I totally agree, temperament is more important than anything. A dog who looks amazing & can work shouldn't be bred at all if they have an unpredictable temperament. That is the case with a lot of breeds, I hate that some breeders become so obsessed with appearance that they miss the fact that dogs are companions first. I've had first-hand experience with our Champion Cocker who attacked my sister for no reason, and went on to attack another child. I also know a lady who breeds GSD's and trains them in the same complex where we train for Flyball, often on the same days. Her dogs are drop-dead gorgeous, but the lady has more than a few screws loose. I witnessed her training her GSD stud in the field next to us, with a 3-foot-long metal rod, and beating him with it when he lunged toward our dogs. We yelled over to her that she needs to leave if she's going to hit her dog, and she replied for real saying "I'm training this dog for Search & Rescue! I have to do this! Do you want him to kill a child?" She's seriously breeding a GSD and attempting to train him for SAR after he has bitten children, AND she's beating him on top of that -_-... it makes me sick when people breed with no regard to future puppies & future generations. I also know a lady on my team who brought her (AKC pointed) Border Collie bitch, in season, to practice and intends to breed her. It crushed me because this dog literally IS a black & white Golden Retriever! She has no ball drive, won't even hit the box, is slow, doesn't have an ounce of herding drive in her, has a fluffy coat and short muzzle, she has at least 15 pounds and 3 inches on my male BC, and she's totally aloof to other dogs and people. She doesn't have the BC spark in her eye, which to me is just as bad as breeding a dog with an aggressive temperament. If they are breeding dogs with a personality that is against how the breed should be, that is doing a disservice to the breed. It's really great that you emphasize a good personality in your dogs, because that is huge.

I understand where some of you guys are coming from, and breeding truly is not for 99% of people because it consumes so much time/energy/money and takes a truly dedicated person. But, reputable breeders are not producing the dogs that die in shelters. As a breeder, it is their responsibility to keep track of the puppies they produce and ensure that the homes they go to either keep the pup or return it. If their pups end up in shelters, they are not a reputable breeder no matter what. The vast majority of breeders ARE BYB's or puppy mills, and they do not care where the dogs they breed end up. I definitely agree that breeding dogs should not be done if it is not done responsibly and to better the particular breed.