I don’t want a show dog, so why should I buy from a show breeder?

There are various kinds of performance dog shows, but when talking about a “show breeder”, one is usually referring to AKC conformation shows. In a conformation show, the dog is judged by how well it conforms to the breed standard. That’s it! Conformation shows are simply designed to evaluate breeding stock. This means we take a dog we want to breed to expert judges, who have been through a lot of years of experience and training, and have the judges go over the dog and evaluate if it is a good representative of Cavaliers, sound and beautiful enough to breed. Breeders need to be part of this community of other breeders and judges in order to ensure Cavaliers continue to be Cavaliers. Hopefully, through careful planning and health testing, we go beyond that and even improve the breed. There can certainly be additional motivations, but this is the core purpose of AKC dog shows. It is show breeders that are making great progress improving the health of this precious breed and know the health histories of dogs far back into their pedigrees. Testing only a couple dogs just doesn’t tell a person much.