How does one do that while at the same time not narrowing the gene pool too much?
One of the assumptions that needs to be expressed in order to answer your question is this >>
which breed are you interested in breeding?
The inevitable follow up question is this: What is the best method of evaluating future breeding prospects for this breed?
Example:
If you would ask the question you posed about Border Collies the best answer would be NO. Because showing in the conformation ring doesn't evaluate the important qualities that are the essence of the breed. It only evaluates physicality.
What is good about the conformation show circuit is that it provides SOME objective evaluation of a dog's quality. This evaluation is independent of the owner's opinion.
This is NOT a small thing.
NO ONE can be trusted to evaluate their own breeding stock without any objective outside evaluation.
BUT - that being said, the show ring is certainly not the best system of evaluation.
Performance trials with objective criteria are very good in that they more accurately evaluate the ability to perform a set task. The better the evaluation system the more meaning it can give a group of breeders.
Great examples of VERY GOOD evaluation systems are
(in my humble opinion)
:
FDSB or NAVHDA field trials for hunting dogs such as English Pointers and English or Irish Setters
NAHRA Trials for Retrievers
ISDS Sheepdog trials for Border Collies
Schutzhund trials for German Shepherds, Malinois, Rottweilers, Boxers, Doberman Pinschers.
French Ring, Mondio, KNPV for the Belgian Malinois
etc..
(Enough! - you say)
For many reasons I believe that the show ring should never be the only selection mechanism in dog breeding but many many people would disagree (motivated I believe by self interest). The reasons I'm critical are many BUT show ring competition is far superior to NO competition.
Here are some of the reasons I believe conformation breed ring is problematic:
1- It is a very modest thing to judge a dogs physicality.
2-To the extent that the showring is subjective and subject to "people who know people " - it fails - even at it's modest task
3- By it's very definiition it places conformation at the top of the pinnacle of breed essence. If we all can agree that looks are not the most important thing in people why doesn't it give pause to the placing value on a dog purely because of it's looks?
4- Breed ring competition is fierce because since the judges are concerned with so little, they must differentiate based on absolute minutae. (I once saw top Sheltie breeders deciding which bitch puppy to keep out of a litter by measuring the MILLIMETER of difference of the distance between the ears.) To me that spells WRONG because when you choose to breed a dog for one reason - you automatically do not choose it for another.
5- Show Champions very often are YOUNG. Often problems haven't had a chance to manifest.
(Compare it with performance dogs who are rarely at their best until 6-9 years old.)
If your breed is ONLY judged in the show ring by the vast number of breeders - you really don't have a choice. BUT certainly, trainability, mental stability, good health without drastic husbandry, should also be part of your elimination process as well....
Perhaps your best solution would be to become a partner with someone who enjoys the shows more than the birth of puppies in the house - this way you could each avoid the part of breeding you like least!
