Quote Originally Posted by bckrazy
Ummm.... the importance is HUGEEE! Not in breeds who are proven through their work (like Border Collies), but with Chinese Cresteds... absolutely, being proven as a quality show specimen is vital BEFORE even thinking of breeding.

Say every breeder bred dogs willy-nilly, with no show experience. What would happen to our breeds? Their conformation would just disintegrate. What makes them the breed that they are (their appearance, movement, structure, and yes, even temperament) would be extremely diluted, if not ruined completely, eventually. Showing a dog PROVES, beyond the breeder's personal biased opinion, that the dog is an excellent example of the breed (of course, on top of health testing, temperament testing, and working when applicable) and is worthy of passing on it's genes. After all, why even HAVE breed standards if there is no venue in which to prove that your dog exemplifies it?
Erica, well put. May I borrow this sometime? When people ask that question I always resort to saying something eloquent like, um..ah...well of course everyone thinks their dog is beautiful, but...um...you need an objective eye to see if they really meet the breed standards and can perform as the breed was intended.