WHAT DOES “SHOW QUALITY” V.S. “PET QUALITY” MEAN?
To determine its show potential, each dog is compared against its breed standard. A dog or puppy displaying any disqualifying faults would be graded as pet quality. Sometimes the faults are only visible to a knowledgeable person, while sometimes the fault is very visible. Show quality means that the dog has no serious faults as defined by the breed standard. This does not mean that the temperament will be good, that the dog will ever win at shows, or will become a champion. Puppies graded show quality at the time of sale by the breeder are considered only to have the potential to be shown. If you pay show quality price, you should have a written guarantee that the puppy will be replaced or part of the purchase price be refunded should the puppy develop a disqualifying fault, or other defect or disease which would prevent it from being shown. Show quality is much easier to assess in an adult dog.
Each dog is compared with its breed standard. Any dog or puppy that does not match all of the descriptions in their breed standard is not show quality and probably should not be used for breeding either. Some faults are not very visible, whereas others are very obvious. A prominent example would be an undershot or overshot jaw; if it is minor, this would be something that would disqualify the dog as a show or breeding prospect, but the dog would make a great pet, guardian dog, or other type of working dog. In a show quality dog, the dog meets all of the breed standards and represents these standards without disqualifications. This does not mean that the temperament is sound, that the dog will turn out to be breeding quality (some genetic problems are not superficially obvious) or that the dog would be a good pet or working dog. This simply means that the dog conforms physically to the breed standard. When selecting a puppy, the breeder assesses each puppy and sorts them into pet, worki
