This is a legit question and I am in no way trying to upset anyone , just a random thought that entered my head .  What is the purpose of show dogs ? I have three dogs of the same breed , 2 are working 1  is show and they are different in build gait looks mannerism . Most dogs were bred for a purpose so I assume they had a standard so why did they change for the show ring ? Shouldn't there only be one type ? The original ? You could show it but it would still look and have the abilities of what it was bred for ? Does any of that make sense ? It is very late here

Personally I'd say it's the working dogs that have changed in looks and no longer meet the standard......the purpose of shows being that the look is kept -although originally it was assumed the dogs were ALSO worked. Many working versions of many breeds are for instance a completely different size to what the breed standard calls for. You could easily argue that all dogs should be dual purpose, and that it's wrong to breed for looks only and just as wrong to breed for purpose only. But sadly few breeds are dual purpose these days.

Do show dogs carry the ability to work ? (excuse me if it is a stupid question I have never shown ) as I said I have 2 working bred dogs and the are fantastic in the field cant fault them then I have a show bred dog who is useless in the field BUT I got her at 12 mo old (a year ago ) and although she has came out of her shell she is nothing like the others in the working way she doesn't use her nose doesn't have much retrieval sense and has a totally different gait . Would this of been different if I got her as a puppy 

> What is the purpose of show dogs ?

I assume you are talking from the perspective of dogs which have a sporting background - Function in the field.

Some utility,toy and working breeds either fully fullfil their original roles as companions or, as in the case of many working breeds, have no role in modern society.
Not much call for bull baiters in modern day Britain.

These breeds have evolved to keep the form but drop the funtion.

I'm sure there are many who feel only dogs who can perform a working role have a place in todays society - yet it is the dogs which best fit into a modern home and family that are truly successful as pets.
Working ( in the literal sense ) dogs are often too high drive for the average family and lack of stimulation causes behavioural problems and training difficulties.
A 'show -type' version of the cocker for example is often an easier pet to live with than it's working bred cousin.

Dog showing is perhaps a modern day 'field' sport for domestic pets. Not everyone either has the time or inclination to shoot.

For all the criticism of pedigree dogs lately it has to be accepted that dogs are one of the most successful species on the planet - they seem to be achieving this by fitting in where ever they are.
You want them to work - they will,
want them to sit on your sofa and play with your kids - they will.

Dog shows are perhaps the modern day field sport - not everyone has the facilities, inclination or ability to shoot or track or hunt.

in my breed there are lots of dogs that are shown and worked ie herding and racing, weight pull, some of these dogs do well some do very well in the show ring

Do show dogs carry the ability to work ?

That varies greatly between the breeds, and between individuals -but yes, they do exist. And like tooolz said also what their original purpose was -some were only ever meant as companions, and we don't really want dogs fighting bulls etc today. :)

> Most dogs were bred for a purpose so I assume they had a standard so why did they change for the show ring ? Shouldn't there only be one type ? The original ? You could show it but it would still look and have the abilities of what it was bred for ? Does any of that make sense ? It is very late here

Depends what breeds you are writing about. The majority of companion breeds(AKA toy)were origianlly the pets of the"upper"classes with no purpose except to be companion dogs. there are exceptions. The Yorkshire Terrier was originally a ratting breed & the Cavalier a dual purpose hunting/companion dog

Some of the working type of breeds bear no more resemblance to the the original dogs than the show type.

The point of show dogs should be a showcase for the breed, healthy(mentally/physically)well balanced dogs. One of my breeds come directly/indirectly from the same gene pool as the working type(with a little Kelpie blood thrown in from Australia)& under good judges a working bred dog can do as well as a show type & of course the BC champions are only Show Champions(like the Gundogs)until they pass a working test(even though this has recently been made into a much easier test)

There are of course one or two breeds in which the true working type are much closer to the breed standard than either type of show dog seen in the ring.

Wow, have we ever had that question before? What is the use of a show dog? :-)

I'm patting you on the back for coming up with something original. :-D

Toolz has just about said it all, but to be honest there are too many breeds to pigeon hole all show dogs as not also being good working dogs too, as many do have duel purpose, so in a way it is a difficult question to answer for every one breed that now could really not do a good days work, we will have many others come forward that can. :-)

All breeds still have the instinct to hunt whether show or working, they generally all have their nose to the ground,  their abilities are still very much there but in some breeds watered down over generations and centuries of breeding to make them acceptable as domestic dogs, to be able to live with their human counterparts and as already said most working breeds are not suitable as pet dogs needing more exercise and mental stimulation than a normal household can deliver, often in the wrong homes through careless breeding causing health and behavioural problems to the dog. Granted, there are also working breeds who have excellent pet homes too from people who do their homework. :-)

The show dog in essence is the most commonly used and seen for human companionship in all walks of life, is widely more popular and the dogs who are shown are done so initially to set a standard for what a dog of that breed should look like and so use to continue to breed from.

As already said, the vast majority of dog owners do not work their dogs in any way, shape of form. But most of us love dogs and want them, so the show dog serves that purpose for a good (complete guesstimate) 70% of the population. :-)

So to answer your question at last :-D What is the purpose of a show dog? I would say that is a very huge purpose.

> There are of course one or two breeds in which the true working type are much closer to the breed standard than either type of show dog seen in the ring.

With my own breed the working ability is ever close to the surface as can be seen when a dog of US and UK show background has been taken to Sweden as a mature adult and used for hunting successfully by his Novice (as in hunting) owners (the wife is Swedish).

In Scandinavia you cannot divorce work and show, and as both US and UK have regular imports of Scandinavian blood the dogs will have the innate working ability, of course some individuals will have more than others.

Thanks for the replys .