The problem is that ANY conformation class (dogs, cats, horses) rewards looks over anything else.
It's important when you interview a breeder to make sure that breeder is doing something from a performance standpoint, something suitable to the breed.
We had the time of our lives at the National Labrador Retriever Specialty (a show for one breed only) in October. They had every performance event you can think of -- agility, obedience, rally o, flyball, tracking, retriever -- and quite a number of conformation type people came out to try to put a retriever working certificate on their dogs.
It's a pretty simple test (a single land retrieve live flyer, and two single water retrieves to show that the dog is willing to re-enter the water) but some of the Labs had obviously never seen a real mallard duck before. I was one of the gunners on the land test, and you could tell the newbies . . . some of them barked at the duck, some ran away and hid, and some decided to carry this beautiful new toy off somewhere privately and bury it . . . .
Of course, the show people had a good laugh at me when I put my two little roughneck field dogs up for a Conformation Certificate. Had no idea how to stack them or trot them out . . . and the dogs were like, "Why is this strange woman prying my mouth open and fooling with my tail?" But they both got their certificates!
Working dogs should have a working standard. This is what the Border Collie folks told the AKC, and the AKC absolutely refused.
Labs that barely know how to retrieve are an embarrassment. Instinct to work livestock in a useful manner is much tougher to achieve, and it all can be undone in a few years of careless breeding.
For me, the bottom line is, “If you have a viable working registry, why does the AKC need to take over?” And the AKC has so much money, it is hard to fight them.