Breeding dogs for showing or working ?

I'm friendly with a vet and we were having a discussion about how some working breeds are totally different in style and body conformation.

In his, and my opinion, breeds like rotties, dobes etc, were originally meant to be hard working dogs, today, some breeders are breeding dogs for the show ring, these dogs look really good in the ring but in his opinion, and mine, they could never do the work as good as the breed was originally intended to do.

What are your thoughts on this topic. ?

I think it depends on the breed and the job. Malamutes and Sibes vary in type, but basically the first consideration when showing them is 'could their conformation jeopardise the job they would be doing' basically. They Have to have everything in place, as their breed standard is based on their survival, not looking good. Even the smallest details like how small and well furred the ears are come down to working and surviving in the snow.

I dont agree that any breed should deviate away from the way the dog should have been for working, and if it couldn't work because of it's conformation, then it should be a fault. I don't think there should be a working type and show type, I think each breed should be a working type or non standard, but that's JMO

I don't know much about breeding, but I do know that the GSD has changed a lot over the years. IMO, they seem to be bred more for showing than for working

With the GSD I think that's different as they are the English type and the German type and more of one gets placed over the other (sure someone will come along and correct me), and some of one type dont like the other type being placed here, but I didn't think it was a show type but just the other type !

Thanks for the input Corrie, I don't know much about GSD's but rotties and dobes are definitely being judged for their looks in the ring.

That's probably more to the point T. Personally I prefer to see the more robust English type, which IMO is probably more suited to working. I do think though that the German type has been changed more to meet the show standards as opposed to working.

I don't know a lot about breeding and showing as I haven't really took any of it seriously. I can only comment on what changes I've seen over the years with both types of GSD (as well as the American type)

Imo and I can only speak as I find, any show boxer's I know of and have seen are very diffrent from the original working boxer's bred to bring down bear's, they would run all day, and although alot of boxers nowdays would run alday I had a bitch bred to show bought her as a show bitch, she looked the part boy she was extremley pretty,(won alot) but you could not breed her she was a weakling with stomach problems and skin problem's and died a untimely death due to extremly bad colitis. She came from one of the top Irsih show kennel's and was bred so intensly so interbred you would not believe.
She would have thought bringing down bear's was beneath her.

What you have to remember is many of the jobs our "working breeds" where originally bred for are "extinct"

No bulls for the Boxer to bring down.

No need for the tax man to take His Dobe to protect him

The Rottie is no longer needed to heard or protect livestock .(and the origens before that)

The show ring, and fashion has dictated the breed standard, over the last few hundred yrs....for many of these breeds.

Some working breeds are still capable and are still used for the purpose of their jobs...the sledge dogs for one.

Then you have the Gundogs...this is where you see the difference "workining " V "show" These dogs are two different types of the same breed.

Over 2,000 years ago the Romans used rotties as a multi-task breed, as you say, they were used for herding protecting, but they were also used as war dogs for attack, due to their size and robustness.