Another random thought of mine that IS NOT intended to start any kind of arguements, so don't.
Whats the take on breeders who breed for companions and do not nor have ever shown their breed of choice?
I have a friend who purchased a poodle from a breeder who does not show at all, nor does she do any field work with her poodles. She does therapy work and maybe a little bit of formal obedience and rally. So far as I know the dogs she breeds are fully health tested. In addition to requiring spay and nueter of puppuers in her contract she also requires you to commit to taking the puppy to puppy classes, basic and advanced training, requires a CGC cert on the dog and REQUIRES the dog to be certified as a therapy dog. I beleive she holds the papers or stays on as co-owner until these conditions are met. She does not require that you do any sort of compition obedience or therapy work but she does make you do the training and certify. I also have a client who purchased from a similar type breeder. She doesn't show, breeds only companions. Her dogs are fully health tested and she sells them on spay and neuter contracts. This client asked me though one time if she should consider looking for a breeder who shows their dogs for her next poodle. My first response was YES! Dog shows are intended to be a way to evaulate breeding stock. On the other hand though, so long as the health testing is done and dogs are clear of defects isn't that just as important as the pedigree? I'm noticing a lot of breeder who don't breed show dogs lately but they wouldn't fall into what I call a backyard breeder either.