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Some people spend thousands of dollars traveling, showing, and campaigning a single dog to “prove” quality through ribbons.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying the show world — but a ribbon is not “the” measure of ethics.  To me, the highest calling of a breeder is stewardship — prioritizing the emotional and physical wellbeing of every dog in their care.

A truly responsible breeder doesn’t need a judge to tell them what their dog looks like if they know their breed.  If someone cannot read structure, temperament, and soundness themselves — if they must rely on ribbons and a one-time puppy temperament test with an outside source to validate their program — that raises an ethical question of its own.

🤎 A show ribbon measures a moment, not morality:

✔️ how well a dog matched a written description
✔️ a judge’s personal preference on that day
✔️ presentation, ring training, and handling
✔️what small percentage of the breed actually showed up that day

But a ribbon does not measure:

✘ emotional well-being
✘ mental soundness
✘ stable temperament
✘ how a dog is raised
✘ how a dog is treated
✘ the life the dog actually lives
✘ the stress or joy behind the scenes
✘ responsible retirement
✘ ethical placement
✘ genuine love
✘ enrichment, security, or companionship

✔️A dog can win ribbons while:

●living in a kennel

●being bred every cycle, or

●being rehomed once they are no longer relevant.

✔️A dog can win ribbons while lacking:

●stability

●affection

●or a real family life.

🤎 The Unspoken Truth: Dogs Change as They Mature

Conformation is not static.  For most medium to large breeds, the period between 1 and 3 years is crucial for developing their adult physique — dogs continue to change:

●topline
●angulation
●width of chest
●movement
●head shape
●strength and proportion
●coat density
●pasterns
●muscle
●movement and carriage

This is why a one-time conformation title is only a snapshot — not proof of genetic quality.

🤎 Genetic soundness is about what a dog produces, not what ribbons they earned.

A well-titled dog can still:
●throw poor structure
●produce weak rears
●pass down poor toplines
●produce unstable temperaments
●fail to pass on their own “winning” traits
●carry hidden genetic weaknesses

✔️ True genetic quality is evaluated over generations.

It’s based on:
●consistency of offspring
●lineage stability
●health and temperament inheritance
●structural reliability
●what the dog reproduces, not just how it appears

✔️ A ribbon cannot predict genetic transmission.

Because a phenotype (appearance) does not guarantee genotype (heritable traits).

🤎 When Ribbons Replace Real Evaluation

⭐ If someone cannot evaluate structure, temperament, and overall soundness without a ribbon telling them what to think… they probably should not be choosing which dogs reproduce.

Breeding requires:

●thoughtful pairing
●temperament discernment
●genetic awareness
●intuition
●experience
●honesty
●integrity

Not show points — because a judge sees a dog for two minutes.

🤎 Why We Choose to Invest in Dogs, Not Ribbons

Showing a dog to a title can cost thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — for:

●show handling
●travel
●entry fees
●hotels
●grooming
●time away

There is nothing wrong with enjoying the show world, or choosing a puppy from the show world.  But for us and many others, those same resources are better spent here at home:

✔️ enriching our parent dogs
✔️ raising puppies with presence and intention
✔️ offering a lifetime home for our retirees
✔️ giving each litter the time and heart it deserves
✔️ maintaining transparent health and veterinary care
✔️ supporting families long-term
✔️ protecting our lines by refusing breeding rights
✔️ investing in a peaceful, stable, soul-nourishing environment

These things cannot be purchased in a ring — yet, many of the loudest online gatekeepers rarely speak of stewardship: the emotional wellbeing of parent dogs, the calm and loving environment puppies are raised in, or the long-term responsibility a breeder has for every life they bring into the world. Instead, their definition of “ethical” is built almost entirely around show titles and mechanical checklists — but ribbons…

●do not raise puppies

●do not comfort mothers

●do not create stable, family-ready companions

✔️Stewardship does.


🤎 The Ethics We Stand On

Our philosophy of responsible breeding includes:

✔️ Parent dogs living full, loved lives
✔️ Puppies raised with gentleness, presence, early socialization, and human connection
✔️ Thoughtful health testing aligned with what truly matters
✔️ No breeding rights
✔️ Litters done responsibly
✔️ Intentional, heart-led placement
✔️ Lifetime support and relationship

We breed for:

✔️ intentionality
✔️ soundness
✔️ stability
✔️ connection
✔️ companionship
✔️ gentleness
✔️ the quiet love that fills a home

So, yes — titles can be a piece of the picture, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying the show world. But a ribbon alone does not define ethical breeding, nor does it speak to the heart, responsibility, or daily stewardship behind the scenes.

Because in the end…

🤎 A dog will never care about a ribbon — but they will always care about who loves them, raises them, protects them, understands them — and that there are treats, lots of treats.