Very desirable, very expensive dog breed

[tofu pup]

With regards the dalis, if my memory serves corectly a lady has imported two of these pointer bred bitches into the UK and the dali club were not happy but I think the KC has overruled and providing a couple of Ch show judges say they are conforming to breed standards then they get registered. Any progeny will have 2 * for the fist generation and 1* for the second and third and on generations will be registered as norm.
It's all calmed down now.

This is a great point - if the NUA (normal-uric-acid or "pointer-cross") Dals are admitted into the registry (as in the UK), they'll have the chance to compete in conformation shows. If they don't conform to the Standard, they won't win - people can argue all day about whether the NUAs "look like Dalmatians", but once they're in the ring with a judge who doesn't know which is which, we can see whether or not they're Dalmatian-y enough. (And if they aren't, breeders can continue crossing them with non-NUA dogs to improve them further.)

 

[sable]

I think I'm not expressing myself as efficiently as I ought to... I do agree with you on this. However, a large and notable difference between crossbreeding to improve the breed and crossbreeding to produce "designer hybrids" is that there is no effort to develop labradoodles, maltipoos, etc. as breeds, or (on the part of the designer dog breeders) to breed better poodles and labs. The terminal hybrid is the desired end; the -doodles don't breed true (through theoretically they could, given enough selective breeding), and so the formula remains "buy a poodle + buy a labrador = labradoodle puppies". Why not make an effort to breed a better Poodle (less incidence of epilepsy), or a better Lab (less hip dysplasia, better temperaments) instead of just mixing the two together and touting the result as the ultimate family pet?

Something else to think about: the "herding aspects" of the BCs and Aussies are precisely what make them awesome, highly-driven sport dogs but, for the average North American family, rotten pets. If Shelties had BC temperaments, I don't think I could live with them (because I know a BC would be a terrible fit for me). I agree that intelligence and responsiveness is a Sheltie trait to be treasured - there's no reason to dumb our dogs down - but the traits that make a great herding dog don't necessarily make a great companion dog, and I think the "companion dog" aspect of our breed is far more valuable.

I have to give you an A+++ on this response. So true.