Personally I hate to see short and stocky bench Labs just as much as I hate seeing tall and lanky field Labs. There is a nice medium and fortunately there are breeders that breed that medium. But there are also a ton who breed only for conformation and a ton that breed without conformation in mind at all. If you ask me, both are breeding a dog to suit their needs (winning in the show or field), instead of preserving the breed, which is what they should be doing in the first place.
All in all, conformation, instinct, temperment, and health are all important in PRESERVING the breed. Improving it, well ... that's anyones opinion as to who is actually improving it. In my mind, there are very few breeders who are actually improving it. In someone else's mind, anyone who health tests and has dogs with a CH in front of their name is improving it. I'd rather preserve the breed, but maybe that's just me.
I do want to breed Labs someday. I will compete in conformation (maybe not to the point of a CH but definetly enough to prove that they have good conformation). I will compete in hunt tests. I will most likely also compete in obedience and have them certified as therapy dogs. And I will health test for everything that is prevelent in the breed. I will also give them the best health care that I can and provide them with the best life I can. Anything less than all of that is unsatisfactory, in my opinion. If I'm just breeding a pretty dog, I might as well have gotten into a breed that's original purpose WAS to look pretty!
