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Why are people saying that dogs need titles2007-11-25 2:55:43

Ideally the dog would have both a conformation and a working title before breeding, along will all breed appropriate health testing.

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Confirmation titles were originally intended to evaluate breeding stock. However, just because a dog has confirmation titles out the wazoo doesn't mean that it can do the job it was originally intended to do. Have you ever seen an AKC confirmation champion border collie herding sheep? I'm sure they exist...but many owners of border collies that actually compete (and win) in competition sports refer to the confirmation show dogs as "barbie collies" because they usually aren't any good at anything other than looking pretty. German shepherds are another good example. If I were ever to buy a GSD from a breeder, confirmation titles are going to be very low on my list of criteria. Why? Because the kinds of dogs that win at confirmation shows in the US (maybe it would be different if I lived in the UK or AUS) look ugly to me. I like the east German/DDR lines the best. I would also be reasonably happy with west german lines. But US/canadian lines just don't do anything for me. Since the lines I like don't do well in the confirmation ring confirmation championships don't mean as much to me, I need to see performance titles on the dogs that a breeder is using as stock.

Also, as someone else pointed out, performance titles show me that a breeder actually cares that their dogs can do something more than look pretty. They are investing time into improving their breed and, just as importantly, they are investing time in their own dogs.

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You are exactly correct that the Championship title is given because of the dog's confirmation to the breed standard. In some cases that standard specifically calls for an athletic specimen because the breed was bred for some athletic skill--like killing game. That also means, however, that a dog that is a champion, while conforming to the breed standard and therefore worthy of being used in a breeding program, may not necessarily be of any particular stellar value but merely conforms. Breed standards vary in scope substantially from breed to breed, and some standards are incredibly picky while others are incredibly forgiving. Nevertheless, everyone breeds to the standard for their breed--such as it is --if they wish to perpetuate and improve the breed quality.