I think everyone who breeds, should believe they are bettering the breed – of course everyone has a slightly different idea of what that means. 
For Nicola I think it means a dog with the potential to make FTCH, for me it is to be a good family pet. However we may not be as diametrically opposed as that might appear – families are very variable – a working cocker family should be an active one – they may hunt, do agility or fly-ball or they may just want an active dog and enjoy walking and cycling in areas suitable for exercising a dog off lead.
A working cocker should be able to work - they should have the attributes that the breed is known for – energy, enthusiasm, intelligence, good retrieve, quiet in the field etc. I also think they should conform broadly to the breed standard in size and shape. Above all, of course, they should have a great temperament and be healthy. If I didn’t believe Saffi was all of this I wouldn’t be proposing breeding from her. 
As my name has been mentioned I would say that my view is not purely based on producing FTCh dogs, although that obviously means that they are judged and proven objectively at the highest level. What I see as bettering the breed is using the best examples of the breed you can and the only way you can know that - as opposed to just thinking that your own dog is lovely, because very few people don't think that - is to have them compared against their peers either in field trials or by working them in the field to prove that they are true to type and fit for purpose.
You may believe that your dog is a great example but everyone loves their own dog, and as you've said yourself, you're not an unbiased, objective judge. You have no way of actually knowing how good an example of the breed she really is unless she is proven to be so either in competitions or in the field. Everyone thinks their own dog is the best ever but that is not an objective view of the dog's quality. To truly improve the breed there must be the aim of producing dogs that are objectively proven as being both true to type and fit for purpose, if this is done properly it also encompasses health and temperament. These requirements are not and should not be mutually exclusive.
Being a nice pet dog is not enough to warrant breeding yet more puppies in a hugely overcrowded market; most dogs are great pets and their owners think they're the best dog ever, but it doesn't mean that they are objectively an exceptional dog or that they should be bred from. Perhaps if we were in a situation where there was a shortage of nice pet dogs out there but that is hardly the case, this country is inundated with pet dogs. There is unfortunately a glut of indifferent quality working Cockers being bred and sold as pets at the moment, with the corresponding sharp increase in them appearing in rescues.
I think success in the show ring is also a rather poor selector of dogs or for that matter in working lines FTCH trials as the key criteria for both types of dog should be temperament & health neither of which are adequately tested in those environments.
An unhealthy dog of poor temperament is not going to get far in the show ring, in field trials or in the shooting field where dogs have to travel (in the beating wagon) and work hard for full days at a time in very close proximity to lots of people and other dogs.
I think in any case in deciding to breed, the bar should be set a lot higher for a Dog than a Bitch – a dog can sire dozens of litters – a breeding bitch should have only between 1 and 4.
As the owner a bitch who so much time and effort has gone into to prove her quality and that she is a truly outstanding example of her breed I find that an incredibly depressing view
Every litter is important regardless of how many of them there are, and Caoimhe's contribution is every bit as important as the stud dog's.
It's not just a choice between an out and out trialling dog or an unproven pet either - there are (thankfully) good breeders out there producing dogs that are proven as true to type and fit for purpose in the working field who have the proven stamina, steadiness, biddability and working ability but don't quite have the drive and pace of a trialling dog. In an ideal world the majority of dogs being bred would be like this, neither FT competitors nor just pets, but working dogs of proven quality and type with some trialling blood to keep the objective judgement there and maintain the drive and trainability.
Personally, I feel that only working cockers who actually 'work' should be bred from.
Yes, working cockers 'can' make wonderful pets in the right home (I have two) but my girls were bred from strong actual working/trailing lines. I feel this breeding has given them the biddability that is so great. Their breeder has spent a life time working his dogs and breeding for this trait.
I feel that if 'pet' working cockers are bred to other 'pet' working cockers then the very essence of the breed is being diluted.
I have seen a lot of 'pet' bred working cockers who have all the drive of their breed but have none of the biddability. 
Very good post and I completely agree with all of it.
