[Ann Felske-Jackman]

I think you're right in general. And dead on when you say "To variate from the standard would not produce a working rott". The standard is there to help us breed a working dog. It is never okay to deviate greatly from it in an effort to produce either the best working dog or the most handsome.

I do believe that the conformation of a dog can also play a part in his ability and desire to work. A dog who is correctly built is going to find it easier to maintain stamina and go the distance required at the higher levels of competition, or in real life work. Physical exhaustion can definitely affect mental capabilities. For this reason, a dog who is comfortable working will theoretically be able to exhibit more "drive". So we can ask, does one dog really have more drive, or could some of his physical characteristics allow him to better exhibit those drives?

Two examples that come to mind when thinking of how physical conformation can affect stamina (hence desire to work) are the very deep underlines we're currently seeing in the AKC ring, which add a lot of weight to a dog without adding any considerable strength, or the extremely short muzzles we're seeing in the Sieger Show rings, which in my opinion will seriously impede stamina soon. These are what I would consider "trends" for the show ring, and these are indeed the things that we can sacrifice, in fact SHOULD sacrifice, to produce a more correct working dog.