Originally posted by GoldenRetrLuver
Purebred dogs were created by man in order to perform specific tasks. Border Collies were bred to herd, Golden Retrievers were bred to retrieve and help with hunting, etc. Responsible breeders try to keep this going, and *most* of them also use their show dogs for what they were bred to do, instead of JUST showing them.
Sadly, a lot of people that show Border Collies are breeding them to be more mellow so they can be pets, not working dogs. This upsets a lot of working BC people because it isn't what the BC was originally bred for. But I agree with what you're saying.

Cali - To answer your question, I don't know. I do know that the AKC is pretty strict about breed standards and if you breed a dog that isn't AKC quality, it can be looked down upon as a "bad breeding" or "bad quality" or something. For example, Megan is supposed to be a purebred Pom, but she's much larger and longer than the average Pom. She could never be shown in the ring. But she's one of the smartest little dogs I've ever met.
Personally, I am very against breeding unless you plan on doing a job with your dogs and selling the pups to working homes. For example, breeding the dogs to herd, hunt, do dog sports, search&rescue, guidedogs, etc... Then the dogs will most likely not end up in shelters and will go to good homes. That's what I call responsible breeding - when you breed for a purpose and you make sure the pups go to good homes. Not breeding just for the heck of it or something. Plus, there are millions of dogs that end up in shelters and get put to sleep just because they couldn't find homes, and most of those dogs come from backyard breeders or accidental breedings. I see a lot more dogs in shelters than I do rabbits.

I don't think I answered your question either. Mostly because I don't really know the answer lol.