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For some reason, the judges in these shows seem to feel those dogs that best conform to their breed's standards are invariably those little freaky monsters like Poodles, etc.

Real dogs like German Sherpherds, Wolfhounds, Setters, pointers, etc, have no chance.

This can't be coincidental. Perhaps a breed's ability to perform its developed function is inversely proportional to its conformance with the artificial standards concocted for them by these show world people. Consequently, dogs like German Shepherds who are bred for real work like guiding the blind,police and track work, etc, have no chance in these "beauty" shows. Sporting breeds who are entered in these shows are generally divided into bench lines and field dogs, and in some cases like the English Setter, there is a substantial difference in appearance between the two, the bench dog looking very beautiful, but not being very functional, and the field trial dog not looking so great, but being much better at what the breed was originally developed for.

Another example is the English Bulldog. The Bulldog was originally a large, powerful aggressive and agile animal developed for the brutal sport of bull-baiting. When British sensibilities mandated an end to that "sport", they deliberately bred that magnificent animal into the gargoylesque creature known as the "English Bulldog". Today, there is a dog known as the American Bulldog, whic is NOT recognized by the AKC, but which more closely resembles their common forebearer. It makes an excellent and effective guard dog and companion and has even been used for hunting. While the English Bulldog experiences respiratory difficulties and births occur via caesarian section as the heads have been developed to such an abornmal degree they can't pass though the mother's pelvic passage.

It is no accident that people who have real working breeds like coonhounds, bearhounds, and border collies and whose interest lies in the breed's ability to accomplish its purpose rather than conformance with an effete beauty standard, don't actively seek AKC recognition for their dogs.